#499 Stone Mattress- Margaret Atwood

#499 Stone Mattress- Margaret Atwood

Verna was wronged deeply by her first “love,” Bob. She was sexually assaulted, shamed, and sent away when she showed to be pregnant. When her child was taken from her, she decided not to return to het family but take control of her life and never let anyone control or damage her again.

“It was Bob who’d taught her that only the strong can win, that weakness should be mercilessly exploited. It was Bob who turned her into—why not say the word?—A murderer.”

She turned herself into a black widow, seducing, marrying and eventually killing her husbands—at least four—ad getting the only thing that has ever given her comfort:

“All she ever wanted was to be protected by layer upon layer of kind, soft, insulating money.”

“She had no regrets. She did those men a favor: Surely better a swift exit than a lingering decline.”

Now all these years later, financially secure, and essentially out of the game, she comes across her old attacker, Bob and sets out on a plan for revenge. This is a good story, violent but not graphic. Very satisfying.

Notable Passage: “When it came to love, wasn’t believing the same as the real thing? Such beliefs drain your strength and cloud your vision.”

Rating: 8-8-9-8 Total= 33

#167 Nashville Gone to Ashes- Amy Hempel

#167 Nashville Gone to Ashes- Amy Hempel

A widow is coming to grips with her husband’s death, and the life they shared.

“Here’s the trick I found for how to finally get some sleep. I sleep in my husband’s bed. That way the empty bed I look at is my own.”

He was a loving Veterinarian. They housed many animals, even though she was allergic. He gave her love, but she didn’t always feel special. “Things might have collapsed…But the furious care he gave the animals gave me hope and kept me waiting.”

“But the fact is, I think all of us were loved just the same. The love [my husband] gave to me was the same love he gave them. He did not say to the dogs, I will love you if you keep off the rug. He would love them no matter what they did. It’s what I got too. I wanted condition”

This is a bit charming, a bit melancholy, and a bit sad.

Notable Passage: “We give what we can—that’s as far as the heart will go.”

Rating: 8-7-8-7 Total= 30

#164 Broken Homes- William Trevor

#164 Broken Homes- William Trevor

An elderly woman is trying to live by herself in the home where she lived with her husband and two sons, all three now deceased. She has trouble hearing things, but manages to live a normal life.

“Mrs. Malby was happy. The tragedy in her life—the death of her sons—was no longer a nightmare, and the time that had passed since her husband’s death had allowed her to come to terms with being on her own. All she wished for was to continue in these circumstances until she dies, and she did not fear death.”

A man from the local progressive school stops in to offer her a free kitchen renovation. It’s a program to give children from Broken Homes a working opportunity. She is confused why the offer is presented to het, but agrees to let them wash her kitchen walls.

When they show up, they are messy disrespectful, and unsupervised. The reader feels the frustration of the woman, and her inability to control a situation that is confusing and without an easy conclusion. After an unsatisfactory conclusion for her, life goes back to normal. She is not looking for change, she just remembers things as they were.

Rating: 7-6-6-5 Total= 24