I am late to this book, but it’s been on my radar since coming out in 2015. The title was enough to intrigue me. After reading the first line, I was all in.
If you love language and you appreciate when words, even the smallest ones, are intentional, Fates and Furies is for you.
This is a story of a marriage. Lotto and Mathilde’s marriage, specifically. We learn about Lotto’s side first (because there are always sides in a marriage). Born into a wealthy Florida family (one might say he hit the jackpot), free to do whatever he wanted, shipped off to boarding school up north when he ran around the wrong crowd. Came into his own on stage. Loved the attention, the accolade. Oh the theater life! He is a classic narcissist, so he doesn’t even realize how self-centered he is.
Then Mathilde walks in. Literally, she walked through the door at a party and he fell into her gaze and proposed marriage right away. Two weeks later, they were hitched. Poetic and romantic and straight out of a fairy tale. Everyone admires Lotto and Mathilde. They are the perfect couple in so many ways. Attractive, devoted. These are the Fates.
Enter the Furies. After reading about the marriage through Lotto’s lens, we switch, because Mathilde has her own story. Hidden things get revealed, and we, the readers, realize that marriage is SO VERY INTERESTING because events unfold that no one sees.
MAN OH MAN. Only read this book if you appreciate the way in which its told. The writing isn’t for everyone, so perhaps read the first few pages before committing to all 390. If you love the style as I do, then dig in. Settle in. Fates and Furies is a literary star.