Fates and Furies
by Lauren Groff
The more we dislike a book, the more there is to talk about!
This is definitely the case with Lauren Groff’s Fates and Furies. Most of us had to force ourselves to read Fate and Furies. Instead of looking
forward to the experience, we were dreading having to read more. Groff’s
back-and-forth in time is one of the many reasons this book fails to grab the
reader’s attention. The characters in this novel are difficult. Their
personalities are different than most characters. They are flawed, narcissists,
and in Mathilde’s case sociopathic. Mathilde is too conniving and keeps too
many secrets from Lotto for us to trust her.
The book is cut into two sections, “Fates” is Lotto’s
section and “Furies” belongs to Mathilde’s life. The order of this novel is
important because you see the happy side of the marriage first. Then you see
the behind-the-scenes work Mathilde put into the marriage to make things go
smoothly. Mathilde’s section is eye-opening because she hides so much of
herself. She was born in France, may have killed her brother, was sent to live
with her uncle, and became an escort to Ariel to get through college.
Surprisingly we all agree that Lotto and Mathilde have a
good marriage and happy life. Mathilde hides so many things from Lotto that he
is blissfully ignorant of her entire past, her sterilization, and her ongoing
feud with Antoinette, his mother. Had Lotto known all these things we all feel
the marriage would have quickly ended. By the end of the novel we feel Mathilde
has grown as a character because she does not ruin Chollie’s business. However,
this is one of the only times she decides not to wreak havoc on others.
Our discussion is fascinating and many issues including
marriage, mental health, and Greek myths are brought up because of this novel.
