This authors writing style is so unique. The book is slow paced. The end let this book down a little. A great unique book

Fictionalised historical novel in which Marie, the illegitimate daughter of the 12th century French king, is sent away from the royal court and her lover Cecily, to become prioress of an impoverished abbey.

The nuns are on the brink of starvation and, once Marie stops fighting to leave and accepts her situation, she soon uncovers the corruption within the church that is at the root of their poverty.

She has a strong will to match her physical size and she is able to stand up to the church and reclaim control of their finances at a time long before society accepts this sort of behaviour.

Love Lauren Groff’s writing style - really enjoyed this book. Super detailed, and enjoyable to read, the level of research gone into this book is really apparent. A beautifully delivered piece of historical fiction

I ended up listening to the audiobook version of this, which I really enjoyed. Fabulous writing, even when I slightly lost the plot as to what was going on!

I’ve read a couple book by Lauren Groff and enjoyed them. This book was a little more challenging. I found it was not bad. Not as good as her previous work, but ok.

I'm a big fan of Lauren Groff and this book was no exception, Really enjoyed it. See link to my YouTube review.

I struggled with this one and ended up not finishing it.
I found the narrative hard to read and just found that the story didn’t have much “story” as such. I know I’m in the minority with this view!

Matrix by Lauren Groff is an ambitious and intriguing novel about a twelfth century nun at a time of royal upheaval.

I enjoyed this book a great deal. I didn’t know from the title or cover that it would be about nuns, the medieval period, or lesbians, but was not put off by this - though I would never have picked it up if I’d known! Make of that what you will. Five stars.

I honestly think Lauren Groff is kind of overrated. The prose is a bit too overwritten for me. It felt like this book was written with the purpose of making it appealing to modern readers rather than to realistically show what being a woman in medieval times was like. I wonder what Hilary Mantel could have done for this material. Groff is just not for me, purely subjective reaction.

A wonderful addition to Lauren Groff's body of work - sparkling, unexpected, an emotional but joyous read. I have bought copies for everyone I know!

Extremely well-written, and an interesting, engaging and dynamic story. The prose was beautiful, interlaced with themes of feminism, love, lust. It was a highly compelling and 'quite' tale, with a sense of little plot (not in a bad way), but a wonderful reading atmosphere.

Fabulously written, Groff always writes such interesting and compelling books and this is no exception. Engaging from the first page, which is unexpected given the subject matter. The level of research is impressive and adds to the depth of the story. Let yourself be swept away by this wonderful story of Marie, sent to the Abbey, for being too rough for 12th century court life and then completely transforming it.

With thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I read The Monsters of Templeton and didn't enjoy it, so when Matrix was suggested as our next book club read, I was not particularly enthusiastic. However, there is absolutely nothing in common between the two books. They could easily have been written by two different authors.
Matrix is complex and beautifully written. The story of a 12th-century French nun may not immediately sound like the makings of a great book but Groff manages to pull it off.

picked up Matrix by Lauren Groff as it’s July fiction book of the month and I enjoyed it. Definitely for fans of historical fiction and maybe because I haven’t read this genre for while, I really got into it. The story is inspired by the life of Marie de France, a 12th-century poet and translator of Aesop’s Tales, and you can tell it’s been heavily researched.

I liked the writing style - very atmospheric, bleak and descriptive of the harsh setting and also the characters were intriguing and well developed. Marie was a strong character, and I enjoyed reading about the female relationships in the book, particularly Eleanor her sister in law. The story was easy to read, yet I would say I preferred the first half of the book to the last half. It felt like a lot of action happened at the start and dragged near the end. I did finish thinking I had learned something about the 12th Century which is always a bonus for me 😅 Definitely more of a character than plot driven book. This is my first Groff novel and I would definitely read more by her 👍🏻

Marie is a force of nature in a world of faith. A woman mountain with no beauty or grace, she is a bastard with only a grudging acceptance at the English court. In an act of deceptive generosity, Queen Eleanor sends her to be a prioress in a royal abbey in the west of the country. When Marie arrives she finds the abbey is poverty-stricken and only just recovering from a sickness that swept through the nuns.
Marie’s first thoughts are of escaping this wretched place and returning to the court, but she cannot do so without Queen Eleanor’s blessing. Knowing the queen’s love of stories she creates a set of poems based on Breton fables and sends it to court. But all that returns is silence, so she starts being the prioress in actuality – setting the nuns to gather food, chasing down defaulting tenants, ignoring the male hierarchy of the church. The abbess Emme is blind and jumbled in her thoughts, but she proves to be an ingenuous ally with a sometimes sharp cunning.
Marie eventually replaces her as abbess and raises the status of the abbey so high that it invokes jealousy in the surroundings, but Marie had ridden to the crusades when young, and nothing will daunt her.

