Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff
Every story has two sides. Every relationship has two perspectives. And sometimes, it turns out, the key to a great marriage is not its truths but its secrets. At the core of this rich, expansive, layered novel, Lauren Groff presents the story of one such marriage over the course of twenty-four years.
At age twenty-two, Lotto and Mathilde are tall, glamorous, madly in love, and destined for greatness. A decade later, their marriage is still the envy of their friends, but with an electric thrill we understand that things are even more complicated and remarkable than they have seemed. With stunning revelations and multiple threads, and in prose that is vibrantly alive and original, Groff delivers a deeply satisfying novel about love, art, creativity, and power that is unlike anything that has come before it. Profound, surprising, propulsive, and emotionally riveting, it stirs both the mind and the heart.
Review: This is the story of a marriage. Told in two parts, in the first half, we hear the husband's side of events and in the second his wife's. Lancelot Satterwhite, known as Lotto, is born into a wealthy and adoring family in Florida. But when his father dies unexpectedly, he falls into what his mother deems is the wrong crowd and is shipped off to boarding school in New Hampshire. Despite promiscuous years in college, after just three weeks of dating he marries the mysterious Mathilde. Little is known about her background, but Lotto's mother disapproves and cuts him off financially and emotionally. Mathilde supports the two while Lotto pursues his writing career, which eventually has surprising success. The couple are the envy of their friends and throw large and well attended parties where they appear to be the perfect couple. But as in all marriages, there is more than meets the eye.
The first half of this novel, from Lotto's perspective, dragged for me. He comes across as pretentious and oblivious. His wife takes care of his every need, but he is so out of touch with her emotions and thoughts. He seems so proud of the fact that he has been able to be faithful to his wife that he doesn't consider all the many scarifies she has made to be with him, including living in poverty before his success, taking care of all chores and household responsibilities, and quietly figuring out a way to pay the bills that Lotto just ignores. The second half of the novel was where my interest finally was piqued. Mathilde is a much more nuanced and intriguing character than Lotto. There are many things about her past that she has never told her husband, including the death of a younger brother, the estrangement from her parents, and exactly how she was able to pay college tuition. Lotto perceives her as a virginal, pure girl and so that is what Mathilde becomes for him.
I didn't particularly like either Lotto or Mathilde. Lotto is far too confident of his own greatness. And Mathilde has a coldness and darkness within her that is off putting. The descriptions of the characters is very physical and not often that appealing. Lotto's pot belly is referenced repeatedly, as is Mathilde's garlicky, sweaty smell. Ultimately, I was hard pressed to understand why this book was so highly talked about. It's the story of a marriage filled with secrets but that was still largely happy. I also found multiple parts of the story difficult to believe. The fact that no one knew about her past or her previous identity, the fact that his given name is Lancelot, that after one brief encounter Mathilde found the way she did to pay for college, and on and on. Even down to the fact that they named their dog God. So much of it just feels far-fetched and pretentious.
Stars: 3.5
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