Reviews

Matrix: A Novel by Lauren Groff

jessniu88's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This was my first book by Lauren Groff and will not be my last. A different type of book for me, but captivating. I loved it.

isaharris's review against another edition

challenging reflective slow-paced

3.75

A beautifully written exploration of medieval women in all their complexity. It does not shy away from the more unfamiliar aspects of medieval life, blood lines and god and the church. A little too floating and prose heavy for me. 

khornstein1's review against another edition

4.0

Read like poetry or a vision. Moved a bit too quickly through time for me.

c_from_marrs's review against another edition

mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

emma_cel's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

4.0

michalow's review against another edition

4.0

Lauren Groff's lush, evocative writing managed to immerse me immediately in the distant, richly imagined world of this book. I found that most of the secondary characters in the story blurred together for me, but Marie and her trajectory through the novel were beautifully portrayed.

minnettie's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

naomi_fearnon's review against another edition

3.0

I loved the idea of this book, but unfortunately in practice it was a really hard read.

I thought this book’s main strength was in its depiction of the abbey as an institution; underscoring that institutions are run by people and not by divine intervention. What frustrates me however was how we went from her lowest point (more or less suicidal) to then overnight taking over the abbey entirely and fixing it in such a short space of time, when it had been crumbling at the seems prior. We didn’t move with her, it’s like we were given snippets from the end results of a few poignant events.

What this did make me realise though is that I just don't get on with Groff's writing on a sentence-by-sentence level; I find it very laboured and there's just no build up or climax to it for me for me. This was a bit of a chore to get through honestly, which is odd to say as it's such a short book! I admire completely what Groff was trying to do with this book, but it didn’t work for me :(

stefs1974's review

adventurous challenging emotional funny inspiring fast-paced

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

4.0

abbeybt's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0