You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
dark
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Loved the title story, but less fond of the others. Her writing is amazing but I prefer her realistic fiction to her fantastical tales.
I read The Stone Mattress for the first time something like seven years ago and was captivatied by Atwoods tales. It was also my first Atwood book and I was very surprised by her sharp observations and witty social commentary. My then Teenage self did also not expect that a lot of the characters are actually on the older side (but then, how to you even define old?).
It was more a pleasant surprise than anything else, as I read a lot of YA at the time and Atwoods tales offered a lot of new perspectives. For example, one of Atwood tales is set in a retirement home and the residents are torn between their external attributed role as "the old" and their new found agency as the old structures of the home slowly crumble.
Atwood said in an interview that she thinks, that people are more scared of the old people in her book than the spooky elements like vampires. I could not disagree less because Atwoods protagonists are very interesting, three dimensional characters, so nothing to be scared of. But maybe people are scared of old people with agency.
I reread the book this month and still think it is a very good Atwood book with a lot more dimensions than aging. But it also has the same problems like a lot of short story collections. Some of the tales a very good and some the tales kinda drag along (in my opinion). Still one of my favourite books and I would highly recommend it.
It was more a pleasant surprise than anything else, as I read a lot of YA at the time and Atwoods tales offered a lot of new perspectives. For example, one of Atwood tales is set in a retirement home and the residents are torn between their external attributed role as "the old" and their new found agency as the old structures of the home slowly crumble.
Atwood said in an interview that she thinks, that people are more scared of the old people in her book than the spooky elements like vampires. I could not disagree less because Atwoods protagonists are very interesting, three dimensional characters, so nothing to be scared of. But maybe people are scared of old people with agency.
I reread the book this month and still think it is a very good Atwood book with a lot more dimensions than aging. But it also has the same problems like a lot of short story collections. Some of the tales a very good and some the tales kinda drag along (in my opinion). Still one of my favourite books and I would highly recommend it.
Delicious as can be expected. The final story was socially terrifying to a similar degree of The Handmaid's Tale. Her unique perspective and imagination can rarely be paralleled.
I was surprised when my book club picked this selection of short stories for our monthly pick, as discussing a collection of short stories is not as coherent as discussing a novel with a consistent set of characters. But, I really like Margaret Atwood, so I wasn't unhappy to be reading Stone Mattress, and actually liked it better than The Heart Goes First.
I really liked the first three stories, which were all intertwined with overlapping characters. I wished the whole book could have been pulled together this this same thread. But alas, none of the other six returned to this universe. I read in the Acknowledgements that three of the later six short stories had actually been published separately before, but the whole group did share a theme of aging. Not surprising, given the author's own age. I'm not a baby boomer, but I have read 2030 and don't find any of these stories shocking or improbable, not even "Torching the Dusties", sadly.
I thought "Lusus Naturae" really didn't fit into the theme and mood of the rest of the collection. If someone else can show me how to relates to the others, I'm happy to hear it. It was published separately earlier, which makes me wonder if it was included simply because it exists. I really liked "The Freeze Dried Groom" but wasn't sure why we had the lengthy introduction of Gwynth's breaking up with Sam on the same day he bids on the storage lockers. I'm not sure what importance that had on the thrust of the plot, his discovery in one of the lockers and the events that followed. It seemed like a red herring except that several of the other short stories also focused on the end of various relationships and how long the characters would carry those wounds.
About the ends of relationships and unfinished business between former partners, this was quite a fascinating theme. I personally now want to not only read the book referenced in "The Dead Hand Loves You" but I also want to watch both movie adaptations. And according to the Acknowledgements there was an earlier source story for four of the characters in "I Dream of Zenia with the Bright Red Teeth" that I'd like to track down and read, as that group of ladies who'd all had relationships destroyed by Zenia have some backstory to tell.
We'll see how this all goes over with book club, but I'm personally happy to have read Stone Mattress.
I really liked the first three stories, which were all intertwined with overlapping characters. I wished the whole book could have been pulled together this this same thread. But alas, none of the other six returned to this universe. I read in the Acknowledgements that three of the later six short stories had actually been published separately before, but the whole group did share a theme of aging. Not surprising, given the author's own age. I'm not a baby boomer, but I have read 2030 and don't find any of these stories shocking or improbable, not even "Torching the Dusties", sadly.
I thought "Lusus Naturae" really didn't fit into the theme and mood of the rest of the collection. If someone else can show me how to relates to the others, I'm happy to hear it. It was published separately earlier, which makes me wonder if it was included simply because it exists. I really liked "The Freeze Dried Groom" but wasn't sure why we had the lengthy introduction of Gwynth's breaking up with Sam on the same day he bids on the storage lockers. I'm not sure what importance that had on the thrust of the plot, his discovery in one of the lockers and the events that followed. It seemed like a red herring except that several of the other short stories also focused on the end of various relationships and how long the characters would carry those wounds.
About the ends of relationships and unfinished business between former partners, this was quite a fascinating theme. I personally now want to not only read the book referenced in "The Dead Hand Loves You" but I also want to watch both movie adaptations. And according to the Acknowledgements there was an earlier source story for four of the characters in "I Dream of Zenia with the Bright Red Teeth" that I'd like to track down and read, as that group of ladies who'd all had relationships destroyed by Zenia have some backstory to tell.
We'll see how this all goes over with book club, but I'm personally happy to have read Stone Mattress.
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Some of the stories were a little hit-or-miss, but overall I really enjoyed this collection. It gave me an amazing perspective on the aging process, and was just a pleasant read. I don't have much to say, other than that I really loved The Dead Hand Loves You, and I'd read that book if it were written out full-length.