Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

Matrix by Lauren Groff

27 reviews

jnestwd's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

 This book left me speechless. Truly. 

 

Matrix is the second novel by Lauren Groff that I have read, and following on from the masterpiece that was The Vaster Wilds, I was not sure what to expect as to whether she’d stay true to the style of TVW or whether Matrix would stand its own with a unique spin. 

 

Well, stand alone it sure does. 

 

As is true to Groff’s consistent theme of strong female characters thrust into harrowing situations, Matrix is, at times, difficult story to read. We follow Marie who is sent to live in a convent at the young age of 17 following the death of her royal mother. Marie is the byproduct of r*pe, and so is deeply shamed within her family. 

 

Initially resisting the abbey, she soon finds her element and begins to rise up through the ranks until she assumes the ultimate power of abbess and baroness to the crown. 

 

Marie is a powerful force to be reckoned with, who brings wealth and abundance to her women, but always at a price. 

 

Every decision she makes has an often fatal consequence, although ultimately benefiting the wider abbey. 

 

Groff is such a phenomenally talented, lyrical writer. Matrix took me on a visceral journey across the broad spectrum of emotion. From joy to anguish, I felt it all, right alongside Marie. 

 

The care and attention that Groff dedicates to researching her subject matter was abundantly clear in Matrix. It had me wondering if it was perhaps based on a true story because it felt so incredibly real and inspired. 

 

Groff’s work is not for the faint of heart and carries some heavy trigger warnings, so readers should take care. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Excrement, Animal death, Pregnancy, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Blood, Chronic illness, Death, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Rape

attolis's review against another edition

4.0

A character study of 12th century religious women that's executed well enough that the main character being an unambiguously man-hating lesbian doesn't even feel anachronistic. And also you know what, if I was in a bit of a silly goofy mood, I might even say this felt like something of a (less funny) adult spiritual successor to Catherine, Called Birdy to me. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Sexual content

Minor: Rape

bookishmillennial's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, and Child death

Moderate: Sexual content and Pregnancy

Minor: Sexual assault and Rape

thewritebooks's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Grief

Moderate: Bullying, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Child death, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual content, Rape, Violence, and Animal death

Minor: Classism, Excrement, Death of parent, and Dementia

water_and_shade's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death and Death

Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Blood, and Animal death

eliya's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death

Moderate: Sexual content, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Child abuse, Violence, and Pregnancy

Minor: Grief, Adult/minor relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Cancer, Animal death, Torture, Body horror, Confinement, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Sexual assault, Slavery, War, Animal cruelty, and Forced institutionalization

honeyvoiced's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Pregnancy, Rape, and Sexual content

heydebigale's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny medium-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? Yes

4.75

I wasn’t expecting to enjoy a novel about 12 century nuns, but this was really interesting.

CW: fairly graphic childbirth scene & death & child death

I especially loved the exploration of friendship between women, the comfort of the idea of creating a space without men, and the discussion of morality of sapphic relationships in the 12th century.

This idea that sapphic pleasure was below the notice of the church that there was nothing explicitly written about it? So of course Marie concluded that she does nothing “sinful” or “wrong” by receiving cunnilingus. 

Also this idea that nuns are similar to witches… I really loved that. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, and Pregnancy

Graphic childbirth scene that results in the death of both the child and mother

careinthelibrary's review against another edition

emotional informative mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dementia, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Miscarriage, Animal death, Pregnancy, Child death, Death, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Cancer, Body shaming, Mental illness, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, War, Islamophobia, and Terminal illness

edamamebean's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

Probably the best book I’ll read all year. It’s small in scale—never leaving the abbey—but it’s proportions are mythic. The writing is so beautiful that I had to stop and underline often. Lauren Groff is not only a good writer, she’s also a wise one. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Excrement, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, Child death, Animal death, Death of parent, Grief, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Rape, Violence, Dementia, Blood, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Murder, Vomit, Bullying, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and War