Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Publication
New York : Nan A. Talese/Doubleday, [2014]
Description
The award-winning author of The Handmaid's Tale presents a collection of short stories that features such protagonists as a widowed writer who is guided by her late husband's voice and a woman whose genetic abnormality causes her to be mistaken for a vampire.
User reviews
LibraryThing member missizicks
I enjoyed this collection. It isn't my favourite of the short story collections I've read by Margaret Atwood. That honour goes to Wilderness Tips.
Stone Mattress starts with a suite of three interconnected stories about a writer, a poet and the woman who came between them. None of the characters is
The theme running through the stories is the difficulty of getting along with other people. More specifically, and as a quote from a review in the Independent newspaper on the cover of the paperback version I read almost says, it's about getting to a certain point in life where there are people in our lives that we'd really rather weren't there, and being prepared to go to the ultimate length for them not to be there any longer. Some of the stories are enigmatic, full of suspense, and you're left not knowing what will happen, but in a wrigglingly delicious way.
My favourite story in the book is the shortest. Lusus Naturae is a funny, bittersweet tale. It didn't need to be longer than its 10 pages. Everything was there. The innocent childhood, the difficult teenage years, the misunderstanding, the inevitable end. I want to quote from it, but I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't read it.
It was a nice surprise to re-encounter some old friends from The Robber Bride, in the middle of the collection. I Dream of Zenia with the Bright Red Teeth brings us up to date with Tony, Roz and Charis in one of the milder stories in the book.
The title story had an unusual effect - it had me rooting for someone about to commit a murder. The final tale in the collection was sobering. An almost dystopia, it speaks of the fate that a lot of people are already facing, and took it a step further. That's something else Atwood does well. At each stage of her life, she distills the world she is experiencing to produce the essence of the things that matter. This collection of stories has a second theme of aging. It examines how to age with dignity, and whether it is necessary or right to address past events. And linked to aging is memory, how it fades as we grow older, and we begin the refrain, "It'll come back to me later," and then begin to wonder whether it's something more.
What I like about Margaret Atwood's short stories is that she understands the format. She knows that it's not for throwaway ideas that might or might not be worked into novels. She understands that the reader still needs to feel drawn in by the story, and satisfied by its ending. Not all writers have the skill to craft a truly good short story, but Margaret Atwood does. Whether it's 50 pages or 10, she gives you everything you need to know to make the story real.
Stone Mattress starts with a suite of three interconnected stories about a writer, a poet and the woman who came between them. None of the characters is
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particularly likeable, but Atwood's mischievous sense of humour makes reading about them very entertaining. It's a bit of a theme throughout the collection, that unlikeability. Atwood has a spiky tongue when she needs it. She's never mean, though. She's merely observant of human nature and what people are really like under their veneer of civility. And also what their vulnerabilities are beneath their carapace of unlikeability.The theme running through the stories is the difficulty of getting along with other people. More specifically, and as a quote from a review in the Independent newspaper on the cover of the paperback version I read almost says, it's about getting to a certain point in life where there are people in our lives that we'd really rather weren't there, and being prepared to go to the ultimate length for them not to be there any longer. Some of the stories are enigmatic, full of suspense, and you're left not knowing what will happen, but in a wrigglingly delicious way.
My favourite story in the book is the shortest. Lusus Naturae is a funny, bittersweet tale. It didn't need to be longer than its 10 pages. Everything was there. The innocent childhood, the difficult teenage years, the misunderstanding, the inevitable end. I want to quote from it, but I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't read it.
It was a nice surprise to re-encounter some old friends from The Robber Bride, in the middle of the collection. I Dream of Zenia with the Bright Red Teeth brings us up to date with Tony, Roz and Charis in one of the milder stories in the book.
The title story had an unusual effect - it had me rooting for someone about to commit a murder. The final tale in the collection was sobering. An almost dystopia, it speaks of the fate that a lot of people are already facing, and took it a step further. That's something else Atwood does well. At each stage of her life, she distills the world she is experiencing to produce the essence of the things that matter. This collection of stories has a second theme of aging. It examines how to age with dignity, and whether it is necessary or right to address past events. And linked to aging is memory, how it fades as we grow older, and we begin the refrain, "It'll come back to me later," and then begin to wonder whether it's something more.
