katiep481's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
gsellers's review against another edition
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
3.75
lilibuus's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Loved this book so so much! It makes me want to build a community with frienda and loved ones of my own, and have a garden.
hopechristmann's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
pelicantown's review against another edition
3.0
I feel like I need to re-read to pull apart my mixed feelings about the novel. I liked: deeply researched, immersive, compelling story. I liked less: quantity of underdeveloped characters, some plot threads that were difficult to keep track of, narrator that was oddly selectively omniscient, an ending that peters out unsatisfactorily. Other things to note: read with a dictionary close by!
I think I got so hooked more because I’m a sucker for medieval historical fiction, and because of the unexpected plot, than because of the writing or execution. That being said, I finished it in just a few days. Give it a try.
I think I got so hooked more because I’m a sucker for medieval historical fiction, and because of the unexpected plot, than because of the writing or execution. That being said, I finished it in just a few days. Give it a try.
shewritesinmargins's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.5
summyrenea's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars- I had no idea that a story about 12th-century Benedictine nuns could feel so wholly human and relatable. The writing is superb, and there are truth nuggets about power, womanhood, aging, death, and relationships that transcend setting. My criticism is that it felt episodic, which isn’t a surprise from a short story writer. The overall arc of the story is beautiful as well.
600bars's review against another edition
4.0
OMg i just realized i should start TL;DRing my reviews when they are super long idk why I havent been doing this all along ok beginning now: tl;dr Matrix is about jacked lesbian mystical nuns in the 1100s & shows what happens when you girlboss way too close to the sun but your wings do not melt! it is nearly a critique of wanting to top the hierarchy to escape oppression rather than dismantling the hierarchy itself, but it ultimately comes off as an endorsement of that tactic which is why I took a star off when I really really enjoyed it.
(I don't need a book to align with my personal politics to think it's good, but the book itself seemed to be going that way and then didn't)
I’m in my Nun Era, because I watched Black Narcissus and listened to the podcast “the turning”. SO when I saw that Lauren Groff had a new book out about nuns I was so excited! Fates n Furies was a wild experience, I can’t even say if I liked it or not, but what I will say is that it was memorable. I remember scenes and general plot and takeaways from most novels I read, but after a few months I probably will not remember the names of characters. More than a year later I still remember Lancelotto and Matilda and Cholli very vividly. So there’s something to be said for that!
I had those princess diary books (the historical ones, not The Princess Daries) and I remember loving the one about Eleanor of Aquitane as a kid. Beyond that, I don’t know too much about her. While I was reading I assumed Marie was fictional and based off figures like Hildegard of Bingen and Julian of Norwich (I later looked them up and Julian was a few centuries later than the events of this book, Hildegard would've been a contemporary tho). Those two gals are big sellers at my work. I listened to some Hildegard tracks while reading and they were bangers! I am not someone who usually listens to music while reading but in this case I highly recommend her for setting the mood. I didn’t know Marie was a real figure until 2 seconds ago when I saw a review here say so, and I haven’t done a deep dive yet so I don’t have anything to say about differences from historical accuracy.
These mystics make me wonder why didn’t every girl who was accused of witchcraft just say she was having holy visions? Smh fumbling the bag! The book makes the point that the line between women doing dark magic and women doing holy god’s work magic is veeeerrryy thin and mostly depends on public opinion, which is why Marie was so careful to control the rumor mill.
Summary for memory purposes (skip this paragraph for spoilers):
Matrix is about a nun, Marie, who is of large stature. She’s distantly related to the crown via rape and is raised among her aunts. She is in love with Eleanor of Aquitane. At 17 she is sent to an abbey. Over the course of the book she goes from self pity and hating her life to accepting her lot and vowing to make the absolute best of her situation. Marie thrives! She rises through the ranks to run the whole place like a well oiled machine, earning respect both within her abbey and throughout the land. Eventually she ascends so much she becomes a bit megalomaniacal. Marie has holy visions that are always about infrastructure, lol. The first thing she does is reorganize the place. Previously the abbey had everyone doing the jobs that they were the worst at because god loves suffering. Marie realizes how stupid this is and chooses to use everyone’s strength to their max potential. Her first vision tells her that they need to build an elaborate labyrinth, keeping the abbey isolated (specifically keeping men out). The nuns build and become physically strong in the process. At this point in the book I was like this is the best book ever, we have nuns getting so swole and muscled from all the hard work and they’re all gay and they’re building an isolated lesbian nun utopia where everyone is jacked and works on honing their crafts all day. The second vision is to build a series of buildings to create a school for young women and retirement quarters for noble ladies. The third is to build a dam to reroute some waterways.
