Talk about a misleading cover/title! I figured this was a bit of sci-fi. Wrong--it's about an Twelth Century nun-- an abbess, therefore mother to the nuns of her convent. (Matrix from the Latin - mater=mother)
The book is the imagined biography of Marie de France, author of a collection of Breton lays and possibly the author of other works. Very little is known about her--she may not even have been a nun. She is presumed to have been at court, to have known the redoubtable Eleanor of Acquitaine. She was obviously well educated. She may have been the bastard of the Plantagenet king and therefore the descendent of the fairy Melusine who could change into a serpent in her bath.But with so little (almost nothing) that is absolute fact, Groff is set free to imagine--and imagine she does, in rich prose, the life of a woman consigned against her will to a nunnery, chafing at the lot of women in general, and devoting herself to creating a self-sufficient sanctuary from the world.I found it a fascinating read. And will likely read it again, just to enjoy the lovely prose.
The Searcher was another good read. A Chicago cop retires to a rural part of Ireland and is slowly drawn into a boy's search for his missing brother. It's a quiet read--lots of nice description as he rehabilitates the old house he's bought and gets to know the local folks. The characters are fully realized, and the suspense builds slowly but surely. Very enjoyable.
Both these books, as well as Squeeze Me and Klara and the Sun, were part of a book drop from my friendly local book pusher. I have a few more to go . . .
