MATRIX by Lauren Groff

Inspired by the life of a twelfth century poet, this novel about a reluctant nun never really gave me a reason to keep reading.  Deemed unmarriageable because of her unusual height, seventeen-year-old Marie is dispatched to any abbey in 1158 by Eleanor of Aquitaine, where Marie immediately assumes the role of prioress.  For the abbey, she represents one more mouth to feed, as they are all barely avoiding starvation.  All of a sudden, Marie decides to take her role seriously and starts making changes that will improve the situation.  She then begins seeing visions that motivate her to make additional improvements to secure the abbey from outsiders—namely men.  This novel focuses almost entirely on women and their successes in becoming self-sufficient.  The one occasion in which Marie invites stone masons into her enclave results in the pregnancy of a young novice, furthering cementing Marie’s resolve to keep men out.  My problem with this novel is that I kept waiting for some big event to change the course of the storyline, but it never came.  The plot is basically a flat trajectory with no peaks or valleys and virtually no significant suspense.  A medieval mystery it is not.  Plus, all of the other nuns at the abbey are basically a blur; I could barely keep straight which ones supported Marie’s various projects and which ones did not.  This book provides some historical perspective with a feminist slant, but I could have used a big moment or two.