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go1ds's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
1) marie de france is used as more as a background than an actual character. lauren groff uses more specifcally marie the abbess of shaftebury as inspiration which makes sense because around this time the abbey there was extremely wealthy
2) about 100 pages in i realized that the point of this isnt to be historically accurate (though you can tell the author put in an enourmous amount of research into this) but its more like a mythological tale. this book isnt neccessirly about christianity by christian mysticism and how that was used by marie for power and interpreted by the nuns around her
3) i read the book of margery kempe a couple of years ago and i think that accidentally prepared me to love this book because its written in a very somewhat simialr style so i wasnt put off by that
anyways i love this book
Moderate: Rape and Death
erica_palmisano's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Misogyny, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Lesbophobia
Minor: Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual violence, and War
spacewhombus's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
If you liked The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave, then you would like this-and vice versa!!! They both have the medieval setting with a community of women trying to survive on their own while helping and loving each other.
And if you are a fan of stories that span a character's whole life, you will probably like this too (along the lines of The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert, or A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende). The cast of women includes so many characters, each unique and with their own special skills. There was also a lovely variety of relationships among the women, from sister, rival, sexual, mother, teacher, etc.
The main story follows the rise of Marie from an unwilling nun into head abbess with a lasting legacy in the abbey itself but also in the land and community surrounding it. I lovedddd reading the small details of life in the 1100s-1200s, especially regarding how they built certain things!
The only reason I won't give five stars is just because it wasn't toooo enthralling by the end, because Marie ascended to somewhat of a saint status and I lost any personal connection with her, and her abbey grew in size so much and over such large jumps in time that I also started to lose touch with the other characters.
Overall a refreshing read, and a unique story that I have never encountered before. So go read this and then go daydream about living on a farm with women forever!
Minor: Violence and Rape
literarylion's review against another edition
- 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
- 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
- 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
Moderate: Animal death, Cancer, Chronic illness, Blood, Body shaming, Child death, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Grief, Lesbophobia, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Sexism, and War
Minor: Alcohol and Rape
imrereads's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Body shaming, Sexism, Death, Religious bigotry, and Animal death
Moderate: Child death and Rape
balth_the_chaotic_good's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Violence, Vomit, and War
sincerelyleah's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Child death, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Sexism, and Violence
Moderate: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Grief, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, and War
elizabethfisher1's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.5
Minor: Rape
minbyrnes's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
I’ve never read a book without quotation marks to denote dialogue - this was my first one. And I don’t like it 😂
I liked Marie’s relationship with a lot of the women at the abbey. The relationship dynamics were very interesting. I especially and unexpectedly really liked her relationship with the queen.
Moderate: Death
Minor: Rape
racheldelfuoco's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Minor: Rape