Marie is a fictional character but takes her origins from Marie de France who was a French poet living in England, and Marie, Abbess of Shaftesbury, the illegitimate daughter of Henry II’s son Geoffrey. She is a vivid character, and although we do not learn a great deal about the nuns they do come to life in their interactions with Marie. The book is a strange mixture of the practical everyday lives of nuns and a larger than life community which steps into the fantastical. It was a fascinating read and with beautiful descriptions and turns of phrase – I found I had highlighted a lot of quotes. A good story to read for those who do not want their history to be strictly tied down to facts.

I had a copy of this book early through Netgalley

I should have read the blurb more carefully. Really struggled with this although it had all the hallmarks of a book I might enjoy. Found all the 'magic' rather tiresome. Rather than give up I basically skim-read the last 100 pages. Just wasn't for me but I am sure this book will have its fans. Thanks to Netgalley.

Lauren Groff's Matrix imagines the life of Marie de France, a poet from 12th century England, whose entire identity is unknown. Groff's previous short story collection Florida is one of my favourite books as it is beautifully written and delves deep into the psyche of a controversial state.

Groff imagines Marie de France as a fierce prioress with visions of divinity and ambition that extends through the decades of her life. Marie transforms alongside the abbey as it grows from a crumbling nothing into a stronghold, a place of safety for women shut off from the rest of the world.

There are so many wonderful things about Marie, her assumed blood from Melusine the fairy, her relationship with Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, her lesbianism, her ambition.

The narrative Is full go little sad things, such as illnesses, loss of cattle, and injury. There is no dramatic battle or uprising that the women must contend with, they just deal with the daily struggle of 12th century life and that is compelling enough.

Unfortunately this one is not for me. I have tried reading on multiple occasions, but I feel it is one of those times where the book is not a match for me. The writing and plot would probably appeal to others more. Thank you for the opportunity to try the book, I am very grateful.

Marie de France is sent to an impoverished abbey in England from the court of Eleanor of Aquitaine. Matrix is the story of how through her hard work, tenacity and compassion she nurtures her fellow nuns, and encourages the abbey to thrive
.
There is a unique style to the story telling within this novel. Some passages move slowly, whilst in others time races decades on. I don’t think it will be to everyone’s tastes, but it worked well for me. It felt like a memoir of Marie, she chooses the important aspects to share with the reader, without having to spend pages on days where nothing of note happens
.
There has clearly been a lot of research as the author takes time exploring all the roles they had to keep the abbey and the people under their care surviving the dark days of 12th Century England. I enjoyed seeing how nuns were cooks and builders and teachers and more in this period. I also found the hierarchy interesting, Marie has no prior experience, or particular religious devotion, but she is from a noble family and this means something, and she is able to take control almost immediately
.
Marie is a fascinating character. Her jealousy and ambition are some of her defining features, yet it helps to build an abbey which prospers whilst the rest of the country declines. She expects a lot from the nuns under her charge, but this isn’t for nothing as they build and create a place of safety under turbulent times. She is not always likeable, and not everything she does can be supported, but she is doing what it takes for herself, and the nuns, to survive. But she does show love and compassion and the growth of becoming a true Mother, or ‘matrix’ to the nuns creates a brilliant character to follow
.
I didn’t know much about Marie de France, who this book is based on, but I don’t think you need to. The context is given when needed, but it doesn’t need to be built in truth, as it is a book to show the isolation of these women, the care they give, their life under an oppressive patriarchal society, how the impoverished are viewed, and how these women survived and prospered despite this
…
Thank you to Net Galley and Random House for this eCopy