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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
Thoughtful and smart writing, does a lot to problematize the ways women are characterized in contemporary fiction. Still, the second half seemed rushed and Mathilde didn't feel fully formed to me. By the end of the book, I didn't care much for Lotto or Mathilde, but wasn't rooting against either of them. Maybe Groff takes the pessimist's view of marriage: two extremely flawed people hiding from each other who probably deserve each other? Dunno.
Este livro é sobre Lotto e Mathilde, ele um dramaturgo de renome, ela, a mulher que lhe dá força. Lotto domina a primeira parte (Destinos) e Mathilde, a segunda (Fúrias), nas quais acompanhamos a sua vida da infância à morte.
Há um claro desequilíbrio entre as partes, tanto no enredo como na velocidade a que as coisas acontecem. Estava prestes a decidir largar o livro quando a coisa se tornou interessante, mas mesmo assim não foi uma leitura agradável.
Não foi só o desequilíbrio entre as duas partes que me desagradou. As personagens não são nada cativantes, os acontecimentos bastante inverosímeis, algumas personagens metidas a custo só para justificar certas experiências e a prosa da autora é demasiado rebuscada e petulante.
Nao sei o que viram Obama e Ferrante para terem recomendado este livro, mas eu estou claramente do lado das pessoas que preferiam não o ter lido.
Há um claro desequilíbrio entre as partes, tanto no enredo como na velocidade a que as coisas acontecem. Estava prestes a decidir largar o livro quando a coisa se tornou interessante, mas mesmo assim não foi uma leitura agradável.
Não foi só o desequilíbrio entre as duas partes que me desagradou. As personagens não são nada cativantes, os acontecimentos bastante inverosímeis, algumas personagens metidas a custo só para justificar certas experiências e a prosa da autora é demasiado rebuscada e petulante.
Nao sei o que viram Obama e Ferrante para terem recomendado este livro, mas eu estou claramente do lado das pessoas que preferiam não o ter lido.
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Furies made me enjoy this book. The fates were harder to get through.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Trafficking, Grief
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Pregnancy
Minor: Animal cruelty, Child death, Rape, Car accident, Abortion, Fire/Fire injury
So underwhelmed by this. I was so excited and then half the time her verbose language mixed with unlikeable characters just made me think "what the hell am I reading??"
I admit I wanted to know what happened to them and somehow was compelled to finish it but I also accompanied it by many eye rolls. A few unique literary elements were not enough to make me fall head over heals for this but I also seem to be in the minority when it comes to that opinion.
I admit I wanted to know what happened to them and somehow was compelled to finish it but I also accompanied it by many eye rolls. A few unique literary elements were not enough to make me fall head over heals for this but I also seem to be in the minority when it comes to that opinion.
I needed someone else to push me through to finish this book , but I'm so glad I did! It started off slow and uncomfortable; however, the way the author weaves the stories and perspective with her own distinct writing style and the different voices of the two main characters was very impressive. I became way more invested than I expected. Mathilde's story was chilling, but I enjoyed how the author showed specs of warmth.
If Lauren Groff was doing her best imitation of the misogynistic, self-satisfied, overeducated and underdeveloped white, male, NYC authors that tend to win awards, I have to applaud her - this book is indistinguishable from the critically acclaimed drivel they produce.
The idea of this book - that it explores the two sides of a marriage, first with the POV of the gregarious, charismatic husband and then to his behind-the-scenes wife - is compelling. And in the hands of a better author, it could be brilliant. One critic called this a "literary [b:Gone Girl|19288043|Gone Girl|Gillian Flynn|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1554086139l/19288043._SY75_.jpg|13306276]" but Gone Girl had an effective grasp of characters and language. This is an overwrought mess.
This book suffers from such purple prose as: "Like carp, the loved ones surfaced, mouthing the air around her face before sinking deep again." And a high amount of awkward, designed to be shocking/gross lines such as: "The girls shrieked, their summer dresses clinging to their beautiful skin. Tender. Moist. He could eat them all."
I am often amazed by the soap opera plot points that are found in literary fiction. It's no different than what is found in a mass market thriller or "women's fiction" but if it's wrapped up in flowery prose and sprinkled with literary/classical allusions, it is somehow "daring" and "expansive." It feels like most of these soap opera elements are done to shock the audience - a young artist more focused on being avant garde than producing actual art. The worst part is probably the casual pedophilia that is tossed in. For example, Lancelot "Lotto's" beloved drama teacher thinks the only appropriate response to finding his 15-year-old student grieving is to give him a blowjob. Groff, of course, adorns sexual assault on a child in poetic terms, and then utterly fails to explore the effect on Lotto's psyche that this would cause. Why is literary fiction so often obsessed with the sexuality of young people, especially when preyed upon by older people (Mathilde in this novel is also subjected to the predation of an older man)? And why is it always portrayed as a liberating experience? This is not solely on Groff - it seems to be an accepted part of the genre.
