Fates and Furies

2026
Written By Katherine Brown

June 2026

Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff

Reviews of Lauren Groff’s Fates and Furies almost unanimously mention both Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train, because like them it involves a death, and like them it intimate knowledge of a marriage its subject. Yet while it examines, as those two titles did, how little even two people living together as man and wife can truly know each other, Fates and Furies is significantly different for being less a thriller and more a beautiful work of literary fiction.

Written in the third person, which makes it feel solidly believable, it is a work of two parts: Fates is handsome, charismatic Lotto’s story, in which he tells of the electric beginning and building of his 24-year marriage to Mathilde; Furies is his wife’s version, which cleverly undercuts Lotto’s knowledge and memory of events, and shows her orchestration and manipulation of their life together – as well as how she has maintained her secrets within it.

 
 

Discussion Resources:

Print Reviews:

Guardian

New York Times

New Yorker

NPR

London Review of Books

Podcasts:

Katherine Brown

I’m a Canadian living in the United Kingdom - London to be exact. I’m a business person with an eye for modern design. I’m a customer marketer who thinks like a customer. I’m a design thinker who also happens to be a designer.

I’ve worked at senior marketing levels in large corporations like American Express and Sky TV. I’ve worked agency side, leading digital client accounts. I’ve been part of several start-ups, sat on Angel Investing teams and run my own design and print studio.

In 2021, I started Ascender Creative to help small businesses with big plans build their online credibility and create better customer connections. I do this by taping into my 20+ years of business experience mixing it with a strong customer focus and a big dose of creativity.

https://www.ascendercreative.com
Previous

Stone Yard Devotional
Next

Monkey Grip