Stone Mattress

Stone Mattress: Nine Tales by Margaret Atwood
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Probably a 3.5 star rating. These are nine tales, some really good, some seemed tired and overplayed. Almost all involve aging protagonists who are dealing with the consequences (sometimes physical, sometimes emotional) of choices made when they were younger. A bit of magical realism (whimsy?) is usually involved. "Stone Mattress" is one of the better tales, as is "The Freeze Dried Groom" and "Torch the Dusties" (although this last one bends credulity a bit). I wouldn't say it lives up to what I was expecting from the author of A Handmaids Tale , but perhaps that is unfair, and it was an interesting read nevertheless.

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