Author:Jean Giono,Harry Brockway,Barbara Bray,Richard Mabey
'And so, with great care, he planted his hundred acorns'
While hiking through the wild lavender in a wind-swept, desolate valley in Provence, a man comes across a solitary shepherd called Elzéard Bouffier. Staying with him, he watches Elzéard sorting and then planting hundreds of acorns as he walks through the wilderness.
Ten years later, after surviving the First World War, he visits the shepherd again. A young forest is slowly spreading over the valley - Elzéard has continued his work. Year after year the narrator returns to see the miracle being created: a verdant, green landscape that is testament to one man's creative instinct. miracle he is gradually creating: a verdant, green landscape that is a testament to one man's creative instinct.
'I love the humanity of this story and how one man's efforts can change the future for so many' Michael Morpurgo, Independent
VINTAGE EARTH is a series of books that reveals our ever-changing relationship with the environment. These are stories old and young, set in worlds real or imagined, that allow us to explore our connection to the natural world. Transformative, wild, surprising and essential, these novels take on the most urgent story of our times.
It's a novel that contrives to be, by turns, utopian and dystopian, an idyll and a nightmare... Every joint and sinew of the story is restless with a sense of threat
—— London Review of BooksBrilliant in its sustainment of dread, in its peeling away of old layers of reality to expose a raw way of seeing and feeling. Doris Lessing once remarked that only a woman could have written this novel, and it's true... I've read The Wall three times already and am nowhere near finished
—— Nicole KraussIt makes you sick, because, if she wasn't a woman, everyone would be reading it, like Robinson Crusoe
—— Sheila Heti, author of 'Motherhood' and 'Pure Colour'Totally gripping
—— Daniel Swift , Spectator, *Books of the Year*An extraordinarily interesting writer, always underappreciated
—— Elfriede JelinekThe Wall is a wonderful novel. It is not often that you can say only a woman could have written this book, but women in particular will understand the heroine's loving devotion to the details of making and keeping life, every day felt as a victory against everything that would like to undermine and destroy
—— Doris LessingWhat is the wall? An allusion to the Cold War? An allegory for the Berlin Wall? Yes. But it also serves as a metaphorical stand-in for so many restrictions. It creates a situation that allows the main character and the reader to examine our ontology and what we think makes us real
—— Kirkus Reviews (starred)The Wall is speculative fiction of a distinctly existential sort, where the subject being speculated on is not what happened to the world, but what happens to reality when society is stripped away...Nothing resolves, yet the book is constantly resonating
—— Wall Street JournalBrutal and absorbing... But The Wall is also a resonant and realistic account of a widowed, middle-aged woman, disenchanted and depressed with the sum of her days, who is presented with the opportunity to enact what has previously eluded her: a life of her own imagining. In this way, Haushofer's book is one of the most profoundly feminist works of the past century
—— The AtlanticAn audacious piece of storytelling, full of passion, wisdom and magic
—— Sarah WatersHow mesmerising can twelfth century nuns be, even in the hands of Lauren Groff? I had barely started it before I was bloody well blaspheming with delight. Matrix is a gorgeous, sensual, addictive read.
—— Sara CollinsTranscendent prose and vividly described settings bring to life historic events, from the Crusades to the papal interdict of 1208. Groff has outdone herself with an accomplishment as radiant as Marie's visions.
—— Publishers WeeklyFrom the moment you're introduced to Marie, a queer, fierce warrior woman riding across the countryside on her warhorse, you feel as though you've time-travelled back to the Middle Ages. Groff's prose is arresting and unforgettably visceral . . . It's impossible not to feel galvanised by Marie's resilience, independence and determination to make her mark in a world ruled by men. I'll be thinking about Matrix for a long time to come
Enchanting and intriguing, Matrix absorbs the reader into the medieval period without compelling them to depart entirely from the present
—— iNewsIt's a bold, luminous tale that captivates from first to last.
