Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

Matrix by Lauren Groff

20 reviews

thewritebooks's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative 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

This read like a quiet masterpiece.

Immediately after finishing this, having cried through the last 15 pages, all I could think about was the beautiful way that all of the themes came together at the end to tell a story of life and loss. We travelled through the role of medieval women in the church, female solidarity and sisterhood, sapphic love and desire, the cycles of the seasons and the catholic calendar, power and greed and the sin of creation, followed by the moral weighting of these sins against these women's souls.

The prose was never dramatic, and by avoiding direct speech throughout, the author adds to the feeling of being another witness to the years marching onwards at the Abbey. The messages in this book were very close to my heart and I would be interested in going back with tabs to track and analyse those themes a bit more, having the hindsight now to see how well they were laid out.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Grief

Moderate: Bullying, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Child death, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual content, Rape, Violence, and Animal death

Minor: Classism, Excrement, Death of parent, and Dementia

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

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

careinthelibrary's review against another edition

emotional informative mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dementia, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Miscarriage, Animal death, Pregnancy, Child death, Death, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Cancer, Body shaming, Mental illness, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, War, Islamophobia, and Terminal illness

bronzeageholly's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Animal death, Grief, Violence, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Sexism, Rape, Sexual content, and Pregnancy

Minor: Bullying, Transphobia, Homophobia, and Cancer

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, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, and Sexism

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

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

5aru's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

A study in character with little plot and lots of vibes, Matrix is a deeply fascinating look into the life of a woman who learned to turn her strength into realized ambition, even through the limitations imposed upon her. Through this reinvented, little-known historical figure, Groff builds the image of a complex and fire-hearted woman through excellent, insightful writing. Driven by passion, Marie is consumed by visions of grandeur and a faith that goes against the grain of religious teachings; yet she is nonetheless guided in all things by the deep love that she learns to foster for her fellow abbey sisters — who, in turn, become sisters in much more than a mere title. The novel thus becomes a multi-faceted rendering of a community sheltered from the patriarchal, masculine world of the time, as well as of how womanhood and sisterhood grow within the confines of faith.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Animal death, and Miscarriage

Minor: Sexual violence and Sexism

sealreads's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

Definitely longer than it needed to be, but still an awesome book. Great commentary on trying to fit into patriarchal societies as a woman.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Animal death, Child death, Death, Miscarriage, and Misogyny

Moderate: Sexual assault and Violence

laurajeangrace's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pregnancy, Animal death, Death of parent, and Death

Minor: Violence, War, and Sexism

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

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

Minor: Violence

ciaomara's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad slow-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

Gonna be frank, this book is actually kind of a bummer. I think it was good, but I can’t say I  enjoyed myself while reading it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, and Cancer

Moderate: Sexual assault, War, Rape, and Sexism

Minor: Death of parent