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Title details for The Matisse Stories by A.S. Byatt - Available

The Matisse Stories

by A.S. Byatt
Virginia Leishman
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
A.S. Byatt's books shimmer with all the hues of her critically acclaimed talent and imagination. In The Matisse Stories, this Booker Prize-winning author offers three elegant tales that explore the subtle interplays between mind and eye, heart and hand. In the first, Medusa's Ankles, a fashionable woman watches her life take on darker, more ominous shades in the mirror of a beauty salon. In the next, Art Work, an eccentric housekeeper's alarming eye for color leaves its mark on her employers' lives. Each of these stories, including the last, The Chinese Lobster, is like a finely crafted jewel. Rich imagery and effortless narratives make The Matisse Stories an unforgettable listening experience. The characters are sketched with a sureness that confirms A.S. Byatt's artistry. And through the nuances of Virginia Leishman's eloquent narration, the listener is brought into a rare world of heightened sensibilities and perceptions.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    May 1, 2018

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781501988974
      • File size: 87826 KB
      • Duration: 03:02:58

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      A.S. Byatt offers three stories that tantalize the senses. Sounds, colors, tastes and aromas are each part of the vivid imagery Byatt creates. In narrator Virginia Leishman's interpretation, each of the sensory references becomes even more striking. In "Medusa's Ankles," the balancing of the internal thoughts and external dialogue is masterful. In "Art Work," Leishman uses her crisp, clear British voice to describe the clothes and settings and, in particular, the elaborate, surprising fiber sculptures. Leishman is able to project the careful flow of conversation between characters with unusual subtlety. She uses inflections and pauses to reveal much about the characters. Through this sensitive narration, Byatt's stories are both soothing and provocative. As listening takes place at a slower pace than one might read, the images seem suspended for an instant before the next sentence continues. R.F.W. Winner of AUDIOFILE Earphones Award (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from February 27, 1995
      In three masterfully written stories loosely inspired by Matisse paintings, Byatt (Possession) dazzles with her evocation of sensuous detail while adroitly emphasizing the interconnectedness of life and art. In each one, a woman teetering on the edge of losing her emotional equilibrium finds a small nugget of comfort after some unsettling surprises. Susannah, the troubled middle-aged heroine of ``Medusa's Ankle,'' is drawn into a hairdressing salon by a Matisse reproduction on the wall. Byatt understands that a woman is most acutely vulnerable looking at her unadorned image in a mirror, and when the self-absorbed hairdresser confides that he plans to leave his wife for a young lover, Susannah's sudden outburst as she contemplates the loss of her youth, her attractiveness and her future is movingly real. Dr. Gerda Himmelblau, ``a solitary intellectual nearing retirement,'' has a quieter epiphany in ``The Chinese Lobster,'' but it is facilitated by a man whose sensibility about art and life she shares. Two doughty women captivate the reader in ``Art Work,'' a delightfully surprising tale in which the ``received'' nature of art and a woman's role as muse are questioned with amusing insight. Byatt's lapidary prose shimmers with the colors she describes so intensely. Her understanding of human relationships is no less brilliant. Line drawings not seen by PW.

    • Library Journal

      December 2, 1997
      This collection of three short stories-- "Medusa's Ankles," "Art Work," and "The Chinese Lobster"--is elegantly delivered by Virginia Leishman. In each story, Byatt uses bright splashes of verbal color, in exotic and elegant combination, to paint word pictures similar to the oil paintings of Matisse. Each story incorporates the fields of art and art history into its plot. Those plots are expertly crafted and completely believable, with surprising twists and turns. Colors, textures, and surfaces play a central part in creating imagery both rich and deep. These are memorable portraits, and Leishman's interpretation is a delight. Highly recommended.--Joanna Burkhardt, Univ. of Rhode Island Sch. of Continuing Education, Providence

    • Publisher's Weekly

      April 29, 1996
      Three stories from Byatt, in each of which a woman's life is touched in some way by the paintings of Henri Matisse.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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