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cinnamonpuns's review
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Overall all, I enjoyed it.
balletbookworm's review
3.0
For a story collection with a lot of white space/large type, these stories read very slowly. It feels very stuffy, which is not something that I've thought about AS Byatt before. Still beautiful writing, but stuffy.
oldenglishrose's review against another edition
3.0
As with most collections of short stories, some of these were better than others. They were well-linked by the theme of isolation and the elemental focus of the stories and I thought the collection was a coherent one. The prose was beautiful, lyrical and evocative and I look forward to reading some of A. S. Byatt’s longer works (I have Possession on my shelf) as I think that this will be even more evident when the author has a bit more breathing space. Although the stories are very well-written, I got the feeling that sometimes the short story medium was a little too constraining and Byatt strikes me as an expansive writer rather than a concise one.
'Cold' was probably my favourite story in the collection as it is a take on the fairytale, something which I particularly enjoy. Like Angela Carter, my favourite short story writer thus far, A. S. Byatt does this very well; I particularly enjoyed the stunning resolution. The descriptions are full of intricacy and wonder and, whereas Crocodile Tears felt very detached, emotions in this story are elemental, mercurial and often phrased as physical processes, making them seem even more powerful. I love that such a simple story can encompass such complicated themes and emotions.
'Cold' was probably my favourite story in the collection as it is a take on the fairytale, something which I particularly enjoy. Like Angela Carter, my favourite short story writer thus far, A. S. Byatt does this very well; I particularly enjoyed the stunning resolution. The descriptions are full of intricacy and wonder and, whereas Crocodile Tears felt very detached, emotions in this story are elemental, mercurial and often phrased as physical processes, making them seem even more powerful. I love that such a simple story can encompass such complicated themes and emotions.
peppypenguin's review against another edition
3.0
Very good. Well-written short stories imbued with meaning revolving primarily around using art for symbolism and its effect on us. I enjoyed all of them, they just weren't quite my cup of tea.
siria's review
3.0
A varied collection of short stories, written with all the elegance of prose that one would expect of [author: A.S. Byatt]. 'Crocodile Tears' was my favourite of the stories, where a woman flees the reality of her husband's death, travelling to live in the south of France where she hopes to find some respite from her guilt and her grief; 'Cold' was also a favourite because of the sheer sensuality of the language. That said, I didn't find myself wholly caught up in these stories; to me, Byatt seems more naturally a novel writer than a writer of short stories, and these stories seemed too small a canvas for her.
lepus13's review
4.0
The quality of the writing is self evident, simple enough to flow elegantly with enough beauty to occupy the minds eye.
Crocodile tears 3/5
This story, quite appropriately looses itself in its distractions, and leaves me with the taste of delayed minor gratification.
Lamia 2/5
Proof that supernatural elements don't make a story interesting, reads mostly as an aesthetic excise, pretty but quite dull.
Cold 5/5
Retelling fairytales
Crocodile tears 3/5
This story, quite appropriately looses itself in its distractions, and leaves me with the taste of delayed minor gratification.
Lamia 2/5
Proof that supernatural elements don't make a story interesting, reads mostly as an aesthetic excise, pretty but quite dull.
Cold 5/5
Retelling fairytales