Struggling through Ottessa Moshfegh’s Lapvona (three times — that’s how much I searched for a redeeming feature) left me wishing that no one would ever write, read or review another novel ever again. Unremitting in its grimness, flagrant in its arbitrary violence and adamant in its refusal to grant any narrative satisfaction, Lapvona manages to transform the novel form into a decadent, self-loathing indulgence. And in a way, that is an achievement. Moshfegh has form in this respect.
Her Booker-shortlisted Eileen featured a protagonist with poor personal hygiene and a penchant for laxatives, while the TikTok sensation My Year of Rest and Relaxation followed a wealthy young woman who deals with a sense of ennui by drugging herself to sleep for a year. Adored by