Marie is kindof the ultimate girlboss who shows us the limitations of liberal feminism. Though Marie’s misandry is one of her primary motivators, her dominion over nature was just the kind of fucked up thing a man would do! Marie reinterprets the creation story of Eve being made out of Adam’s ribs. To her, this doesn’t mean that women are lesser, but that women are new and improved. They are Human 2.0: Better This Time. But before the rib situation, Adam went and named all the animals in order to fit them into categories where they could be more easily subjugated. On p 135 Marie is thinking about how awesome the Labyrinth is and how she secretly wants her name to be remembered through time (prideful smh). “She believes she has been released from her sins. What she does not see behind her is the disturbance her nuns have left in the forest, the families of squirrels, of dormice, of voles, of stoats who have been chased in disturbance from their homes…She sees only the human stamp upon the place. She considers it good” . Much later in the book on page 215, when the nuns are building the dam, there is a similar paragraph where the last living salamander of its species dies because its habitat is destroyed. Marie looks around at her handiwork after both these projects and feels Godlike. This is all man behavior! Playing God and destroying nature and believing that that is a good thing. Marie is an example of the type of feminism that just wants to take the place of men and do exactly what they do but with girls in charge rather than to have a complete upheaval that changes the way all beings relate to each other. Marie just wants to be in charge the way a man is, she doesn’t want to undo hierarchy.
There was another moment very early on where Marie marvels at the Roman aqueducts. Crazy that those were ancient to people 1000 years ago too. Again w the aqueducts we are shown Marie’s admiration of infrastructure projects that dominate nature. This made me want Mother Nature to have some big comeuppance, but I also really liked Marie and was rooting for her success and didn’t want her hubris to catch up to her. She was successful in being remembered after her death and being larger than life, just like the aqueducts and just like a saint.
I am charmed by Lauren Groffs little “but but but” and “oh”s here, they annoyed me in Fates and Furies but worked for me here I can’t explain why!
Marie was not very religious/spiritual for a nun, she was mostly using her role as one she could wield power through. I liked this because while I am interested in theology, I am more interested in castle politics and intrigue. Marie was a master politician and truly understood how to acquire, maintain, and wield power. The moment when she took care of the beautiful baby mystic situation (she was forming a cult of personality that threatened to diminish Marie’s hold on everyone) was GENIUS! (she appoints her as the head of a leper colony: it's a “great honor” but she knew the girl would haaate her life, but couldn't turn down such an "honor").
This book had the perfect amount of sexual content. Perfect amount of overarching politics and power struggle. And great character development on the part of Marie. I also love things set in this time period. I did have some trouble with the ultimate meaning– I felt that a great deal of emphasis was placed on the ways in which Marie was using “Male” tactics to get her feminist lesbian nun utopia going, so I was thinking we may head toward tragedy and that the book would be a critique of what happens when you use the masters tools to dismantle the masters house. But ultimately Marie gets what she wants and stays in power and the abbey continues on after her and there’s no cosmic/gaian retribution. Great book tho!!
(I don't need a book to align with my personal politics to think it's good, but the book itself seemed to be going that way and then didn't)
I’m in my Nun Era, because I watched Black Narcissus and listened to the podcast “the turning”. SO when I saw that Lauren Groff had a new book out about nuns I was so excited! Fates n Furies was a wild experience, I can’t even say if I liked it or not, but what I will say is that it was memorable. I remember scenes and general plot and takeaways from most novels I read, but after a few months I probably will not remember the names of characters. More than a year later I still remember Lancelotto and Matilda and Cholli very vividly. So there’s something to be said for that!
I had those princess diary books (the historical ones, not The Princess Daries) and I remember loving the one about Eleanor of Aquitane as a kid. Beyond that, I don’t know too much about her. While I was reading I assumed Marie was fictional and based off figures like Hildegard of Bingen and Julian of Norwich (I later looked them up and Julian was a few centuries later than the events of this book, Hildegard would've been a contemporary tho). Those two gals are big sellers at my work. I listened to some Hildegard tracks while reading and they were bangers! I am not someone who usually listens to music while reading but in this case I highly recommend her for setting the mood. I didn’t know Marie was a real figure until 2 seconds ago when I saw a review here say so, and I haven’t done a deep dive yet so I don’t have anything to say about differences from historical accuracy.
