- Hardcover: 224 pages
- Publisher: Chatto & Windus; First edition (6 April 1987)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0701131691
- ISBN-13: 978-0701131692
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 3,154,598 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Book Description
It should come as no surprise that short stories by the author of the magical POSSESSION are populated by erudite paranoiacs, witches, changelings, and the ghost of a dead child. A S Byatt's short fictions explore the fragile ties between generations, the dizzying abyss of loss and the elaborate memories we construct against it, resulting in a book that compels us to inhabit other lives and returns us to our own with new knowledge, compassion, and a sense of wonder.
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Product Description
The constant theme running through this collection of short stories, the first collection by A.S. Byatt, is that of repetition, taking the form of family patterns recurring across generations, the return of the past in the form of ghosts and the disruptive force of family stories. A.S. Byatt was the winner of the Silver Pen Award for her novel "Still Life" (1986). Her other novels include "Shadow of a Sun", "The Game" (1983) and "The Virgin in the Garden" (1981).
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Paperback
A.S. Byatt's first collection of short stories is a bit of a mixed bag. There are some wonderful ones, but Byatt also sometimes strays down the road of academic dryness - the one about the academic visiting the Far East, which I'm afraid I couldn't finish!, the short story about the novelist intending to write a serious novel but getting thwarted by first a mad friend and then illness, the account of a tragedy in Italy which prevents Robert Browning staying with some friends (this one had some wonderful moments but tended to ramble slightly and there was a sense - as with Byatt's historical novels - of her needing to get a lot of factual boxes ticked). Others I felt were rather nasty - 'The Next Room', a terrifying vision of the afterlife as a suburban room with married couples endlessly arguing, the tale of an agrophobic boy whose time living with a writer who suffers from terrors of her own leads to his suicide when she refuses to help him or talk to him, or worse, the story about the unhappy pensioner who meets a man who just might - we don't ever know - have psychopathic tendencies. 'The July Ghost' was much better - a terribly unhappy story about grief after the loss of a child, but exquisitely written. I found the short story about the jinx in an imaginary ancient society rather baffling - I'm glad Byatt didn't take to fantasy writing, it's not quite her thing, I think. 'Racine and the Tablecloth' was almost an absolutely brilliant story - Byatt was tackling something very interesting in looking at the sadistic relationships that can develop between power-loving teachers and insecure schoolgirls - but it slightly falls apart towards the end, as I felt Byatt had never quite worked out why Emily, the schoolgirl, had her breakdown, or exactly how her problems had affected the next generation and her daughter. Byatt is at her best when most relaxed, simply describing things and people. 'Rose-Coloured Teacups' is a lovely look at what it is like to be middle-aged with growing children, while 'Sugar', the final, autobiographical short story reminds one why Byatt has become so famous - it's a superb piece of richly descriptive, painterly writing, with the family, from the grandfather (manufacturer of boiled sweets) to the eager, frustrated mother and the quite and reflective father, plus various siblings and other relatives, brought marvellously to life.
A collection of uneven quality (as short story collections so often are) but with some superb things in it.
A collection of uneven quality (as short story collections so often are) but with some superb things in it.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
2 reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Reflective and intellectual collection of stories
24 July 2001
Format:Paperback
A.S.Byatt's first collection of short stories bears all the characteristic hallmarks of her writing: fascination with literature, acute analysis of the life of the mind, and a richness of cultural allusions. The stories are sometimes demanding, and require a second read for a full understanding, but as a whole they possess an allure in their mood of somewhat melancholy introspection. The subjects are, for the most part, middle-aged women, frequently intellectual, examining the pattern of their lives and thought. The strongest story, 'Precipice-Encurled', is a brilliantly constructed tale of encircled lives that paves the way for Byatt's best-seller 'Possession'; 'The Dried Witch' and 'In the Air', meanwhile, centre respectively on an old Korean woman giving herself up to the practice of witchcraft, and a widow coping with fear of the imagination. There's a discussion of cultural clashes in 'Loss of Face', and, in the final title story, a fusion of autobiography and an explanation of the intentions of the collection. I enjoyed these stories, although I would rate the later collection, 'The Matisse Stories', higher. That said, they are atmospheric and rewarding, and a good introduction to a fascinating writer.
Another literary collection by Byatt!
7 Feb 2005
Format:Paperback
I marvel at A.S. Byatt's beautiful, literary prose. She has once again floored me with this short-story collection. Sugar and Other Stories centers on musings, philosophies and opinions about literature, culture and the human mind. Each story is enriching, enthralling and thought provoking. They remind me of her series based on the Potter family. My favorite stories are "Precipice-Encurled," "The Next Room," "The Dried Witch," and "The July Ghost." Some of the stories have magic realism in them -- something I find difficult to resist. I recommend this collection very highly. And I recommend that you read Byatt's work if you haven't done. She is an absolute genius!
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