What I like about Margaret Atwood's short stories is that she understands the format. She knows that it's not for throwaway ideas that might or might not be worked into novels. She understands that the reader still needs to feel drawn in by the story, and satisfied by its ending. Not all writers have the skill to craft a truly good short story, but Margaret Atwood does. Whether it's 50 pages or 10, she gives you everything you need to know to make the story real.
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LibraryThing member gendeg
Stone Mattress is stunningly good, old-fashioned storytelling. Margaret Atwood delivers on what she's known for: wonderfully etched characters that feel like real people with lived-in lives. In her latest collection, Atwood etches her characters in stone and ice.
Take for example the title story.
The term 'stone mattress' comes up fittingly in the Verna story. A young scientist is giving a lecture on fossilized rock formations called stromatolites. He explains: "the word comes from the Greek stroma, a mattress, coupled with the root word for stone. Stone mattress: a fossilized cushion, formed by layer upon layer of blue-green algae building up into a mound or dome. It was this very same blue-green algae that created the oxygen they are now breathing."
A running theme through all the stories is how important early experiences are. They can build up over time like fossils—a kind of inner stone mattress—hardened and preserved. But rather than weigh down characters like baggage, they propel characters to action, and spark—often murderous—impulses. Only Atwood can derive such storytelling verve in the stew of bitterness.
I also admired the sardonic look at old age. Most stories in the collection feature protagonists in their golden years. There is no 'going gently into the good night' for the elderly here. They battle physical and mental decrepitude, ostensible threats, as we see in "Torching the Dusties," and threats that are more emotional like memories of trauma or lost loves and old flames that continue to haunt, as in "Alphinland."
In the "Dusties" story, we meet Wilma who lives in a retirement community sometime in the near future. Wilma is going blind from macular degeneration and also suffers from a hallucinatory syndrome where she sees little figures who dance around the edges of her vision. Contrasted against this miniaturized grotesqueness is the real-life grotesqueness of a militant activist group. These activists protest outside of hospitals and senior citizen homes, carrying ominous signs that declare "Time to Go." A generational war that pits the young against the old? Only Atwood can pull it off as a well-paced thriller, all seen through the eyes—ironic because she's going blind—of Wilma.
Another standout tale in the collection is "The Dead Hand Loves You," a homage to horror, B-movie camp, built around a story-within-a-story framework. "The Dead" is actually the title of a best-selling novel written by the protagonist while he was struggling to make rent in college. To help him out financially, his three flatmates agree to buy shares of his novel in exchange for rent money. The author agrees too willingly and soon regrets the deal when the novel becomes a runaway hit. Decades later, the novel continues to be a cash cow. During this time, the author stews in his resentment of his former housemates. He grows to hate them for lawyer-ing up, for taking a large chunk of his money, and making him adhere to a contract he always thought of as a joke. This built-up acrimony leads him to some drastic action.
Only one story left me unsatisfied at the end, "The Freeze-Dried Groom." The fate that awaits the drug running antiques dealer in this tale was just too ambiguous.
Overall, the stories in Stone Mattress are wickedly sharp and intimate, and filled with dark, chilling humor. It's a fun read. It veers into B-movie camp in some places, goes gothic in others, and offers a dash of meta fantasy in some.
Take for example the title story.
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We meet Verna, the personification of the cold 'black widow,' who nevertheless manages to make her serial husband-killings sympathetic and reasonable, as if they were an innocuous knitting hobby. Verna is on a cruise in the Arctic, casing out her next conquest and making acerbic, biting observations of the people she meets. She hones in on one prospect, who turns out to be someone from her past, someone who humiliated Verna and who set Verna on her dark path. Verna is very typical of the characters in Stone Mattress. She carries emotional scars from her youth, hardened moments of trauma that play out in some devastating way in later life.The term 'stone mattress' comes up fittingly in the Verna story. A young scientist is giving a lecture on fossilized rock formations called stromatolites. He explains: "the word comes from the Greek stroma, a mattress, coupled with the root word for stone. Stone mattress: a fossilized cushion, formed by layer upon layer of blue-green algae building up into a mound or dome. It was this very same blue-green algae that created the oxygen they are now breathing."
