Reviews with content warning for Rape - Matrix

This isn't the sort of book I would normally read. I came for the novelty of reading a book about queer nuns, and found myself increasingly interested in the runnings of the abbey and Marie's relationship to her faith.

I found that I had to really pay attention while reading this book, because each sentence was so gorgeously and meticulously crafted. The writing was different than anything I've ever read. I loved the way Groff would show and not tell, and I adored how the dialogue was done. Groff really captured the duality of the wealth and opulence and holiness of characters at the time alongside much dirt and gore, and using words like 'c*nt', 'p*ss' and 'sh*t'.

The only reason I'm not giving this book 5 stars is because there were times I had to reread a sentence over a few times before I understood it, and there was so much jargon I didn't understand (though, I also felt this added to the feeling of it being a Medieval book). Sometimes something really important would be hidden in a very long sentence filled with other things so that if your brain wasn't turned on you might miss it. When I didn't miss it however, I adored it.

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bookishmillennial's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

While this is a much slower paced and lyrical/poetic book than what I typically gravitate towards, I deeply appreciated the character development of the main character, Marie!

If you are interested in Lauren Groff's exploration of religion and queerness in a story about a French nun who empowers a poor nunnery in 1158, then this would be a good one to pick up but keep an open mind!

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thewritebooks's review against another edition

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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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yikeslou's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective slow-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? Yes

4.5

French mystic lesbian crusader warrior nun is a main character made SO specifically for me, a lesbian who studied the lais of Marie de France, female mysticism, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and Anglo-French religious history in uni. My god this book slapped. I finished it in two marathon readings because I couldn't put it down.

also I wanted Nest and Marie to end up together so bad once Marie had settled her pride later in life but ahhh it's fine

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water_and_shade's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective fast-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

4.0

A beautiful study on ambitious women, female friendship and love. The prose was stunning - several passages I went back and re-read because they were so lovely, lyrical and evocative without being abstract. Some of the religious content went over my head but it was nicely balanced and contextual, I enjoyed learning about this period of history as I know very little about it. The inhabitants of the Abbey were sensitively portrayed and I loved learning their quirks. Marie was a great protagonist - strong, ambitious, loving and flawed. Overall I enjoyed this a lot more than Fates and Furies, and would be keen to read more of Groff's work.

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eliya's review against another edition

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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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hollyweatherby's review against another edition

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Hard to work out what was actually happening because of the writing style

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