separatism, sex and saints - review of "matrix" by Lauren Groff

 Lauren Groff's Matrix has been one of my favourite books I've read in the last year. It follows Marie, a minor member of the French royal family in the 12th Century as she is sent to an impoverished abbey in England. As prioress, she turns around the abbey's fortunes through daring plans and cleverness. 

The novel has an almost hazy, dream-like quality as it is written like a stream of consciousness without quotation marks, and features Marie being visited by the Virgin Mary, who directs her to the tasks that will save the abbey. Matrix is a poignant story of struggle, love and faith. It explores the bonds of women, sexual, romantic, platonic and familial. It also explores negative, one-sided relationships through Marie's desperation to impress and be with Eleanor of Aquitaine; all her efforts at the abbey are initially to impress the queen - however, the bonds she develops with the other nuns, the nuns-in-training and their servants, guide her to having the strength to move on into the future.

Marie's protection of the abbey, and her advocacy for the women there, her strength in their defence and her ruthlessness for those who attempt to cheat or harm them make her a force of nature, while still being a flawed woman with shortcomings. 

It is a book that follows Marie's life, from her arrival at the abbey to her eventual death, even flowing through the abbey as the news of her loss ripples through the other women there. It is a complex exploration of human relationships and especially the strength women can find in unity - in a dangerous, harsh time to be a woman; and a woman with money, a woman with power and respect is a woman who lives even more dangerously. 

The blend of mysticism and history, the touching relationships and the beautiful prose make it well worth the read. Take a journey back in time.