Play Book Tag discussion

She rides out of the forest alone. Seventeen years old, in the cold March drizzle, Marie who comes from France.

It is 1158 and the world bears the weariness of late Lent. Soon it will be Easter, which arrives early this year. In the fields, the seeds uncurl in the dark cold soil, ready to punch into the freer air. She sees for the first time the abbey, pale and aloof on a rise in this damp valley, the clouds drawn up from the ocean and wrung against the hills in constant rainfall.

Thus begins Lauren Groff's Matrix and with that it captured my attention, because MEDIEVAL! in a nunnery! I love anything medieval and so I loved this book.

The characters, their interactions, and relationships through the years are interesting. The story at times stretches belief, but I was able to flow with that.

What held me back from gushing about it is, I really am not sure what it has to offer besides a medieval geek like me and a really strict historian may find objections to it.

I’ve heard it takes liberties with Marie de France’s life story, but it is fiction, after all.

Medieval is one of my favorite time periods, too. It’s been a while since I’ve read fiction about that time, though.

I really liked it- Groff is a master of words, and it’s easy to get lost in her books.

It was a really fun read. I thought she did an excellent job writing about the time period.

She made Marie de France a larger than life heroine.

I'm very interested in this. I learned about Marie de France years ago when I was a French literature major.

Robin P wrote: "I'm very interested in this. I learned about Marie de France years ago when I was a French literature major."

It isn't a strict retelling but a fascinating one.