Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Matrix by Lauren Groff

7 reviews

gwenswoons's review against another edition

dark reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

A little hard to rate a book like this, which is objectively magnificent in the writing, masterful in every way, but which I didn’t actually enjoy reading. I’m in awe of Lauren Groff, to be sure — I buy absolutely everything, but this is actually only my second time reading a book of hers. The emotional difference between this and Fates and Furies (a real favorite of mine) is so enormous, but so too are the character differences, the sense of place and time, the entire pace and identity of the storytelling. Matrix is spectacularly executed but was just a hard/slow read for me in the intense ancient religious setting (though it’s not, of course, a book that places religion on a pedestal — Groff is too deeply an analyst and an intellectual for that), even though the characters are vivid and flawed and interesting. I think this book is totally remarkable for the writing itself, but that I’m not ultimately its best reader.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, War, and Classism

eliya's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

This book was a challenge for me. 
It took me 15h 21m technically, with the Libby app open whether or not I was actually reading. 

I’ve never read a historical fiction book for me, and the beginning was a little slow. Once it picked up, the pace ebbed and flowed, and, I began to appreciate how beautifully it is written. So many passages that I want to keep and remember forever, the word choice and the poetic cadence of Lauren’s Groff’s writing is best described by a friend of mine as “delicious.” absolutely. 

I love women and I’m so glad I read this book even though this book is way smarter than I will ever be. Gonna go finish weeping now. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death

Moderate: Child abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Cancer, Confinement, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, War, and Injury/Injury detail

deebee223's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Torture, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and War

Minor: Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, and Dementia

thecriticalreader's review against another edition

mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Review:

Admittedly, it took me nearly 200 pages to really start to get used to Matrix by Lauren Groff and its poetic, fluid, somewhat stream-of-consciousness writing style as well as its unique storyline that often produces more questions than answers. Even then, it was not until the end of the story that I fully appreciated the book for what it is. At the heart of the story is the character of Marie, an admirable but flawed nun whose ambition leads her to transform a starving, poor abbey into a magnificent, self-sustaining wealthy fortress. Marie’s character arc is wonderfully executed, and I appreciated the large cast of supporting characters as well.

 

My favorite part of Matrix, however, is its thematic exploration of religion, feminism, ambition, power, sapphic love, and humanity’s relationship with the natural world. This is the sort of book that I could read many times over and glean new meaning each time; it is the type of book that begs to be analyzed in a literature class. Groff trusts in the intelligence of her readers and never oversimplifies or hits the reader over the head in order to make her point.

 

 

 

The Run-Down: 

You will probably like Matrix if:

·      You go into the book with an open mind

·      You are someone who is interested in themes of religion and queerness

·      You enjoy poetic writing styles

 

You might not like Matrix if:

·      You dislike flowery writing and fluid plot structure

·      You prefer exciting plots and clear explanations for events

 

A Similar Book: 

This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladsone. Similarities between these books include:

·      Beautiful, lyrical, intelligent prose

·      Friend/enemy relationship between two strong women from different worlds

·      Themes of feminism, queerness and humanity’s relation to the natural world

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Cancer, Death, Miscarriage, Sexism, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Dementia, Grief, Pregnancy, and Classism

Minor: Animal cruelty, Homophobia, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Excrement, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and War

bookedbymadeline's review against another edition

challenging relaxing 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

4.5

I don’t usually like books that don’t use quotation marks because it confuses me and I end up rereading sentences. The writing and prose was beautiful; I have many passages marked! 

It could be a bit slow for my liking and the second half was harder to get through. I liked the references to Melusine, who I’ve heard about prior when reading other books about the war of the roses!

I thought the ending was really well done. Overall an enjoyable read that I devoured in three days despite being slow for my taste! I had read one of Geoff’s works earlier in the year and hated it so I’m happy I gave her a second chance. I’m curious now to see how I like her other works. Highly recommend if you like stories about powerful women challenging that status quo (especially in the world of religion)!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, and Torture

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Violence

cinnaminskies's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual assault, Torture, and Violence

Minor: Rape

ashareadsbooks's review against another edition

dark reflective tense 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Mental illness, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Blood, and Abandonment

Minor: Genocide, Torture, Dementia, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Lesbophobia, and War