Matrix
Ratings78
Average rating3.6
Matrix is a book about 12th century nuns. I realize this sounds impossibly boring, but Lauren Groff makes these characters feel present and compelling.
The novel follows the adult life of Marie de France, a royal-adjacent woman who is shipped off to be the prioress (sort of like the COO, as I understand it) of an English abbey at the age of seventeen. She is not religious and, unsurprisingly, isn't thrilled to be there. What follows is the story of her life at the abbey, her relationship to Eleanor of Aquitaine, and a peek into the High Middle Ages in England that feels relatable.
Groff's writing is enthralling, if a little heavy on the description. She is particularly skilled at writing about emotions and inner lives, even when writing mostly in the third person. What I liked most about this book was how feminist it feels, despite being set in a decidedly patriarchal time and place. The nuns undertake typically feminine pursuits such as spinning, weaving, and gardening, but also copy manuscripts (a job for monks), work the land, and engineer large infrastructure projects. These women live their lives without men, of necessity, and the picture Groff paints is of complete lives.
I enjoyed this book, and will look more at Groff's other work (this is my first read of hers).
Wow, this book. Much like The Nickel Boys was my top pick for 2020 and immediately shot to the top of my favorites, this book has done that for 2021. Loved the blend of subversion and charge with pastoral, plodding, and liturgical.
The Good. The quality of the writing is high. It is a very descriptive book and it appears to live imperceptibly in the first person without technically being there. We see everything through Marie's eyes and Groff's writing does her justice.
The Bad? Am I weird in thinking this book was too short? What was probably going to be the most critical part of Marie's life at the Monastery, the first 2 or 3 years, are totally skipped over. In fact she moves forward so fast we only the se the results of her life. We see what she built but not why. That is, until the last chapter when some of what drives her is revealed. I would have loved a few extra hundred pages...
It had a pretty good rating, so i started with enthousiasm. The blur on the back talks about female warriors and a prioress who teaches swordwork. Well it was not about female warriors. It was about a woman, who comes to the abbes and becomes prioress. She changes how things are done and gets different reactions for it. The beginning was okay, but I had to force myself to read it after a 100 pages. There are better books out there.
4 stars, not because I loved the book but because it's impressive as hell. Groff has immersed herself in 12th Century Angevin, and eventually, I gave up looking up the words I didn't know for the animals, things, rituals, etc. that would have been commonplace at the time. And I read to the end in order to find out what becomes of Marie de France, the Abbess of a great monastery, even though, as a man, I felt unwelcome. In Marie's world, men are rapists, invaders, and meddling priests, and so she walled them out with her matrix. Nor does she need men for physical gratification, which she finds in her sisters and daughters, the other nuns. Is this Groff's message? I've always enjoyed her work and was wowed by Fates and Furies, but this one I find unsettling and off-putting.
the writing style is a little weird, but once you get used to it it is very beautiful
This was quite exquisite. A young girl with royal blood is banished to an impoverished abbey, to become the new prioress. First she feels insulted and ready to rebel, as she knows she's meant for greater things. But then she sets out on a path of conviction and stubbornness, to strengthen the abbey, widen its power and create a life for herself and her nuns that is safe and influential, unorthodox, yet full of grace. I loved the basic story, but it felt a bit style-over-matter on occasions. A good companion piece to [b:The Revolt 51828695 The Revolt Clara Dupont-Monod https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1571456112l/51828695.SX50_SY75.jpg 63811828], as Eleanor of Aquitaine plays a quite prominent role in this one too.
“For it is a deep and human truth that most souls upon the earth are not at ease unless they find themselves safe in the hands of a force far greater than themselves.”
“She smiles at the version of herself at that time of pain, so young that she believed she could die of love. Foolish creature, old Marie would say to that child. Open your hands and let your life go. It has never been yours to do with what you will.”