—— Mail on SundayA robust and pleasingly strange slice of historical fiction
—— Times, Best Fiction Books of 2021Lauren Groff's Matrix is just marvellous; vivid and vibrant, it hums with the lives of those contained within the convent walls, as Marie becomes the ambitious and canny hub at the heart of this female utopia.
—— Daily MailNo doubt a mini-series beckons
—— Catholic HeraldGroff offers a world that is rapturous, rapacious, ecstatic, profane; a novel of seismic revelations.
—— Eley WilliamsMatrix explores the story of Marie de France, a young woman sent to languish in a struggling convent that she begins to transform through her own leadership. Both epic and intimate, this sweeping novel explores questions of female ambition, creativity and passion with electrifying prose and sparkling wit. A propulsive, captivating read.
—— Brit Bennett, author of The Vanishing HalfMatrix is alive with lust and glory. In the incandescent Marie de France - visionary, cantankerous and uncowed by the constraints of her sex - Groff paints a portrait of sisterhood that shines out of the past and into the lives of women today.
—— C Pam Zhang, author of Booker-longlisted How Much of These Hills is GoldAnimated with sensual detail on every page and filled with lush, gripping storytelling that cuts to the bone, MATRIX resonates right into the present moment. I never thought I would find myself longing to be a medieval nun but Groff is a worker of wonders. This book is a ferocious joy
—— Madeline MillerLushly textured and uniquely vivid, Matrix settles itself on your mind like a dream or vision - it's absolutely stunning
—— Sophie MackintoshWhat a book. Perfectly done. I adored it
—— Max PorterIt's as brightly lit as an illuminated manuscript and would make the most perfect Christmas present imaginable
—— Naomi AldermanFull of sharp sensory detail, it's balm and nourishment for brain, heart and soul
—— GuardianMatrix takes the mysterious life of the late 12th-century poet - known today for her romantic lais - and runs with it . . . Groff explores themes of domination, death and desire in compelling (if at times, stomach-turning) detail
—— Financial Times, Best Books of the YearHowever, like Groff's earlier novel, this becomes a vivid, immersive and at times wild account of female agency
—— Sunday TimesIn Lauren Groff's hands, the tale of a medieval nunnery is must-read fiction
—— Washington PostA marvelously told story of devotion, desire and ambition in the heart of a female utopia
—— Daily MailMatrix is another masterpiece from a writer whom few at this point can best
—— The AtlanticThrough Marie, Groff explores how a society's religious and gendered constraints can be turned on their head to create a utopia
—— The New Yorker[A]n electric reimagining . . . feminist, sensual, magisterial, de France's saga is one of hardship and triumph, an unforgettable character whose far-seeing vision and devotion to the nuns in her community enable them to transcend what threatens to erase and silence them
—— Oprah MagazineMatrix focuses less on Marie the author and more on Marie the abbess - and if you think that doesn't sound like the obvious angle for a fun and engaging story, you underestimate the scope of Groff 's imagination and talent
—— The Daily TelegraphIn these incandescent pages, Groff reverently imagines her way into the life and lore of Marie de France . . . Woven from Groff's trademark ecstatic sentences and brimming with spiritual fervor, Matrix is a radiant work of imagination and accomplishment
—— EsquireThrilling and heartbreaking, Groff crafts an electric work of historical fiction
—— TIME, Most Anticipated Book of the FallA transportive and meditative tale that will swallow you up from the very start
—— NewsweekGroff, a premier stylist . . . .continues to grow, taking on a medieval foremother's story in her latest novel. The voice she finds for Marie de France . . . .will hold readers fast as the exiled Angevin royal becomes abbess of a convent, leading her charges through historic upheavals
—— LA TimesFeverishly exhilarating stuff
—— Chicago TribuneWith her unparalleled gift for sumptuous, sublime prose, Groff paints an engrossing portrait of a woman who, despite living in a world bound by constraints, experiences a life rich with passion and creativity. Surrounded by a supportive sisterhood, Marie uses strength and ingenuity to subvert the oppression of the patriarchy
—— Atlanta Journal ConstitutionUtterly absorbing
—— VogueSplendid with rich description and period vocabulary, this courageous and spin-tingling novel shows an incredible range for Groff (FLORIDA, 2018), and will envelop readers fully in Marie's world, interior and exterior, all senses lit up. It is both a complete departure and an easy-to-envision tale of faith, power, and temptation.
