The Gnome King reviewed Stone Mattress: Nine Tales by Margaret Atwood
Review of 'Stone Mattress: Nine Tales' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
This book was won on a good reads giveaway, my first ever win on here.
I have always wanted to read a book by Margaret Atwood but have never got round to getting a copy of one of her books, so winning this book worked out quite well in the end.
This is a collection of nine short stories and I feel it gives you a good introduction to what Atwood is like.
Stories 1 - 3 (Alphinland, Revenant and Dark Lady) are all linked, three people who knew each other in the past are now nearing the end of their lives. I enjoyed Alphinland but was left wanting more so when I reached the second story and realised it was connected I was very happy. The three main characters all seem to have regrets about what has happened in the past, and the ending is really well done and …
This book was won on a good reads giveaway, my first ever win on here.
I have always wanted to read a book by Margaret Atwood but have never got round to getting a copy of one of her books, so winning this book worked out quite well in the end.
This is a collection of nine short stories and I feel it gives you a good introduction to what Atwood is like.
Stories 1 - 3 (Alphinland, Revenant and Dark Lady) are all linked, three people who knew each other in the past are now nearing the end of their lives. I enjoyed Alphinland but was left wanting more so when I reached the second story and realised it was connected I was very happy. The three main characters all seem to have regrets about what has happened in the past, and the ending is really well done and I am sure people may shed a tear.
Story 4 (Lusus Naturae) feels a lot like Frankenstein, unfortunately it also feels rushed, way too short for me.
Story 5 (The Freeze-dried Groom) was the best one so far, I don't know what it is about a locked storage unit and needing to know what is in it but that is what makes this story so entertaining for me.
Story 6 (I dream of Zenia....) was the weakest story for me, a little bit of reincarnation. I didn't like this story much and it is why the book only gets 4 stars.
Story 7 (The dead hand loves you) was brilliant, my fav story of the book, I started off thinking this was going to be weak but the story within the story was fun and again the outcome of the story was perfect.
Story 8 (Stone Mattress) and so the violent ending to the book begins...a short story of revenge which was good fun.
And finally story 9 (Torching the Dusties) proved to me why I don't read short stories, this story had an apocalyptic feel to it and it really could do with being much longer, you are left hanging and what with it being the last story in the book this was a pretty mean thing to do.
All in all this was good fun, very well written and very clever at times. I am now looking forward to reading more of Atwood's books.
