Matrix
By Lauren Groff
- Release Date: 2021-09-07
- Genre: Literary Fiction
Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
WINNER OF THE 2022 JOYCE CAROL OATES PRIZE
FINALIST FOR THE 2021 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION
One of Barack Obama's Favorite Books of 2021
Named a Best Book of the Year by The New York Times, The Washington Post, TIME, NPR, The Financial Times, Good Housekeeping, Esquire, Vulture, Marie Claire, Vox, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today and more!
“A relentless exhibition of Groff’s freakish talent. In just over 250 pages, she gives us a character study to rival Hilary Mantel’s Thomas Cromwell .” – USA Today
“An electric reimagining . . . feminist, sensual . . . unforgettable.” – O, The Oprah Magazine
“Thrilling and heartbreaking.” –Time Magazine
“[A] page-by-page pleasure as we soar with her.” –New York Times
One of our best American writers, and author of Fates and Furies, The Vaster Wilds, and Brawler, Lauren Groff returns with this exhilarating and groundbreaking novel
Cast out of the royal court by Eleanor of Aquitaine, deemed too coarse and rough-hewn for marriage or courtly life, seventeen-year-old Marie de France is sent to England to be the new prioress of an impoverished abbey, its nuns on the brink of starvation and beset by disease.
At first taken aback by the severity of her new life, Marie finds focus and love in collective life with her singular and mercurial sisters. In this crucible, Marie steadily supplants her desire for family, for her homeland, for the passions of her youth with something new to her: devotion to her sisters, and a conviction in her own divine visions. Marie, born the last in a long line of women warriors and crusaders, is determined to chart a bold new course for the women she now leads and protects. But in a world that is shifting and corroding in frightening ways, one that can never reconcile itself with her existence, will the sheer force of Marie’s vision be bulwark enough?
Equally alive to the sacred and the profane, Matrix gathers currents of violence, sensuality, and religious ecstasy in a mesmerizing portrait of consuming passion, aberrant faith, and a woman that history moves both through and around. Lauren Groff’s new novel, her first since Fates and Furies, is a defiant and timely exploration of the raw power of female creativity in a corrupted world.
Reviews
Visions
4By Scott's take on thingsGreat book! Only wish actual dialogue had been used, instead of summaries of what was said.I’m left with tears
5By jackie rodzinskiFor here in lies the whole vision for humanity. It is holy most holy, the Word made flesh.An eloquent tale of life and loss
5By Shemp65A stunning assemblage of words and a beautiful lyric brought forth in the use of the language.Brilliantly written
5By lwegmannLoved the richness of this book, it’s hard to put down. Devoured it.Dull
3By GoCowboysSentences structure was beautiful at times. Just no real action at all. No real story, just not that interestingInspiring writing and content.
5By Science writerInspiringA struggle to finish
3By ChachalawyerI found myself skipping over sentences that made no sense, unfamiliar words, and not caring about a world I could barely visualize even after reading the entire book.Beautifully Written Prose for Lacking Plot
2By dfrankhauserI have to admit that I was really let down on this one. With such wonderful high praise publicly before it's release, I was thinking this was going to be a book that I was going to really latch onto. I am unfortunately pretty deeply disappointed with this one. Although the book does have its moments, there are far too many intricate passages with language that is so heightened with is overtly obscure words that there were moments I would sometimes have to go back and reread three pages of dialogue in order to understand what the one passage had actually meant. From there, I would become distracted, and have to reread it again. I couldn't help but wonder if this was the authors attempt at showing off her vast vocabulary for that reason. Groff I believe gets carried away in her own writing, so much though that it distracts away from the story. I almost believe it was a distraction for how little story there actually was. If there was a lack of verbosity this book likely could have been told in approximately 50 pages. If you are an absolute literature nut, this could be for you. For the common person, you might want to skip this one.Magic
5By a fine lineIncendiary.The worst Lauren Groff book I’ve read
2By japaprI am a fan of Lauren Groff and so bought this book based on my earlier readings of her work. Matrix s banal and poorly written and, I guess, an homage to a fictional/actual abbess, Marie. The story is so over the top as to be a caricature of convent life - the nuns are drawn as 1 dimensional characters who somehow accomplish the impossible. It’s just ridiculous.Not bad, not great
3By juliusaHalfway through this read it started becoming rather dull. Beautifully told at times, but if ten treacle and overwrought. A good idea but not that moving. Could have been better. It rushes through time, and I mean really rushes, and you have no clue along the way how Marie accomplished all she did. Makes little sense. Not really recommended.