A running theme through all the stories is how important early experiences are. They can build up over time like fossils—a kind of inner stone mattress—hardened and preserved. But rather than weigh down characters like baggage, they propel characters to action, and spark—often murderous—impulses. Only Atwood can derive such storytelling verve in the stew of bitterness.
I also admired the sardonic look at old age. Most stories in the collection feature protagonists in their golden years. There is no 'going gently into the good night' for the elderly here. They battle physical and mental decrepitude, ostensible threats, as we see in "Torching the Dusties," and threats that are more emotional like memories of trauma or lost loves and old flames that continue to haunt, as in "Alphinland."
In the "Dusties" story, we meet Wilma who lives in a retirement community sometime in the near future. Wilma is going blind from macular degeneration and also suffers from a hallucinatory syndrome where she sees little figures who dance around the edges of her vision. Contrasted against this miniaturized grotesqueness is the real-life grotesqueness of a militant activist group. These activists protest outside of hospitals and senior citizen homes, carrying ominous signs that declare "Time to Go." A generational war that pits the young against the old? Only Atwood can pull it off as a well-paced thriller, all seen through the eyes—ironic because she's going blind—of Wilma.
Another standout tale in the collection is "The Dead Hand Loves You," a homage to horror, B-movie camp, built around a story-within-a-story framework. "The Dead" is actually the title of a best-selling novel written by the protagonist while he was struggling to make rent in college. To help him out financially, his three flatmates agree to buy shares of his novel in exchange for rent money. The author agrees too willingly and soon regrets the deal when the novel becomes a runaway hit. Decades later, the novel continues to be a cash cow. During this time, the author stews in his resentment of his former housemates. He grows to hate them for lawyer-ing up, for taking a large chunk of his money, and making him adhere to a contract he always thought of as a joke. This built-up acrimony leads him to some drastic action.
Only one story left me unsatisfied at the end, "The Freeze-Dried Groom." The fate that awaits the drug running antiques dealer in this tale was just too ambiguous.
Overall, the stories in Stone Mattress are wickedly sharp and intimate, and filled with dark, chilling humor. It's a fun read. It veers into B-movie camp in some places, goes gothic in others, and offers a dash of meta fantasy in some.
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LibraryThing member jwood652
Nine interesting tales delivered with amazing dark humor and writing skill, some related to each other while all nine grab the reader's interest and imagination. I must read more Atwood!
LibraryThing member nivramkoorb
This is the 2nd book by Margaret Atwood that I recently have read and I have a 3rd one waiting for me. These short stories are excellent. The themes are varied but they deal a lot with male/female relationships and the issues of aging. This collection is a perfect introduction to Margaret Atwood
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for those that have not read her. She is simply one the best writers around. I fully intend to read all of her books and really believe that one day she should get a Nobel Prize for her body of work. She is that good. Show Less
LibraryThing member rmckeown
I once drove about six hours from Philadelphia to Boston to hear Margaret Atwood read from her then latest novel, Cat’s Eye. Set in Toronto, the book was her first novel after A Handmaid’s Tale. Atwood is a writer I collect assiduously, because I have never read anything she has written that I
All nine stories focus on relationships between men and women. The first three were lots of fun, since they detail the story of Gavin, a mediocre poet, who did have some early success, and three of his partners. In the first, “Alphinland” is narrated by Constance, Gavin’s first. She is a writer, who has penned a popular series of fantasy tales set in Alphinland. Gavin disdained her work when they were married, but the popularity of the stories has provided Constance with a comfortable lifestyle. She has put all her friends, family, and Gavin into the stories with only the thinnest of disguises. Aging rapidly, she wanders around her apartment listening for the voice of her recently departed mate, Ewan. The voice helps her remember things, such as “take a flashlight” when she walks through a storm to buy some food in a town with no power. Atwood writes, “What they didn’t understand was that – increasingly – she did take it seriously. Alphinland was hers alone. It was her refuge, it was her stronghold; it was where she could go when things with Gavin weren’t working out. She could walk in spirit through the invisible portal and wander through all the darkling forests and over the shimmering fields, making alliances and defeating enemies, and no one else could come in unless she said they could because there was a five-dimensional spell guarding the entryway” (22).
