Reviews tagging 'Murder'

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.

---

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

thewolvesread's review against another edition

inspiring 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

5.0

 5 stars to a book about a nun's life? Welp, I think I can safely say that I will love anything Lauren Groff writes.  I was absolutely transported to this abbey in this book. I really loved it. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Murder, and Pregnancy

rednikki's review against another edition

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?

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Dementia, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and War

edamamebean's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Probably the best book I’ll read all year. It’s small in scale—never leaving the abbey—but it’s proportions are mythic. The writing is so beautiful that I had to stop and underline often. Lauren Groff is not only a good writer, she’s also a wise one. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Dementia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

msjenne's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Cancer, Child death, Death, Sexism, Sexual content, Blood, Dementia, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Confinement, Rape, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

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

---

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

caseythereader's review

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad 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

4.5

Thanks to Riverhead Books for the free advance copy of this book.

- MATRIX is gorgeous, painful, and powerful. Groff's writing carries you along its current through Marie's ups and downs, power grabs and moments of softness.
- This book is an ode to matriarchy, female friendship and sapphic love, and how these support systems propel us through even the bleakest of times.
- Though at times the poetry of the writing felt like it kept the reader at a remove, I still felt deeply for these women, cheering their victories and mourning their losses with them. Even if you know next to nothing about Marie de France or Eleanor of Aquitane (as I did not) this book is still quite engrossing. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and War