Introduction

Lapvona is a small fiefdom in a past unbeknownst to us. Tragedy lurks and misfortune dwells among the people. Famine and drought leave the people near death. Ottessa Moshfegh created a fine piece of work with Lapvona. It is an evocative piece of art one would admire long after the end. I do not recommend this for the faint of heart as it is tremendously graphic and it includes violent acts. There may be spoilers in this post, if you want to give it a read yourself please read this post at another time.

The Second Waltz

This story reminds me of Dmitri Shostakovich’s The Second Waltz, Op. 99. It opens up with the accompaniment following a march-like time of 3/4. In Lapvona the people of the fiefdom are obedient to Lord Villiam similar to the accompaniment of the Waltz. Nothing and no one questions the lead even if they suffer. The melody enters with a delicate but definite alto saxophone leading its fate. Between the notes of the melody eerie and sinister twists await. The melody can be compared to the main character, Marek, the thirteen year old boy whose destiny will lead him down a road of unsettling events.

Dark origins

Agata was a young girl impregnated by her bandit brother. To ensure her silence, he cut her tongue out. She escaped his grasp and found herself in a forest, but freedom was only a dream out of reach. Human nature is cruel, sometimes like that of a predator catching a weak babe. The lamb-herder, Jude, found her and kidnapped her. Eventually she escaped him as well and hides in the church, but the unfortunate soul’s life does not end there.

Marek was born disfigured and has a strange element of masochism. Jude abuses Marek in different ways, but it seems to be pleasurable for Marek. Another immensely strange need for Marek is to suck on the breast of a woman. Marek may be longing for a mother, but he searches for it in his unusual manner. This he finds at Ina, the blind midwife of the village. He is under the impression that his mother died when she gave birth to him and Jude supports this by reminding Marek of the bloodstain that soaked into the floor. Life has its ways and along the line he may just cross paths with his mother.

Divine imagery

I commend Moshfegh for the hauntingly beautiful descriptions. There is a distinct originality in her creation of moments touching the reader like a dagger being swallowed by the flesh.

“He sprang from the cliff’s edge, pitched toward Marek, his face happy with fight, but his foot slipped - his new shoes were too slick - and he skidded backward and tried to catch his balance with one foot tensed on the broken root of a tree sticking out over the cliff, but he couldn't. He fell. He fell and said one word as he flew down through the air: ‘No!’ and Marek heard him land on the plateau below.
Had God seen? Marek looked around. The wind stilled for a moment, then stirred again. There were no cliff birds, no nests on the cliffs. Marek had lured Jacob up for nothing. A joke, he'd thought. The only birds who lived up so high were vultures. He took a step toward the cliff and peered over the edge. Jacob had landed on a stone outcropping. He lay on his side, as if in a casual repose, but as Marek squinted down he saw that a sphere of blood was widening across the rock like a halo around the boy's head.
'Help!' Jacob cried.
Marek couldn't move. The blood was black as sap” (pg. 57)

In this excerpt there is a romantic tone in the way she describes death. A horrific entrance into death portrayed as an ornamental event. It seems as if things are black and white but in context Mosfegh makes you question the true morality of circumstances.

Dwindling line

As I mentioned, the line between two contrasting concepts become vague in Lapvona.
Reality and magic? There is more to Ina than being a midwife and providing herbal remedies. She connects with nature and listens to its voice. Her soul is young, but her body experiences the effect of time.
Life and death? Death may be deliverance from a heavy life. The suffering of the people is no life to live. One man’s death may feed another man’s mouth. There are no boundaries in Lapvona.

Thank you for reading my review. Please be cautious if you want to read the book, but if you think you can handle it please do get yourself a copy. You won’t be disappointed!

The post is my own creation and the photographs were taken by either Hive account@fermentedphil's Nikon D300 camera or my iPhone. The quoted material is from the book itself and I hyperlinked the specific passage.