The second story, “Revenant,” describes Gavin’s last wife, Reynolds. She tries to keep up Gavin’s reputation, but he is a crusty, mean old man, who does not want the attention. Reynolds sets up an interview with a graduate student, believing she was interested in Gavin’s poetry. To his dismay, Naveena’s thesis involves the Alphinland stories, and she wants to confirm the alter ego of Gavin. Gavin discovers Reynolds has sold his papers to a university.
The third story involves Jorrie a former partner of Gavin, who reads his obituary in the paper. She decided to attend the ceremony, and discovers all three women are present. Lots of awkward fun there!
The last two stories, “Stone Mattress” and “Torching the Dusties,” round out the collection and end this marvelous book with two exciting stories. Sorry, no spoiler alerts! Read the collection and find out exactly what a “stone mattress” is, and then end up with a thrill ride nearly reminiscent of her great novel, A Handmaid’s Tale.”
Stone Mattress: Nine Tales will make many readers fans of Margaret Atwood. The visit to The Harvard Bookstore Café ended with a half dozen of her novels in my collection signed. And it was worth every mile I drove. 5 stars
--Jim, 10/12/14
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have not thoroughly enjoyed. Stone Mattress: Nine Tales is her latest work. The peculiar title intrigued me, and I want ted to read simply to find out about a stone mattress. This title story did that and so much more.All nine stories focus on relationships between men and women. The first three were lots of fun, since they detail the story of Gavin, a mediocre poet, who did have some early success, and three of his partners. In the first, “Alphinland” is narrated by Constance, Gavin’s first. She is a writer, who has penned a popular series of fantasy tales set in Alphinland. Gavin disdained her work when they were married, but the popularity of the stories has provided Constance with a comfortable lifestyle. She has put all her friends, family, and Gavin into the stories with only the thinnest of disguises. Aging rapidly, she wanders around her apartment listening for the voice of her recently departed mate, Ewan. The voice helps her remember things, such as “take a flashlight” when she walks through a storm to buy some food in a town with no power. Atwood writes, “What they didn’t understand was that – increasingly – she did take it seriously. Alphinland was hers alone. It was her refuge, it was her stronghold; it was where she could go when things with Gavin weren’t working out. She could walk in spirit through the invisible portal and wander through all the darkling forests and over the shimmering fields, making alliances and defeating enemies, and no one else could come in unless she said they could because there was a five-dimensional spell guarding the entryway” (22).
The second story, “Revenant,” describes Gavin’s last wife, Reynolds. She tries to keep up Gavin’s reputation, but he is a crusty, mean old man, who does not want the attention. Reynolds sets up an interview with a graduate student, believing she was interested in Gavin’s poetry. To his dismay, Naveena’s thesis involves the Alphinland stories, and she wants to confirm the alter ego of Gavin. Gavin discovers Reynolds has sold his papers to a university.
The third story involves Jorrie a former partner of Gavin, who reads his obituary in the paper. She decided to attend the ceremony, and discovers all three women are present. Lots of awkward fun there!
The last two stories, “Stone Mattress” and “Torching the Dusties,” round out the collection and end this marvelous book with two exciting stories. Sorry, no spoiler alerts! Read the collection and find out exactly what a “stone mattress” is, and then end up with a thrill ride nearly reminiscent of her great novel, A Handmaid’s Tale.”
Stone Mattress: Nine Tales will make many readers fans of Margaret Atwood. The visit to The Harvard Bookstore Café ended with a half dozen of her novels in my collection signed. And it was worth every mile I drove. 5 stars
--Jim, 10/12/14
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LibraryThing member Clara53
Margaret Atwood understands old age. As simple as that. And what's more - she gives this understanding such potent expression that one just sits back and marvels... A book of 9 stories. "9 Tales", she calls it. The first three have interconnecting characters - the same events are told from
Here is what one protagonist says of herself: "Be prepared.... It's a lifelong failing: she has never been prepared. But how can you have a sense of wonder if you are prepared for everything? Prepared for the sunset. Prepared for the moonrise. Prepared for the ice storm. What flat existence that would be."
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different perspectives. It's like a wonderful short novella on its own. Tales 4 and 5 - sorry to say - were not my cup of tea, and they also didn't fit thematically into this particular collection. But the rest of them - spectacular gems, each one - have more than made up for the two, making it so easy for me to give the book 5 stars. Humor and bitterness, insight and bewilderment are balanced so perfectly in description of advanced age - each story is so unique in its plot, certain ideas and descriptions are so relatable. A very powerful statement in the last story - I think that was my favorite. Here is what one protagonist says of herself: "Be prepared.... It's a lifelong failing: she has never been prepared. But how can you have a sense of wonder if you are prepared for everything? Prepared for the sunset. Prepared for the moonrise. Prepared for the ice storm. What flat existence that would be."
