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erica_palmisano's review against another edition
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
4.5
Gorgeous language, a fascinating period, and amazing characterization. The narrator was topnotch, and u recommend the audiobook.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Lesbophobia
Minor: Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, and War
mc860's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
Not for me. Never understood the point of the novel.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Cancer, Child death, Death, and Death of parent
rachaelmaris's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
This was really beautifully written though at times I felt like it was a bit slow-moving and a bit ponderous. It takes awhile to catch on that the slow evolution of the main character and her relationship to the other nuns in the convent is the point. There is no interiority for the characters, and the dialogue is written as reported speech (formatted without quotations) which is effective but a little strange at first. Feel a little bad that we never really get to know why Marie loves Eleanor so much. Cecily makes a lot more sense.
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death
serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
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
4.0
Matrix is a feminist imagining of the life of Marie de France. At the age of 17, being unattractive, illegitimate and therefore inconvenient, she was sent from the French court to an impoverished English abbey. Once she overcomes her unwillingness, resentment and bitterness she sets about trying to improve the lot of herself and the nuns. Over time the abbey becomes self-sufficient and then prosperous and Marie herself rises to the position of Head Abbess.
The novel follows Marie from the age of 17 to her death at the age of 72 and is a fascinating, yet subtle and nuanced character study, with the author being content to leave much to the reader’s interpretation. Marie was a complex and contradictory character, a talented and competent leader, but also increasingly ambitious and prideful. Were her visions genuine or were they a means for her to achieve her goals? Was the labyrinth she had constructed necessary to protect the community from outside attack, or a way of shielding herself from scrutiny? How did she balance taking Mass and hearing confessions herself with what that meant for the souls of the women she cared for? By ignoring the mores of the surrounding society and the dictates of the Catholic Church she risked destroying all she had built. I found such contradictions and moral ambiguity fascinating.
I also loved the insights into the workings of the abbey in the twelfth century and seeing how it could offer freedom rather than constraint and repression for women. Freedom from enforced gender roles and the risk of sexual assault. There was space for every woman whether her talents lay in the piggery or bakery, helping with the physical tasks of engineering projects or illuminating manuscripts. And of course the absence of men widened the vista of female love - platonic, romantic and sexual.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Death, and Sexism
prettiestwhistles's review against another edition
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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Terminal illness
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Misogyny, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Minor: Islamophobia and Dementia
literarylion's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-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
3.75
Pros:
- A unique and refreshing take on historical fiction, especially medieval historical fiction
- Strong character development
- Groff's grasp of medieval verbiage and phrasing is precise but not overwhelming to the point of seeming cheap
Cons:
- Extremely slow; frustratingly so at times
- The pacing and structure are a bit muddied; I wasn't clear on what separated each section from the next
- Pretty dense
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Body shaming, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Sexism, Blood, Dementia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, War, and Classism
Minor: Rape and Alcohol
unabridgedchick's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
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
4.0
I love stories about nuns and forgotten women of history, so a Lauren Groff novel about Marie de France seemed a no brainer. And it was great -- totally captivating -- but such an extended fancy I'm baffled why Groff picked Marie de France to be the figure at the heart of the story.
As a novel about medieval, 12th century monastic life for women, it's brilliant. Groff's narrative style -- a kind of wooden, present-tense, third person that ends up suiting the story, with the rigidity and distance from us in time -- paints vibrantly what life at this once blessed-or-bewitched convent would be like. How a smart, ambitious woman might make lemonade out of lemons. But to imagine it would be how the historical Marie de France -- a figure so unknown to us that scholars can't agree who it might be -- ended up living her life felt a bit like a bait and switch. Marie de France's poetry figures in quite early in the story, and then disappears completely; the rich story that unfolds could genuinely have figured for anyone especially since it articulates the history of a royal abbey we never learn the name of, an abbey that grows to mythic grandeur that it too can't be truly historical.
Still, I liked this book, especially when I stopped trying to search for a poet and lyricist in the pages. I adore novels of nuns and convents, of mystics and abbesses, and this joined the list of those books. An easy read, mostly, with passages tangled and rich with images.
As a novel about medieval, 12th century monastic life for women, it's brilliant. Groff's narrative style -- a kind of wooden, present-tense, third person that ends up suiting the story, with the rigidity and distance from us in time -- paints vibrantly what life at this once blessed-or-bewitched convent would be like. How a smart, ambitious woman might make lemonade out of lemons. But to imagine it would be how the historical Marie de France -- a figure so unknown to us that scholars can't agree who it might be -- ended up living her life felt a bit like a bait and switch. Marie de France's poetry figures in quite early in the story, and then disappears completely; the rich story that unfolds could genuinely have figured for anyone especially since it articulates the history of a royal abbey we never learn the name of, an abbey that grows to mythic grandeur that it too can't be truly historical.
Still, I liked this book, especially when I stopped trying to search for a poet and lyricist in the pages. I adore novels of nuns and convents, of mystics and abbesses, and this joined the list of those books. An easy read, mostly, with passages tangled and rich with images.
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death and Sexual assault
sarahna's review against another edition
hopeful
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Grief, Pregnancy, and Lesbophobia
arkierose's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death, Sexism, and Religious bigotry
imrereads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
Wow. I didn't expect to fall so utterly in love with this books. While it at times is almost painfully slow paced, it is so beautifully written and I found myself enthralled in the story of Marie. I'll be thinking about her for a long time. Warmly recommended.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body shaming, Death, Sexism, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Child death and Rape