Fates and Furies book revieW

Last updated on October 6, 2020

Fates and Furies is a book by Lauren Groff in two parts. Lotto and Mathilde meet one night at a party while attending Vassar. After a whirlwind affair, they get married. In the first part of the book, the story is from Lotto’s perspective; in the second part from Mathilde’s. There is also an omniscient voice that speaks in square brackets. Read the spoilers post here.

This is a story about (different types of) love, family, marriage, secrets. Mathilde was cast out of her family and Lotto was sent off to boarding school. They both grow up lonely, without the comfort of family. Lotto’s charisma eventually helped him develop friendships by Mathilde struggled to do so; she was more effective at getting people to fear her.

For Lotto, elements of his path are set when his father dies and his mother moves the family. In Mathilde’s case, an early choice/mistake shapes the arc of her life, but we see her wrest back control. She chooses Lotto, actively decides to stay with him each time she considers a different choice. While Lotto accepts life events as fate and evidence of his genius, Mathilde is quietly, secretly paving the path for him.

Mathilde has shed her past and build a life with Lotto. Each of them cannot contemplate life without the other and are fearful that their partner will leave them. They remain married for 23 years, a life carefully built on routine and love. In all that time, Mathilde holds her background and secrets close. Secrets, though, have a way of revealing themselves or of being exposed.

Final Verdict for Fates and Furies

I enjoyed reading Fates and Furies. I found the characters interesting, if not likeable. Groff deftly explores the concept of fact versus perception. Lotto’s lack of self-awareness, his light nature is in contrast to Mathilde’s more weighty nature. Lotto loves to be in front of the crowd, while Mathilde works invisibly in the shadows, behind the scenes. It’s interesting how this same theme of lightness versus heaviness show up here as well as in Kundera’s Lightness of Being. Or perhaps it’s simply that I’ve read the books one after the other.

I found both parts of the book interesting, but Furies was more compelling to me. Fates shows progress in terms of Lotto’s professional accomplishments and in terms of financial achievement while in Furies, we find out the machinations that happened behind the scenes. We find out all the secrets.

I give this book 5 stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️