I read Fates and Furies because amazon said it was the best book of 2015. This book was weird. I really didn’t like the first half much but I knew there was a big twist in the second half so I endured it. And indeed the second half was much more interesting.
But.
But it was a depressing book in the end because of what it said about humans. (At least those humans.) and I just don’t like books like that.
A lot of other people loved it though.
I tried listening to this one but gave it up not too far in. I was considering trying it again but actually reading it. I think now I’ll just move on to the next book on my list. There are so many.
This book was TOTALLY over-hyped, in my opinion. I don’t want to spend a few hours in person with narcissists, so why would I want to read a book about them? What a waste. Totally agree with you. There are so many better book sabout flawed people out there.
I didn’t like how marriage was portrayed in this novel. Interestingly, the author feels ambivalence towards marriage herself (although she is married.) I didn’t really like any of the characters, so my appreciation of the book was due to how erudite the author is and how ambitious a book it was. I probably read too many “junk food” books (mainly for plot, easy to read, not a ton of character development) — which is useful for stress relief or a palate cleanser after a challenging book. This book had tons of literary allusions that made it interesting on a more intellectual level.
have you read her other books? I’m told they are really good?
I read The Monsters of Templeton and liked it (but didn’t love it), partially because Templeton is a fictionalized Cooperstown (where Groff grew up and close to where I live). The allusions to local places were part of the attraction. It’s definitely an odd novel — I think oddity might be part of her style. I own Delicate Edible Birds (short stories) and Arcadia (novel about utopian societies) but I haven’t read them yet.