A review by dargan18
Matrix by Lauren Groff

3.0

First, the things I liked about this book: It takes place in an English abbey in the 12th century, an interesting setting, and it's entirely populated with female characters, which is refreshing. It's a fictional retelling of the life of Marie de France, a poet and mystic. It had some interesting things to say about spirituality, and community, and faithfulness to one place.

Now, to the things I didn't like. This book just did not land for me. I had a hard time really connecting with any of the characters. Marie's relationships, her visions, and her version of spirituality were mostly just confusing to me. It somehow felt like nothing happened and too much happened (the book spans several decades of Marie's life). I ended up finishing it mostly out of sunk cost fallacy. It's not all bad -- Groff is a great writer -- I just wasn't into it.