Reviews

A Stone Woman by A.S. Byatt

ursulamonarch's review

5.0

genius, fascinating, and really took some turns from the outset when a woman starts turning to stone after the death of her mother - I didn't see Iceland coming!
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2003/10/13/a-stone-woman

theyaz's review

reflective sad

4.0

This short story was recommended and I'm so grateful. This story was beautifully written. I have to sit with this story for just a bit (and then book a trip to Iceland)

Highly recommend.

marc129's review

3.0

Ovid's [b:Metamorphoses|1715|Metamorphoses|Ovid|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1622739150l/1715._SY75_.jpg|2870411] stories are well known. In this short story (60 p) Byatt ventures into something similar, namely the extremely meticulous description of a woman who 'petrifies'. The process is set in motion the day she finds her mother dead in her seat. Through the eyes of the woman we then slowly discover new types of minerals on and in her body, and through a stonemason she ends up in Iceland, the country 'where stone is alive' and she can lead a new life. Byatt's message is clear: the mineral world is not cold and dead, but varied and varying, 'animated' like the organic one. This is a wonderful gem that lends itself to more interpretations, as with Ovid.