These mystics make me wonder why didn’t every girl who was accused of witchcraft just say she was having holy visions? Smh fumbling the bag! The book makes the point that the line between women doing dark magic and women doing holy god’s work magic is veeeerrryy thin and mostly depends on public opinion, which is why Marie was so careful to control the rumor mill.
Summary for memory purposes (skip this paragraph for spoilers):
Matrix is about a nun, Marie, who is of large stature. She’s distantly related to the crown via rape and is raised among her aunts. She is in love with Eleanor of Aquitane. At 17 she is sent to an abbey. Over the course of the book she goes from self pity and hating her life to accepting her lot and vowing to make the absolute best of her situation. Marie thrives! She rises through the ranks to run the whole place like a well oiled machine, earning respect both within her abbey and throughout the land. Eventually she ascends so much she becomes a bit megalomaniacal. Marie has holy visions that are always about infrastructure, lol. The first thing she does is reorganize the place. Previously the abbey had everyone doing the jobs that they were the worst at because god loves suffering. Marie realizes how stupid this is and chooses to use everyone’s strength to their max potential. Her first vision tells her that they need to build an elaborate labyrinth, keeping the abbey isolated (specifically keeping men out). The nuns build and become physically strong in the process. At this point in the book I was like this is the best book ever, we have nuns getting so swole and muscled from all the hard work and they’re all gay and they’re building an isolated lesbian nun utopia where everyone is jacked and works on honing their crafts all day. The second vision is to build a series of buildings to create a school for young women and retirement quarters for noble ladies. The third is to build a dam to reroute some waterways.
Marie is kindof the ultimate girlboss who shows us the limitations of liberal feminism. Though Marie’s misandry is one of her primary motivators, her dominion over nature was just the kind of fucked up thing a man would do! Marie reinterprets the creation story of Eve being made out of Adam’s ribs. To her, this doesn’t mean that women are lesser, but that women are new and improved. They are Human 2.0: Better This Time. But before the rib situation, Adam went and named all the animals in order to fit them into categories where they could be more easily subjugated. On p 135 Marie is thinking about how awesome the Labyrinth is and how she secretly wants her name to be remembered through time (prideful smh). “She believes she has been released from her sins. What she does not see behind her is the disturbance her nuns have left in the forest, the families of squirrels, of dormice, of voles, of stoats who have been chased in disturbance from their homes…She sees only the human stamp upon the place. She considers it good” . Much later in the book on page 215, when the nuns are building the dam, there is a similar paragraph where the last living salamander of its species dies because its habitat is destroyed. Marie looks around at her handiwork after both these projects and feels Godlike. This is all man behavior! Playing God and destroying nature and believing that that is a good thing. Marie is an example of the type of feminism that just wants to take the place of men and do exactly what they do but with girls in charge rather than to have a complete upheaval that changes the way all beings relate to each other. Marie just wants to be in charge the way a man is, she doesn’t want to undo hierarchy.
There was another moment very early on where Marie marvels at the Roman aqueducts. Crazy that those were ancient to people 1000 years ago too. Again w the aqueducts we are shown Marie’s admiration of infrastructure projects that dominate nature. This made me want Mother Nature to have some big comeuppance, but I also really liked Marie and was rooting for her success and didn’t want her hubris to catch up to her. She was successful in being remembered after her death and being larger than life, just like the aqueducts and just like a saint.
I am charmed by Lauren Groffs little “but but but” and “oh”s here, they annoyed me in Fates and Furies but worked for me here I can’t explain why!
Marie was not very religious/spiritual for a nun, she was mostly using her role as one she could wield power through. I liked this because while I am interested in theology, I am more interested in castle politics and intrigue. Marie was a master politician and truly understood how to acquire, maintain, and wield power. The moment when she took care of the beautiful baby mystic situation (she was forming a cult of personality that threatened to diminish Marie’s hold on everyone) was GENIUS! (she appoints her as the head of a leper colony: it's a “great honor” but she knew the girl would haaate her life, but couldn't turn down such an "honor").
This book had the perfect amount of sexual content. Perfect amount of overarching politics and power struggle. And great character development on the part of Marie. I also love things set in this time period. I did have some trouble with the ultimate meaning– I felt that a great deal of emphasis was placed on the ways in which Marie was using “Male” tactics to get her feminist lesbian nun utopia going, so I was thinking we may head toward tragedy and that the book would be a critique of what happens when you use the masters tools to dismantle the masters house. But ultimately Marie gets what she wants and stays in power and the abbey continues on after her and there’s no cosmic/gaian retribution. Great book tho!!
killerpancake's review against another edition
I'm just not in the mood for this atm
gingertxranger's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5