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LibraryThing member mykl-s
Sometimes I forget just how good Atwood is. Now I remember again, and I wonder why I've still not read everything she has written.
LibraryThing member varwenea
In these 9 wicked tales, the first three are intertwined between Constance, a once budding writer who unpremeditatedly created a sci-fic empire/cult, and Gavin, a full-of-himself poet who slept with every admiring young lady and graduate student passing by him, with the first being Constance. These
The 3 that are linked and best:
1. ‘Alphinland’ – Named after the sci-fic world that Constance created, I cheered for her triumphant caring for herself through an ice storm after the death of her husband. Her elderly ways remained me of my own probable weaknesses but gave me hope too. Hell, I’d probably be talking to myself then too.
2. ‘Revenant’ – Gavin is Constance’s first love, whom he cheated on with Marjorie and his pattern continues, currently with wife, Reynolds, 30 years his junior. By design, the reader will dislike Gavin, possibly hate. There’s a deliciousness in how the tale unfolds, of present and past, of Gavin’s proclaimed love for the one who got away – Constance, and of Reynolds who is no pushover and volleys back at Gavin.
3. ‘Dark Lady’ – Constance, Marjorie, Reynolds reunite at Gavin’s funeral. There’s pettiness, hurt feelings, truth revealing, the usual. But it’s the words, all 3 tales, the words are at once titillating yet bold. All three are bond by threads of the Gavin web that one can only hope to breakaway safely.
Titled Tale – ‘Stone Mattress’ shows a deeply cut pain can dramatically alter the course of a person’s life. But even after revenge is achieved, emptiness comes hand-in-hand with peace.
‘Touching the Dusties’ – Wow, the idea is just horrifying. I won’t say any more and let you read it.
Overall, this is a worthy read – raw, blunt, sexual, and plenty of lessons, such as “Money does talk, but it has a limited vocabulary.” Snap!
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three were the best, but the other six were mighty good too. A common theme was aging, in some cases, death. Looking backwards, the view is always more clear, rather it be first love or first painful experience.The 3 that are linked and best:
1. ‘Alphinland’ – Named after the sci-fic world that Constance created, I cheered for her triumphant caring for herself through an ice storm after the death of her husband. Her elderly ways remained me of my own probable weaknesses but gave me hope too. Hell, I’d probably be talking to myself then too.
2. ‘Revenant’ – Gavin is Constance’s first love, whom he cheated on with Marjorie and his pattern continues, currently with wife, Reynolds, 30 years his junior. By design, the reader will dislike Gavin, possibly hate. There’s a deliciousness in how the tale unfolds, of present and past, of Gavin’s proclaimed love for the one who got away – Constance, and of Reynolds who is no pushover and volleys back at Gavin.
3. ‘Dark Lady’ – Constance, Marjorie, Reynolds reunite at Gavin’s funeral. There’s pettiness, hurt feelings, truth revealing, the usual. But it’s the words, all 3 tales, the words are at once titillating yet bold. All three are bond by threads of the Gavin web that one can only hope to breakaway safely.
Titled Tale – ‘Stone Mattress’ shows a deeply cut pain can dramatically alter the course of a person’s life. But even after revenge is achieved, emptiness comes hand-in-hand with peace.
‘Touching the Dusties’ – Wow, the idea is just horrifying. I won’t say any more and let you read it.
Overall, this is a worthy read – raw, blunt, sexual, and plenty of lessons, such as “Money does talk, but it has a limited vocabulary.” Snap!
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LibraryThing member gbill
This is one of the best collections of short stories I’ve read in a long while, one where I couldn’t wait to see where the next story would take me. It was on my list of books to read for over a year, since hearing about it from a dear friend, and I’m so glad I got around to it.