The very, very worst part of the book, though, is it is tedious and shallow.
The idea of this book - that it explores the two sides of a marriage, first with the POV of the gregarious, charismatic husband and then to his behind-the-scenes wife - is compelling. And in the hands of a better author, it could be brilliant. One critic called this a "literary [b:Gone Girl|19288043|Gone Girl|Gillian Flynn|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1554086139l/19288043._SY75_.jpg|13306276]" but Gone Girl had an effective grasp of characters and language. This is an overwrought mess.
This book suffers from such purple prose as: "Like carp, the loved ones surfaced, mouthing the air around her face before sinking deep again." And a high amount of awkward, designed to be shocking/gross lines such as: "The girls shrieked, their summer dresses clinging to their beautiful skin. Tender. Moist. He could eat them all."
I am often amazed by the soap opera plot points that are found in literary fiction. It's no different than what is found in a mass market thriller or "women's fiction" but if it's wrapped up in flowery prose and sprinkled with literary/classical allusions, it is somehow "daring" and "expansive." It feels like most of these soap opera elements are done to shock the audience - a young artist more focused on being avant garde than producing actual art. The worst part is probably the casual pedophilia that is tossed in. For example, Lancelot "Lotto's" beloved drama teacher thinks the only appropriate response to finding his 15-year-old student grieving
Spoiler
upon finding a classmate's dead body after a suicideThe very, very worst part of the book, though, is it is tedious and shallow.
I was rolling my eyes at this book for the first 200 pages. I persevered based on a friend's recommendation and definitely became more interested as we learn more about Mathilde. I think the flip the script of this relationship was interesting, however I wish that Groff had not relied so much on scandal to bring life to her female character. Overall, (most) of the prose enraptured me enough to keep me going, and I ended up happy that I finished the book. If anything, it reminded me of just how complicated our relationships can become.
Atrocious. Date I start off my review in the one-word style of the author? Yes!
Lauren Groff's "Fates and Furies" is truly an overrated, pretentious waste of paper and time.
Other reviewers have selected examples of said awful writing, but i find that there are far too many poorly written sentences to list them here given the character limit.
I shall stop here as the time spent reading even the first three pages could have been used doing a million, more j teetering things.
Lauren Groff's "Fates and Furies" is truly an overrated, pretentious waste of paper and time.
Other reviewers have selected examples of said awful writing, but i find that there are far too many poorly written sentences to list them here given the character limit.
I shall stop here as the time spent reading even the first three pages could have been used doing a million, more j teetering things.
This is a tough one to review. I'm not sure what made me pick up this book. I was in a bit of a slump and wanted to read something- something with character and that screamed adult fiction. Fates and Furies was both of those things.
I had no idea what the premise of this novel was. Even when I marked it on here as "currently reading," I didn't want to read the summary. Why? Not sure. There was a unique quality about the book that pulled me along; it wasn't because I was falling in love with the story and characters, just a strange pull that tugged at me. This is a story of a marriage; one that stresses on there always being two sides to every story. A union that was always infused with hidden truths, hurtful paths and yet a strong otherworldly love. A love that went beyond infatuation and lust- one that came to represent home in all its dark, tangled mess.
The first half of the book is titled Fates and is told from Lotto's POV, while the second half is "Furies" and is from Mathilde's POV. It's a juxtaposition of light vs. dark, good vs. evil. Yet, life is never that black and white, is it?
I'm really glad I finished this. I think I've been craving this style of writing. Still not quite sure if it's completely my cup of tea, but nevertheless poignant and powerful on its own.
I had no idea what the premise of this novel was. Even when I marked it on here as "currently reading," I didn't want to read the summary. Why? Not sure. There was a unique quality about the book that pulled me along; it wasn't because I was falling in love with the story and characters, just a strange pull that tugged at me. This is a story of a marriage; one that stresses on there always being two sides to every story. A union that was always infused with hidden truths, hurtful paths and yet a strong otherworldly love. A love that went beyond infatuation and lust- one that came to represent home in all its dark, tangled mess.
The first half of the book is titled Fates and is told from Lotto's POV, while the second half is "Furies" and is from Mathilde's POV. It's a juxtaposition of light vs. dark, good vs. evil. Yet, life is never that black and white, is it?
I'm really glad I finished this. I think I've been craving this style of writing. Still not quite sure if it's completely my cup of tea, but nevertheless poignant and powerful on its own.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced