Retro Review: Fates and Furies
/When I started this blog, I had been posting reviews on Goodreads for about 6 months. In the interest of having all of my book writing in one place, I will post one of these old reviews every Friday. They weren't written with a blog in mind, so please forgive the lack of summary and off-the-cuff tone.
3 stars. Well, this book is certainly memorable. It certainly has a lot to say.
The writing is unusual and strange and even harsh at times. The characters don’t behave as expected. It’s unique - which sounds like a cop-out observation, but truly, it’s different. And it accurately represents, I think, how relationships are woven - often painfully - into the fabric of your identity. The characters are compellingly grotesque and each new chapter brings a new deep dive into their utter selfishness. It’s pretty fascinating.
But Fates and Furies is also … pretentious. It’s grandiose. The symbolism is heavy-handed and the story is weighed down. Purple prose? Perhaps. I’d describe it as try-hard. Listen, Shakespeare should be referenced. He should inform modern writing. But Groff simply wouldn't let me, as a reader, forget her knowledge of his works.
I feel like I should have a lot more to say about this book than I do. Fates and Furies is interesting and affecting to a certain degree. I’m eager to see how its studied in the future. There’s a lot to unpack and a lot to appreciate. But ultimately, for me, it’s only deserving of 3 stars.