Particularly
Gavin’s banality and Constance’s naiveté when young are expressed perfectly in this passage, which had me literally laughing out loud: “…it was enormously seductive for Constance to read Gavin’s more erotic poems and know that every time he wrote Lady - or even better, my truelove - it meant her. ‘My Lady Reclines on a Pillow,’ ‘My Lady’s First Morning Coffee,’ and ‘My Lady Licks My Plate’ were heartwarming, but ‘My Lady Bends Over’ was her favourite.” Atwood’s description of the tacky aspects of his funeral, such as the grandchildren singing ‘My Way’ instead of something more solemn, is also hilarious. And yet she also touches on the poignant; as they sing ‘Fare Thee Well’, she says “that will do it every time: the promise to return, coupled with the certain knowledge that no return is possible.”
She takes a brief step backwards with Lusus Naturae, which ironically was published in a collection of stories for McSweeney’s who I love, but the remaining five stories are all good in their own ways. One recurring theme is aging, and Atwood shows great acuity on the subject, and writes about it in ways which are not only insightful, but funny and profound, and anything but boring.
A couple of quotes may illustrate this:
On what it’s like to try to keep up with slang:
“Anyway, these girls are getting younger and younger, so it’s difficult to make conversation with them at those moments when they expect him to talk. Half the time he has no idea what’s coming out of their mouths, when it isn’t tongues. They have a whole new vocabulary. Some days he thinks he’s been buried underground for a hundred years.”
On sex:
“Is this a fluttering of ancient warmth? Does she really want him to enfold her in his stringy warmth, make his way in towards her skin through the Velcro and zippers, attempt some ghostly, creaky, arthropod-like reprise of the act he must have committed effortlessly hundreds, indeed thousands of times in the past? No. It would be too painful for her, the silent comparisons that would be going on: the luscious, chocolate-sampling mistresses, the divine breasts, the marble thighs. Then only her.
You believed you could transcend the body as you aged, she tells herself. You believed you could rise above it, to a serene, non-physical realm. But it’s only through ecstasy you can do that, and ecstasy is achieved through the body itself. Without the bone and sinew of wings, no flight. Without that ecstasy you can only be dragged further down by the body, into its machinery. Its rustling, creaking, vengeful, brute machinery.”
And here are some humorous quotes, probably better when they sneak up on you in situ, but I can’t resist extracting them:
This on a couple of young news people who comment during an ice storm that they’ve never seen anything like it – “Of course they haven’t, they’re too young.”
This in reply to ‘How do I look?’:
“‘Stupendous,’ says Tin.
‘I love it when you lie for me.’
‘I’m not lying,’ says Tin. Stupendous: causing astonishment or wonder: From the gerund of stupere, to be astounded. That about covers it. After a certain moment, there is only so much a beautifully cut grey outfit can redeem.”
This on the poor choice in furniture:
“Had he helped to choose their graceless imitation-Victorian bed? He had; or at least he’d stood by while the crime was being committed.”
This on a guy not sharing:
“A non-asshole might offer Sam a doughnut hole – surely the guy isn’t going to eat the whole bag, he could benefit from some weight loss – but that philanthropic act does not take place.”
Particularly
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spectacular are the first three stories which are linked – Alphinland, Revenant, and Dark Lady, which had me thinking, Margaret Atwood, where have you been all my life? I don’t think there has been a protagonist I’ve rooted more for than Constance, author and creator of a famous fantasy world, or one I’ve pulled more against than Gavin, a pretentious poet who she lived with back in the 60’s, until she walked in on him cheating with Marjorie. The first three stories center around each, respectively, now in old age, but with memories of those times. Gavin’s banality and Constance’s naiveté when young are expressed perfectly in this passage, which had me literally laughing out loud: “…it was enormously seductive for Constance to read Gavin’s more erotic poems and know that every time he wrote Lady - or even better, my truelove - it meant her. ‘My Lady Reclines on a Pillow,’ ‘My Lady’s First Morning Coffee,’ and ‘My Lady Licks My Plate’ were heartwarming, but ‘My Lady Bends Over’ was her favourite.” Atwood’s description of the tacky aspects of his funeral, such as the grandchildren singing ‘My Way’ instead of something more solemn, is also hilarious. And yet she also touches on the poignant; as they sing ‘Fare Thee Well’, she says “that will do it every time: the promise to return, coupled with the certain knowledge that no return is possible.”
She takes a brief step backwards with Lusus Naturae, which ironically was published in a collection of stories for McSweeney’s who I love, but the remaining five stories are all good in their own ways. One recurring theme is aging, and Atwood shows great acuity on the subject, and writes about it in ways which are not only insightful, but funny and profound, and anything but boring.
A couple of quotes may illustrate this:
On what it’s like to try to keep up with slang:
“Anyway, these girls are getting younger and younger, so it’s difficult to make conversation with them at those moments when they expect him to talk. Half the time he has no idea what’s coming out of their mouths, when it isn’t tongues. They have a whole new vocabulary. Some days he thinks he’s been buried underground for a hundred years.”
On sex:
“Is this a fluttering of ancient warmth? Does she really want him to enfold her in his stringy warmth, make his way in towards her skin through the Velcro and zippers, attempt some ghostly, creaky, arthropod-like reprise of the act he must have committed effortlessly hundreds, indeed thousands of times in the past? No. It would be too painful for her, the silent comparisons that would be going on: the luscious, chocolate-sampling mistresses, the divine breasts, the marble thighs. Then only her.
You believed you could transcend the body as you aged, she tells herself. You believed you could rise above it, to a serene, non-physical realm. But it’s only through ecstasy you can do that, and ecstasy is achieved through the body itself. Without the bone and sinew of wings, no flight. Without that ecstasy you can only be dragged further down by the body, into its machinery. Its rustling, creaking, vengeful, brute machinery.”
And here are some humorous quotes, probably better when they sneak up on you in situ, but I can’t resist extracting them:
This on a couple of young news people who comment during an ice storm that they’ve never seen anything like it – “Of course they haven’t, they’re too young.”
This in reply to ‘How do I look?’:
“‘Stupendous,’ says Tin.
‘I love it when you lie for me.’
‘I’m not lying,’ says Tin. Stupendous: causing astonishment or wonder: From the gerund of stupere, to be astounded. That about covers it. After a certain moment, there is only so much a beautifully cut grey outfit can redeem.”
This on the poor choice in furniture:
“Had he helped to choose their graceless imitation-Victorian bed? He had; or at least he’d stood by while the crime was being committed.”
This on a guy not sharing:
“A non-asshole might offer Sam a doughnut hole – surely the guy isn’t going to eat the whole bag, he could benefit from some weight loss – but that philanthropic act does not take place.”
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LibraryThing member Niecierpek
Old age ain’t no place for sissies, but we all know the alternative… Margaret Atwood’s short stories drive it right home. Indignities of getting old, with all the gory details, treated with the usual wry humour. Nine stories, some of them interlinked, some standalone, but all of them
I have to admire her for tackling the subject. Some escape into the remembrance of the things past, their childhood and youth, but not her. She tackles it right as it’s coming with a full frontal embrace.
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revolving around the same theme. I had read the title story, The Stone Mattress, before in The New Yorker, but the rest were new to me.I have to admire her for tackling the subject. Some escape into the remembrance of the things past, their childhood and youth, but not her. She tackles it right as it’s coming with a full frontal embrace.
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LibraryThing member RidgewayGirl
Margaret Atwood's newest collection of short stories is every bit as good as one would expect. My only disappointment is that there were only nine stories.
