In Lauren Groff's Matrix she imagines the life of 12th century poet Marie de France. Little is known about Marie, and Groff placing her in a abbey surrounded by women, is a bold and complicated move. The life of women is presented as special, and something to be admired and protected. The language of the book is beautiful. The review in The Guardian says: As in Groff’s earlier fiction, we are carried on the force of her style, and held by the strength of an intelligence that lets comedy and emotional complexity work together. That is true. I was engrossed by the book, but put off too. I kept trying to figure out who was telling the story, what was happening in the outside world, and why is this cloistered world so special. None of those questions are answered. Marie is powerful, creative, visionary, she lives, she dies, and the world goes on.
I find that this book has stuck with me, and I have been thinking about the characters more now that I've stepped away. Maybe I wasn't put off...maybe I just needed time to process.
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