''Matrix'' is a

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ty ...

Lauren Groff Lauren Groff (born July 23, 1978) is an American novelist and short story writer. She has written four novels and two short story collections, including '' Fates and Furies'' (2015), ''Florida'' (2018), and ''Matrix'' (2021). Early life and edu ...

, published by

Riverhead Books Riverhead Books is an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) founded in 1994 by Susan Petersen Kennedy. Writers published by Riverhead include Ali Sethi, Marlon James, Junot Díaz, George Saunders, Khaled Hosseini, Nick Hornby, Anne Lamott, Carlo Ro ...

on September 7, 2021.

Premise

Groff's fourth novel, ''Matrix'' is about a "seventeen-year-old

Marie de France Marie de France (fl. 1160 to 1215) was a poet, possibly born in what is now France, who lived in England during the late 12th century. She lived and wrote at an unknown court, but she and her work were almost certainly known at the royal court o ...

... sent to England to be the new prioress of an impoverished abbey, its nuns on the brink of starvation and beset by disease." ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

'' described it as "a strange and poetic piece of historical fiction set in a dreamlike abbey, the fictional biography of a 12th-century mystic." Within the novel, Marie, whom Groff writes as a

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with fema ...

, turns around the abbey's fortunes and treats it as a quasi-mystical female separatist "utopia".

Reception

''Matrix'' received very favorable reviews, with a cumulative "Rave" rating at the

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Book Marks Literary Hub is a daily literary website that launched in 2015 by Grove Atlantic president and publisher Morgan Entrekin, American Society of Magazine Editors Hall of Fame editor Terry McDonell, and Electric Literature founder Andy Hunter. Con ...

, based on 31 book reviews from mainstream literary critics. The novel debuted at number eleven on ''The New York Times'' fiction best-seller list for the week ending September 11, 2021. ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'', in its

starred review A starred review is a book review __NOTOC__ A book review is a form of literary criticism in which a book is merely described (summary review) or analyzed based on content, style, and merit. A book review may be a primary source, opinion piec ...

, praised Groff's "boldly original narrative" and her "transcendent prose and vividly described settings" for bringing to life "historic events, from the Crusades to the papal interdict of 1208." ''Publishers Weekly'' concluded, "Groff has outdone herself with an accomplishment as radiant as Marie's visions." In its starred review, ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'' wrote, "Groff's trademarkworthy sentences bring vivid buoyancy to a magisterial story." However, historians of medieval women were more critical of the novel, with a review in '' Nursing Clio'' critiquing the book's "clichés

hich Ij ( fa, ايج, also Romanized as Īj; also known as Hich and Īch) is a village in Golabar Rural District, in the Central District of Ijrud County, Zanjan Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also ...

make the medieval world of the novel feel both more artificial and more distant from the present than it might" and its "bleak and stagnant medievalisms." ''Matrix'' was shortlisted for the 2021

National Book Award for Fiction The National Book Award for Fiction is one of five annual National Book Awards, which recognize outstanding literary work by United States citizens. Since 1987 the awards have been administered and presented by the National Book Foundation, but ...

and the 2022 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction. It was selected for ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nat ...

''s "10 Best Books of 2021" list. Former United States President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

named ''Matrix'' one of his favorite books of 2021.

References

{{Authority control 2021 American novels American historical novels Novels by Lauren Groff Novels set in England Novels set in the 12th century Nuns in fiction Riverhead Books books Novels with lesbian themes

Premise

Reception

See also

References