The Matisse Stories Audiobook By A. S. Byatt cover art

The Matisse Stories

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The Matisse Stories

By: A. S. Byatt
Narrated by: Nadia May
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In this elegant set of stories, three modern women are touched in different ways by the paintings of Henri Matisse.

In "Medusa's Ankles", a distinguished translator visits a hair salon hoping to regain a hint of her youthful looks. Hung on the wall before her is one of Matisse's iconic portraits.

In "Art Works", the three inhabitants of one household - a generous wife, her petulant husband, and their regal housekeeper - make very different artists.

And in "The Chinese Lobster", a self-tortured, anorexic art student confronts the smug opulence of Matisse's nudes while pondering suicide.

©1993 A. S. Byatt (P)1995 Blackstone Audio, Inc. Anthologies & Short Stories Literary Fiction Anthologies Genre Fiction Metaphysical & Visionary Historical Fiction

Critic reviews

"Full of delight and humor...studded with brilliantly apt images and a fine sense for subtleties of conversation and emotion." (San Francisco Chronicle)
"Virtually every phrase is a treat for the ears....[Nadia May] knows how to make each word count." (Philadelphia Inquirer)
"May's...excellent pacing and authoritative grip on the material won me over. Her narration commands attention from beginning to end." (KLIATT)
All stars
Most relevant
A fan of Matisse, I am not a fan of this short audio. To me it does not, in any way connect with the artist. The first story of the "rosy nude" in the hair salon was just too much . . . the middle aged woman who went to her hairdresser there and watched him eventually leave his wife for a younger woman, her thoughts as she watched all of the hairdressers, were they gay or straight . . . none of it had to pertain with art or Matisse.

Not Impressive

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I really tried to like this! Honestly I gave it a good hour but it never got inviting. Just boring!

Boring

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