Number 60- Lapvona- Otessa Moshfegh

Sometimes I pick a book purely because of the cover.  This is a definite case in point. My copy is also signed by the author which is always a nice surprise. Moshfegh was a completely new name to me.  I've not read any of her previous work and that cover is the only reason I picked this up.

I'm not sure if I should say much about the plot here as I think this is a book that's best enjoyed cold, with zero prior knowledge, the way I just did. 

That makes things a little awkward to review it though.

It's set in the medieval village of Lapvona which is ruled by a despotic lord and inhabited by a scurvy bunch of villagers, none of whom are the slightest bit likeable.

Our principle characters are Marek and Jude, a deformed sheep farmer's son and his father. They're devout to the point of self-flagellation and believe suffering brings them to god.

That's good for them because there is a lot of suffering in this book. The village is beset by numerous natural disasters, murders, assaults by local bandits, cannibalistic tendencies, rapes and more.

Other residents are Villiam the despot in his manor above the village, and Ina the witch who becomes more scary as the book goes on.

This is not a realist novel. The fantasy elements mainly come through Ina the witch, who is impossibly old and has strange powers. A strong stomach is needed as Moshfegh does not shrink from describing all the putridness of the village and the villagers. The whole setup is broad and arguably 2 dimensional. This is almost the medieval village you would expect in a Monty Python skit.

The character's motivations make sense in the framework of this strange world she's created. I was repulsed and irresistibly drawn in simultaneously for much of the book. Her prose is simple and elegant (although she does seem to love the words Sheath and Pubis and maybe overuses them). There are no moral judgements or lessons to be gleaned from this book, and that is deliberate on the part of the writer. 

I adored this books and ploughed through it in a day. One of the quotes on the front cover describes it as "Provocative". That's certainly one of the most appropriate adjectives you can apply to this book. The reviews on Amazon and elsewhere are polarised to say the least. I'm adding my name to the positive side.  

I loved it unreservedly. This is yet another name to the Must Read More list.