Reviews tagging 'Death'

Matrix by Lauren Groff

71 reviews

hodgeonlucy's review

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adventurous mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0


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rednikki's review against another edition

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dark sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

One recommendation in fiction – both books and film – is that "and then" storytelling is kind of boring, while "but – therefore" story is very interesting. This story starts with a but-therefore...and then most of the rest of it is "and then."

I generally bounce off books where all dialogue is paraphrased, but I was very interested in the period and the setting so I gave it a go. And man, I wish I had not. Most of the characters have very little personality, and they can be identified either by a skill or a deformity. (A couple of characters have Exactly One Quirk. Someone is very rude! Or someone is insane! Or someone is always very sweet! But only a few characters have a personality trait.) As a result, I mixed up the characters a lot.

The author lingered on gruesome death a lot. I get it, "it's 1183 and we're all barbarians!" (to quote The Lion in Winter), but it kind of felt like torture porn.

There were still interesting aspects to the book, and it would probably have been a 3.5 from me if it weren't for the last five pages.
The new abbess throws the old abbess's book of visions into the fire, and then (to paraphrase, just like the author does) a little cloud of smoke goes up and it adds to climate change, which in just over a thousand years turns the land to cinders and kills everyone. This is the second litfic book I've read this year that ends with "climate change, everyone dies." And BOY did it feel tacked on when it's a book set in the 12th century.
Are publishers now mandating that sort of ending or what?

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wipeout's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75


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fictionandfauna's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

 This book left me speechless. Truly. 
 
Matrix is the second novel by Lauren Groff that I have read, and following on from the masterpiece that was The Vaster Wilds, I was not sure what to expect as to whether she’d stay true to the style of TVW or whether Matrix would stand its own with a unique spin. 
 
Well, stand alone it sure does. 
 
As is true to Groff’s consistent theme of strong female characters thrust into harrowing situations, Matrix is, at times, difficult story to read. We follow Marie who is sent to live in a convent at the young age of 17 following the death of her royal mother. Marie is the byproduct of r*pe, and so is deeply shamed within her family. 
 
Initially resisting the abbey, she soon finds her element and begins to rise up through the ranks until she assumes the ultimate power of abbess and baroness to the crown. 
 
Marie is a powerful force to be reckoned with, who brings wealth and abundance to her women, but always at a price. 
 
Every decision she makes has an often fatal consequence, although ultimately benefiting the wider abbey. 
 
Groff is such a phenomenally talented, lyrical writer. Matrix took me on a visceral journey across the broad spectrum of emotion. From joy to anguish, I felt it all, right alongside Marie. 
 
The care and attention that Groff dedicates to researching her subject matter was abundantly clear in Matrix. It had me wondering if it was perhaps based on a true story because it felt so incredibly real and inspired. 
 
Groff’s work is not for the faint of heart and carries some heavy trigger warnings, so readers should take care. 

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flashandoutbreak's review against another edition

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hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25


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annie10's review against another edition

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challenging emotional inspiring mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5


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slinkmalink's review against another edition

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reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Not 100% what I'd normally read, but I enjoyed the accidental found family of it all, and the descriptions of the visions - particularly the one with the chicken

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patriciadm's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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kizzy's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5


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bookishmillennial's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
 While this is a much slower paced and lyrical/poetic book than what I typically gravitate towards, I deeply appreciated the character development of the main character, Marie!

If you are interested in Lauren Groff's exploration of religion and queerness in a story about a French nun who empowers a poor nunnery in 1158, then this would be a good one to pick up but keep an open mind! 

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