Lapvona

by Ottessa Moshfegh (2022)

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Ah, Lapvona. This novel is a disgusting, shameful, dismal peek into the selfishness of all human beings, the pitfalls of religion, the ostracization of women who do not conform, and the many follies of men. I loved every page of this novel. I found it all consuming, and after slowly making my way through the first fifty pages, I devoured the rest of it in just one day.

I have always admired Moshfegh for her fantastic vision and talent to make the plotless so engaging in My Year of Rest and Relaxation (2018) and for her ability to tear into the human psyche and put the worst of ourselves into words in Homesick for Another World (2017). I have yet to read her other works, Eileen (2015) being the next up as it has waited so patiently on my shelf for several months, yet I feel confident in declaring Moshfegh one of the most unique and singular authors of our time. She is constantly changing her own formulas and chasing the strangest of stories, and while I was apprehensive about Lapvona for how much of a departure it was from her previous work, I was charmed.

Lapvona, named for the medieval fiefdom in which the story is set, follows Marek, the young and deformed son of a shepherd just on the outskirts of town. After a series of unfortunate maladies befalls the town (Marek and his father each believing that these were a direct result of their selfish actions), Marek finds himself living with the gluttonous lord of the village and denouncing his father and deceased mother. If such a story sounds interesting to you, I suggest you stop here and go pick it up, as there will be spoilers from here on. Happy reading! Please allow Lapvona to sink into your skin like it did mine.

For those of you who have braved Lapvona already, there are just a few key thoughts I had while reading that I would like to share, and would especially love to hear your thoughts.

First, the love I felt for the sweet, selfish, and milky Ina. Her backstory was by far the most interesting to me, and I found her character to be the true "winner" at the end. She singlehandedly raised Lapvona and leeched off of its resources and gossip her whole life. She was able to watch the town as it ostracized her, then embraced her, then left her to her business in the forest, then she was welcomed into Villaim's manor with open arms to bring about the second coming of Christ. Despite most of Lapvona considering her a witch, she was the most ethereal and religious figure for the townspeople, which becomes clear in Ina's lovely friendship with Grigor. She brought Lapvona hope, fear, sustenance, and death. Don't get me started on the horse eyes.

Second, what happened to Dibra and Luka? I suppose Moshfegh wants us to guess. Perhaps they died in each others' arms at the hand of Villaim's bandits, Romeo and Juliet style. I like to believe Dibra found Luka and they gouged the horse's eyes out so that Villiam would assume they were dead. What would be the best possible scenario for those two? They were both so wracked with grief over the death of Jacob (Luka's bastard son) and Dibra spends her entire screen time (page time?) mourning his death and then disappearing. Of all the characters' storylines Moshfegh could have left hanging, I'm glad it was Dibra and Luka's. The icing on the cake of Lapvona is having no confidence that there was a happy ending for anyone in the story, except maybe the baby. He had an easy go at life.

Finally, Agata. The mute nun who sought an abortion for her incestuous child with the help of Ina, only for the child to be born anyway, left in the hands of Jude, and named Marek. There were so many crossing bloodlines in Lapvona that it was hard to keep up, but the drama in Marek's deformity and his hatred of Jude was flipped so expertly on its head when Marek meets Agata, who was not dead as he had believed, and is forced to watch her wed Villiam and give birth to the supposed second coming of Christ, who is actually Jude's son. In a novel that follows so many men and their many tragic faults, Lapvona is a story about women. Each of the women were so complex and vital to the goings on in Lapvona that I would read the sections with Marek or Jude in a hurry in order to get back to Ina and Agata. Agata is the true victim from the beginning of the story until its end, and it is so telling that Moshfegh did not give her the ability to speak. While it is no longer medieval times, women are still silenced, ostracized, and romanticized for their forced meekness in the same way. Final thoughts: Lapvona made me angry.

Thank you for reading! This is my first review on the site, and the practice of putting thoughts into words is constantly developing, so I thank you for giving me grace. Lapvona got me out of a deep reading slump (thanks a lot, Flowers in the Attic) and I am excited to engage more personally with books, to have fleshed out reactions, and to discuss with you dear readers! Follow me on Goodreads to keep up with what I've read and what I'm reading now.

★★★★★

Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh (2022)

-Cheyenne