Fates and Furies

Originally published in 2015, Fates and Furies is the third novel by Lauren Groff. The book dissects the twenty-four-year-long marriage between Lotto Satterwhite and Mathilde Yoder and incorporates many elements of Greek myths. The novel starts with their quickie marriage and jumps around in a disjointed timeline to chronicle everything from their childhoods before meeting one another in college to Mathilde’s decades as a widow after Lotto’s death. The majority of the events circle around the two working as a pair to cultivate Lotto’s illustrious career as a Broadway playwright after a stalled debut in acting.

The first section of the book, ”The Fates,” is told from Lotto’s idealistic perspective, while the second part of the book, ”The Furies” showcases Mathilde’s alternative version of many of the previous events, in addition to offering details of other scenes in her life outside of Lotto that add another layer to the past events the two share.

Lotto is raised well-loved in a wealthy Florida mansion before being sent off to boarding school in New Hampshire. Mathilde lives a sad childhood of isolation in England, Paris, and Pennsylvania. Her loneliness culminates with her funding her college education with the help of her gallery-owner sugar daddy,

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