—— BooklistIn this bildungsroman about the real-life 12th-century poet Marie de France, a teenage Marie is exiled to a blighted Benedictine nunnery, where she finds strength and power as a prioress
—— Vanity FairPowerful, sapphic historical novel . . . Richly realized with historical details that don't overwhelm
—— BuzzFeedReaders will recognize her stunning prose and grand, mythic perspective. . . . in a tale that feels both ancient and urgent, as holy as it is deeply human
—— Entertainment WeeklyThe pages are almost completely devoid of men - seen, but not heard - with Groff using poetic, melodic and yet fierce writing to breathe volume into themes of power, ambition and success from the perspective of women
—— Press Association[A] propulsive, enchanting, and emotionally charged read
—— Washington Independent Review of BooksA clever spin on the story of Marie de France
—— BustleI loved this accomplished piece of storytelling. So much so, I added it to my Booker wish list at the last minute, a wish not fulfilled, of course
—— A Life In BooksMatrix is a rich, beautifully written novel about ambition and desire, and also witchy separatist medieval nuns
—— VoxMesmerizing and inspiring
—— NewsdayMedieval life can seem far from our modern grasp, but Groff vividly describes the daily workings of the convent, from prayers to practical chores. She has done her research and it shows in the rich details she provides of working the fields, preparing meals, governing novices . . . magical, a beautiful evocation of what women can achieve and what they can mean to each other
—— NY Journal of Books[A] feminist foray into a medieval nunnery that is stunning in its labyrinthine artistry and sensual tracing of life as lived during the era of the poet Marie de France and the legendary Eleanor of Aquitaine
—— Lit HubMust-read
—— HuffPostA[n] artful writer, Groff has no need for fantastic artifice to construct a world without men. She . . . gives us an extraordinary protagonist . . . Anyone who has read Groff's previous novels and stories knows that this author's greatest virtue is her economy of prose. A disciplined writer . . . If "Eleanor's best currency is story," that goes double for Groff . . . Groff's "Matrix" simultaneously transports us to a backward world that once was and the grim future that seems inevitable. And all this through the eyes of a group of extraordinary women who decline to live lives of quiet desperation
—— Gainesville Sun[A] transcendently beautiful novel with sensuality, religious ecstasy, gender and power explorations, and a fair bit of tasteful gore. It's surprisingly delicious to read fiction about a historical figure we know so little about
—— ShondalandI'm on page 17 and now nothing else matters . . . Once you have this book in your hands I feel certain you too will be consumed
—— Sarah Jessica Parker[D]reamy prose . . . At its heart, the book's message is simple: joy can exist in darkness
—— PopsugarRichly imaginative
—— AP[A] relentless exhibition of Groff's freakish talent . . . an unforgettable book . . . ecstatic, refulgent, God-struck, heretical
—— USA Today[A] creative, intelligent work that will last
—— Boston GlobeThe real Marie de France may continue to elude historians but the speculative fiction in Matrix combine to produce an unfailingly absorbing novel
—— TLSAn uplifting novel in its own unique way, and up there with Groff's best work
—— iNewsMatrix forms an intensely focused character study, but also succeeds as a probing exploration of female power
—— Literary ReviewA beautiful and beguiling novel that transports the listener utterly and completely to another world
—— Irish ExaminerAgainst a convincingly filthy and precarious medieval backdrop, Marie is a figure of dazzling complexity
—— The Times