Rating- 5/10
Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff
I have wanted to read this book for the past like 2 or 3 years, ever since my close friend Iggy was reading it and was very engrossed in it. So much so that she was pretty much reading it every spare second she had and I wanted in on that action. Two years later, I finally got my hands on this book! Haha better late than never amirite? So let’s get down to the synopsis and my thoughts on this book.
Fates and Furies is a story about a marriage over the span of twenty four years and takes place in New York. It all starts with Lotto and Mathilde, both very tall, good looking and at twenty two, they decide to get married after only meeting two weeks before and falling madly in love with each other. Ten years go by and they are still the envy of all their friends. They are very much in love and are also wealthy. From the outside, everything looks peachy and exciting to their friends, but we all know that there are two sides to every story. Yes, Lotto and Mathilde are madly in love with each other, but there are secrets that they harbor and don’t share with one another. Their story has many complex layers and things are not as they seem. We follow Lotto and Mathilde through their entire marriage together and find out what really goes on in their seemingly envious marriage. Sometimes the key to a great marriage may not be the truth, it could be it’s secrets.
I had very very VERY high expectations for this book. Especially because one of my BFFs loved it so much and raved about how great it was. I wanted to love this book so much you guys, but to be honest. I struggled. Like I struggled pretty hard to get through it, but I read the whole book because I actually wanted to know how it would end. Also to know that I definitely did not like it, and I confirmed that when I read that last page. Let me talk about the positives of the book. Right of the bat, by reading just a couple of pages of Fates and Furies, you could tell that Lauren Groff is a very good writer. I mean in a sense of that she loves the English language, and English Literature. This book has been written by someone who is a book lover and respects the great writers of the past and present. She quotes a lot of Shakespeare too in the book which I actually liked, because Shakespeare is the shit. It’s also written in a very interesting way. It’s not very ‘readable’ in that sense of whizzing right through the book, it has many layers and the writing style was poetic and complex. I liked it and also didn’t like it at the same time. I also liked the many layers of the story between Lotto and Mathilde. Groff really took the time to get to know both characters and their stories well, the character development was excellent and you could almost empathize with both characters even though they both had many flaws that some people may not like. It’s funny that this book got such mixed reviews, people either loved it or totally hated it. I guess it tells you a lot about the sort of person that reads the book? Just a side thought..
The reason why I did not like Fates and Furies was because I simply wasn’t drawn into the book and story, and I didn’t care much for any of the characters in the book. Maybe it was the style of writing, or the story itself? I’m not sure, but it sort of drone on and on for me, it took me ages to read it too which is usually not a good sign for me. Lotto is a playwright and in the book you read a lot of his plays, which I found unnecessary for the story itself. He’s also a very narcissistic person which makes you hate him. I hate to say this but I found the book to be kind of pretentious. That’s a very strong word for me to use but that's just how I felt. Yes, the language and poetry and writing was excellent, there’s no denying that Groff is a good writer, I get that, like I really do. But beyond that, the story itself and the characters, were cold, there was no soul, there was not much really beyond the amazing writing. I sort of felt like yes, literature is amazing and it’s all there in the book, but beyond that, you couldn’t really connect with the story or the terrible characters. Well for me anyways! This is my opinion of it. It’s a bit up it’s own butt...sorry! Gotta keep it real. It’s one of those books that I’ll soon forget about which I'm so sad that it had to come to that because I love Iggy so much (my friend), and I very much wanted to love this book too!
That being said, if you want a book that is written amazingly well and explores the English language, incredible past writers, or if your into plays then this is the book for you. I wouldn’t recommend it though if you want an in depth book about real characters and soul. This is just my opinion about it. I gave Fates and Furies a 5/10 because I adored the language, literature and writing in it, but I did not like the core story. To end on a positive note, I did like the book cover a lot, the blue and white waves are gorgeous.
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Romance, Literary Fiction.
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Reviewed by Chrissy's Books
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