Fairy tale, grotesque, thriller. All this is “Lapvona”, the new book by Moshfegh

With My year of rest and oblivion, from 2018, had gone down in history as the prophet of the lockdown. Here she moves her dark human comedy away from the contemporary, into the dark Middle Ages. And she builds a world in which she would never want to live but from which she cannot detach herself

It comes out in Italy Lapvona, Ottessa Moshfegh’s new book (Boston, 1981), published here by Felitrinellicritically acclaimed author since her debut novel (Eileenfinalist at the Man Booker Prize 2016), super appreciated also for the short form (Longing for another world of 2017) and catapulted into widespread public success with My year of rest and oblivionfrom 2018, but gone down in history, and in TikTok memes, like the bible or better the prophecy of the Covid lockdowngiven that the protagonist is a rich, beautiful, fashionist but sad girl who decides to shut herself up at home and go to sleep for a year thanks to a cocktail of psychotropic drugs.