3.5/5 - Fates and Furies followed a married couple over decades of their relationship. Lancelot "Lotto" and Mathilde met in college and had a whirlwind romance that turned into a marriage everyone envied. Lotto was promiscuous (pre-Mathilde), he was charming, his family worshipped him, he was talented - but owed much of his success to others, a fact he cheerfully ignored. Mathilde was a mystery; her family nonexistent for most of the novel. Regardless, the two were crazy about each other. Lotto wanted the perfect family and with him, Mathilde felt safe for the first time in her life. When they were young, they struggled to pay the bills but ultimately rose to success and fame. Fates, the first half of the novel, told the story from Lotto's perspective but it wasn't until Mathilde's Furies that things got interesting. 
 Groff's prose took some adjusting to, it's one of those things you either love or hate. I enjoyed it 90% of the time. There were moments it was a bit much. Sometimes I had to reread sections, not because they were extremely intelligent, but because Groff was overly vague with the metaphors. And sometimes I appreciated the inclusion of Lotto's plays, sometimes not. The Greek mythology references would probably have been better received by someone who knows more about mythology, but I just moved past them. 
 The majority of Mathilde's half was satisfying. Questions were answered about events that were glossed over at the first half. I said majority because there was one twist that felt haphazard to me. (view spoiler)[ I didn't think it added to the chasm between the couple at all for Lotto to have a kid out there somewhere. Yes, we knew throughout the book he wanted a child and it became slowly obvious that Mathilde didn't and was purposefully sabotaging the efforts. But her actions in stopping pregnancy were enough, I think, to show the disconnect. Lotto's kid (by then grown man) seemed like an afterthought. He didn't affect the marriage because Lotto never learned about him. 
 Mathilde's past - and present - was rather twisted. Her college education was paid for because she spent her weekends as a sex slave to some freak who would force her to eat off the floor. She had her eye out for Lotto because she knew his family was rich, it just worked out great for her that she actually did love him. She blackmailed a family member into financially supporting Lotto's plays when it became clear that writing, not acting, was where his talent lay. You can't really blame her for the childhood troubles she endured: an accident with her brother, a prostitute grandmother, and a criminal uncle. But as an adult, her actions were all her own and Lotto truly did not know who he was married to. (hide spoiler)] 
 Would they have been so happily married if Lotto had ever known the truth? I don't think so. I think he was meant to be sheltered in his marriage; he wanted the world to revolve around him and Mathilde was just fine with doing that to maintain her sense of security. There were moments I was genuinely moved by their relationship, and I know they needed the facade to be happy. The truth would never have set these two free. 
 This book was a 3.5/5 for me. The language was a nice change from the norm. Mathilde's actions were dark enough to intrigue me without making me completely hate the character and her half was far more interesting that Lotto's.