Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff

Named “the best book of the year” by multiple media outlets and listed as a finalist for the National Book Award, Fates and Furies has garnered a substantial amount of praise in a few short months. But is it deserving of this attention—the hyperbole of affection showered on its pages?

Yes, it is.

Lauren Groff’s novel places a marriage under the microscope for a span of 24 years, revealing that the secrets between a couple influence their relationship just as much as—if not more than— their shared experiences. Written in striking, gorgeous prose, Fates and Furies opens on 22-year-old Lotto and Mathilde enjoying their first afternoon as a married couple. What follows is a captivating story that jumps through time, offering Lotto’s perspective for the first half of the novel and then Mathilde’s. Inventive and devastating, Groff’s narrative is, quite simply, the best book of 2015. Period. —Frannie Jackson

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