Reviews

Fato e furia by Lauren Groff

biancapasqualini's review against another edition

2.0

What to say, what to say. Definitely not for me. I didn't like the prose style (the one word sentences, for instance), didn't like the plot (supposedly some sort of Greek tragedy in modern times), didn't like any of the characters (a bunch of psychopaths). It was supposed to be two versions of the same marriage, told first by the husband then by the wife. But to do so, the first part ("fates"), told by the husband, felt like he was borderline cognitively impaired. Shallow and stupid. The second half, told by the wife ("furies"), felt to me as improbable and absurd. (And the dog named God didn't help it at all.)

amyrendall's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad slow-paced

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

4.0

kaz9's review against another edition

3.0

Beautiful language, but halfway through I didn't care anymore what happens to the characters, because they felt cliched and tiring. Part of me really wants to know what happens without having to read it.

buttercupita's review against another edition

4.0

Wow! Inventive writing, complex characters, great puzzle of a plot. Hard to talk about without giving major pieces away...happy to discuss with anyone who reads it!

nightshiftenthusiast's review against another edition

3.0

i don’t think it’s as bad as all the reviews say, but there was a little too much man whining for my taste

emilyb_chicago's review against another edition

3.0

The first section of this book (60% or so) which is called Fates is boring. It is (over)written from the man's perspective with flowery language and annoying, predictable characters. I was terrified when I got to the second section called Fates that it would go back in time and cover the couple's relationship again from her perspective. If that had happened, even being committed to reading book club books would not have made me finish this book. Fates turned out to be much more interesting. It jumped all over in time and it was often unclear if you were reading about a dream or a real event, but at least the main female character had more depth than the main male character. It was fun/sad to learn about how crazy her life was under the surface of 'cleaner, cook, wife' that was all her husband saw.

For all that I enjoyed the second part of the book, it is not worth picking up unless you've got someone to complain with about how bad the beginning is.

wheezethejuice's review against another edition

I loved this book, and it took me a while to figure out why. I am not married, so to choose a book that shows two vastly different sides to a long marriage was appealing. The writing made me wish the book was a trilogy or sorts, I found myself wanting to sit and read it in the sun next to a kidney shaped pool. They throw parties and live their lives that are so rich with experience, I couldn't put this down. It is whimsical in a sense, pulling your emotions in different directions. If you feel like a cozy read on a summer weekend, this is the book for you.

alhedrick's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

kpetroll's review against another edition

Book Club Book - 0 stars!!! I just couldn’t get into this book and didn’t bother finishing it. Life is too short to waste on poor books. I didn’t care for the author’s writing style as it seemed choppy and chaotic at times. When I got to this passage that’s when I knew I had enough - “She stretched her long arms over her head, and there were little nests of winter hair in her pits. She could hatch baby robins in those things.”  Am I missing something here? Ugh!! I even tried skimming some pages ahead to see if it got better and other passages were just as bad. I regret having spent time on this book.

ilupoli's review against another edition

5.0

I wasn’t expecting to love this book, but I LOVE THIS BOOK. It was such a beautiful depiction of a marriage between two flawed people. It grabbed me from the beginning!