**warning, i do use the term "moshfeghian" often in this review**
ottessa moshfegh quickly became one of my favorite writers this year, after reading death in her hands, my year of rest (and even relaxation), and many of her captivating short, and i mean short and CONCISE!! in an impressive way, stories.
so i was very excited when she announced her new novel, lapvona, which was released june this year. i spent months leading up to june trying to get a pre-released copy that only reviewers/book stores had access to, failed to get it, and then forgot about the book until last month, lol.
after borrowing copies from two different friends, i finished lapvona and i'm here to give it a 7/10. it was very moshfeghian, in the sense that she dives deep into the disgusting parts of human nature we often tend to ignore. i respect moshfegh for entering this new world of medieval times, proving she is a well-rounded writer. the world she created was lovely, the poor medieval town with a massive castle on a hill with a lord overlooking them, purposefully starving his kingdom. and we focus on a motherless boy and his journey dealing with his family, insecurities, and desire to be loved.
i think moshfegh's structure/timing of the plot points were pretty messy. i felt like we reached a climax and i was properly satisfied, only to realize we had 100 pages left. the final 100 pages added nothing, besides a shock ending where it's insinuated that the boy throws his baby brother off a cliff, that i thought worked well and was not totally out of character, but could have been put earlier.
i think she bit off more than she can chew... she had a great moshfeghian storyline with the inbred boy, searching for his mother and dealing with his own guilt (and often lack thereof) of accidentally murdering his friend. (yeahhhh different from his baby brudda) and i was ready to ride that wave... but the book went all over the place when we went super deep into the lord's storyline. in the end, learning so much about the lord did not pay off. i really did not care about him. he was super gross and moshfegh was so descriptive about him that i hated envisioning him. also, the lord had a crazy 180 spin in his personality that she addresses plainly, but i don't think it was deserved.
anyway i love moshfegh but maybe i need a break...
i want to read more from elena ferrante, was super impressed with "lying life of adults" and apparently thats not even her best work! woohoo!
recommend books in the comments below. :)
love the use of "moshfeghian" (jk but I suffered through it)
ReplyDeleteI'm gonna be honest I don't read all that much, I've been halfway through Frankenstein since July. My favorite books I read this year are jennette mccurdy's book and the save the cat TV writing book. The last fiction work I read that comes to mind is "Less" but TBH I do not think you would like it it's the slow, ambling thoughts of a 50 y.o. gay man travelling around the world to avoid his problems at home, not really a thrill ride.