ARTS & CULTURE
Literary star comes to town Presenting his new book The Magician , Irish novelist, poet and critic Colm Tóibín is back in the city for a special Cambridge Literary Festival event on 29 September. The book tells the story of troubled novelist Thomas Mann, offering an ambitiously sweeping story of unrequited love, exile, war and family, which takes the reader from the turn of the century through both world wars. Catch Colm in conversation with writer and broadcaster Alex Clark at the Cambridge Union. cambridgeliterary festival.com
I came to this extraordinary book knowing nothing about it, except that I’d adored both Fates and Furies and Florida , but the first few pages made me wonder if my Kindle had downloaded the wrong file. Lauren Groff is normally associated with contemporary fiction, but this book is set in 12th-century France and England, following Marie de France, a 17-year-old outcast whose blood connection with the throne sees her banished to a life running a failing, backwater convent. Marie shuts out the unfriendly world, heartbroken by the cruel loss of her lovers at court, but over time – thanks to her furious ambition and childhood experiences with the powerful, confident women of her family – she turns the convent’s fortunes around, attracting novices from far and wide. It soon seems these women can accomplish anything when freed from the expectations of society, and the burden of child-rearing. As Marie observes early in her training: “...women in this world are vulnerable: only reputation can keep them from being crushed”. So she builds a psychological fortress around her nuns, and the physical barrier of an impenetrable labyrinth, to help keep the world at bay. But with success comes greedy eyes and their associated dangers – can the sisters reach too far? Can they remain an island forever? An adventurous tale of love – both spiritual and secular – passion, community and devotion that will leave you stunned at Groff’s creative vision. And wondering where we might find a similar community to move to… BY LAUREN GROFF Matrix
SISTER ACT Matrix is a departure from Groff’s usual themes, telling a period story of nuns in the middle ages
CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK SEPTEMBER 2021 29
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