The collection starts off with three loosely connected stories, one involving a popular and eccentric fantasy novelist, one about a former
The collection starts off with three loosely connected stories, one involving a popular and eccentric fantasy novelist, one about a former
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lover who is a minor poet and the final story follows an ex-wife of the poet. There's a story, originally written for The Walrus, that continues the story of Charis, Roz and Tony from The Robber Bride, which is wonderful. I got the feeling that Atwood loves those three women as much as I do, and her story, in which Billy returns, is very well done. Many of the stories are about people approaching the end of their lives and several of them are writers of one sort or another, but despite the common themes, each story is different from the others. Show Less
LibraryThing member Aubreyisnthere
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I needed this book. Every story in Stone Mattress is unique and fascinating, dark and humorous. Aging is a major theme and I enjoyed the perspective. The writing was smooth and the voice was modern with a touch of folklore. I would highly
I needed this book. Every story in Stone Mattress is unique and fascinating, dark and humorous. Aging is a major theme and I enjoyed the perspective. The writing was smooth and the voice was modern with a touch of folklore. I would highly
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recommend it. Show Less
LibraryThing member Amelianovich
Margaret Atwood is truly an amazing and brilliant author. Stone Mattress is a collection of nine tales that are dark and insightful and definitely imaginative! Each tale ends abruptly leaving the reader stunned and wanting more! Atwood plays with your mind using her wit to create compelling
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characters that are involved in strange predicaments. This is probably one of the rare books that I wouldn't mind reading again at a future date. Show Less
LibraryThing member muddyboy
Ms. Atwood is one of the most creative minds in fiction writing today. This is a collection of wildly different short stories that will make readers take notice and go out and read some of her novels. That is my only regret here. I wished that many of these stories were expanded because I loved the
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characters and stories so much, Two of note include a woman who is slighted in her youth by a boy named Bob and she takes her revenge on "Bobs" the rest of her life. Another is about the dismembered hand of a man that haunts a woman he was in love with because it is still in love with her. Unique! Show Less
LibraryThing member bostonbibliophile
the first three stories are interconnected and after that they're standalones, but it's a great collection. Some of the stories are arch and cynical and some are just terrifying. One story is a sequel of sorts to one of her novels. One is one of the grimmest dystopias I've read that makes that last
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chapter of The Bone Clocks seem like fun in the sun. In general though she returns to her roots of writing about womens' lives in ways that are thrilling and awesome. Read it. Show Less
LibraryThing member MaowangVater
Nine short stories: several feature authors reliving relationships of their youth, some ending with revelations, one with reconciliation, in other tales people meet out vengeance served the best way: cold, a horror tale, plus a few murders, and every tale very entertaining.
LibraryThing member amillion
I'll admit, I'm not much of a short story person. By the time the "tale" envelops me, it's over with, generally, no conclusion. I do find that each of these tales is very crisply written, incredibly original, but quite dark. Several of them will stick with me for all of these reasons. Margaret
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Atwood's imagination is unparalleled, but I guess I'll stick to her novels. Show Less
LibraryThing member csweder
The Stone Mattress is another of Atwood's finest work. It is a collection of short stories, and the first three are all connected, revolving around the same characters. The rest are not related, but are equally thrilling and interesting.
I forgot a bit how good she is in the short story format--she
Excellent read!
I forgot a bit how good she is in the short story format--she
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gets us hooked to characters, then turns us upside down. Excellent read!
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LibraryThing member jwood652
Nine interesting tales delivered with amazing dark humor and writing skill, some related to each other while all nine grab the reader's interest and imagination. I must read more Atwood!
LibraryThing member reganrule
Reading Atwood writing lesser writers is a complicated pleasure.
LibraryThing member bwhitner
This was good it kept me interested. I liked the different stories. I only liked them though. They were just ok. The characters were interesting, as were the ideas, but not my favorite read.
LibraryThing member ncrisafulli
Okay, but kind of depressing (it's like you can tell she's getting old.). Mom read and returned and I sent out on Paper Back Swap.
LibraryThing member RobinWebster
Some of these characters and stories are quite good. Unfortunately, the likable characters are overshadowed by the flat, unlikable ones, and the overall effect is that the author is depressed about aging. I am not yet old, but I certainly hope old age is not as sad as she depicts.
LibraryThing member Kelly_Mills
I would actually give this 3.5 stars. I liked this book well enough, but I didn't love it. It started off at a fast pace and had me hooked, but somehow as the story progressed, I was less and less drawn in. I just didn't care enough about any of the characters to have that can't-put-it-down
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feeling. The story was a bit over-long, although the writing was fine and the characters were well-developed. A lot of people love this story, so maybe it just wasn't for me. It certainly wasn't bad, which is why I've given it a higher rating. This was my first Holly Black novel, and I did enjoy it enough to try more of her material. Show Less
LibraryThing member phoenixcomet
A consistently solid writer, Margaret Atwood gives us 9 compelling tales with a touch of romance and a touch of the macabre.
Awards
Scotiabank Giller Prize (Longlist — 2014)
Toronto Book Award (Nominee — 2015)
Publishers Weekly's Best Books of the Year (Fiction — 2014)
NPR: Books We Love (2014)
Globe and Mail Top 100 Book (Fiction — 2014)
Language
Original publication date
2014
Physical description
273 p.; 22 cm
ISBN
0385539126 / 9780385539128