About book Elementals: Stories Of Fire And Ice (2000)
I LOVE THIS.If you guys love me or have even a paltry shred of affection left for me in your hearts, you will read the following excerpt:"And she appealed to the painter, should Dolores not learn to be content, to be patient? Hot tears sprang in Dolores's eyes. The painter said:'By no means. It is not a question of accepting our station in the world as men have ordered it, but of learning not to be careful and troubled. Dolores here has her way to that better part, even as I have, and, like mine, it begins in attention to loaves and fishes. What matters is not that silly girls push her work about their plates with a fork, but that the work is good, that she understands what the wise understand, the nature of garlic and onions, butter and oil, eggs and fish, peppers, aubergines, pumpkins and corn. The cook, as much as the painter, looks into the essence of the creation, not, as I do, in light and on surfaces, but with all the other senses, with taste and smell, and touch, which God also made in us for purposes. You may come at the better part by understanding emulsions, Dolores, by studying freshness and the edges of decay in leaves and flesh, by mixing wine and blood and sugar into sauces, as well as I may, and likely better than fine ladies twisting their pretty necks so that the light may catch their pretty pearls. You are very young, Dolores, and very strong, and very angry. You must learn now, that the important lesson - as long as you have your health - is that the divide is not between the servants and the served, between the leisured and the workers, but between those who are interested in the world and its multiplicity of forms and forces, and those who merely subsist, worrying and yawning. When I paint eggs and fishes and onions, I am painting the godhead - not only because eggs have been taken as an emblem of the Resurrection, as have dormant roots with green shoots, not only because the letters of Christ's name make up the Greek word for fish, but because the world is full of life and light, and the true crime is not to be interested in it. You have a way in. Take it. It may incidentally be a way out, too, as all skills are. The Church teaches that Mary is the contemplative life, which is higher than Martha's way, which is the active way. But any painter must question, which is which? And a cook also contemplates mysteries. 'I don't know,' said Dolores, frowning. He tilted his head the other way. Her head was briefly full of images of the skeletons of fishes, of the whirlpool of golden egg-and-oil in the bowl, of the pattern of muscles in the shoulder of a goat. She said, 'It is nothing, what I know. It is past in a flash. It is cooked and eaten, or it is gone bad and fed to the dogs, or thrown out.''Like life,' said the painter. 'We eat and are eaten, and we are very lucky if we reach our three score years and ten, which is less than a flash in the eyes of an angel. The understanding persists, for a time. In your craft and mine.'"-- from "Christ in the House of Martha and Mary"Fuck yes. A.S. Byatt, I am ever your adoring disciple.
"Crocodile Tears" is very sad. Patricia's husband dies suddenly. In shock, she leaves town and runs away, hoping to fall off the map. In Nimes, she meets a man named Nils, a Norwegian, who is also running from grief. The two form an uneasy friendship, in a French city surrounded at every turn by crocodiles in the very architecture."A Lamia in the Cevennes" This was a story about a painter and his awesome pool! Which was invaded by a creepy snake. Who turned out to be a woman. Not sure how I feel about this story. But I don't like snakes. "Cold" is a fairy tale. Fiammarosa is the thirteenth child, and the only daughter of her parents, the King and Queen of her country. It seems that running through her veins is that of an ancestor, who was an ice princess. Fiammarosa loves nothing more than to dance naked in the ice and snow. Naturally, she falls in love with a fire prince. They have many difficulties, literally melting is one of them. So he builds her a palace of ice - such a thing is only possible in fairytales. I loved it. "Baglady" is creepy. It feels futuristic and dangerous. I'm not sure I liked this one. Luckily, it is short, like Byatt couldn't figure out what to do with it. "Jael" is one woman's thought on a Bible story, and her thoughts on memory and story telling. "Christ in the House of Martha and Mary" is about the painter Velazquez's subjects for his painting of the same name. I liked this one. But then, I like Velazquez. All in all, "Elementals" is aptly named. It deals with all sorts of elements: nature, human nature, love, hate, despair, elements of writing, painting, learning. Byatt is so good.
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This book is the first by A.S. Byatt that I've read and now I'll be searching for more. I loved the stories in this book. For me, the writing in these stories is as close to perfect as writing can get. The first story in the book is the one that captivated me the most. As a reader and writer I am fascinated by the idea of what happens when someone just walks away from their life. In this case the catalyst is the death of the woman's husband. I adored this story and would place it in the top 3 short stories I've read in my life (the other two are the one by Roald Dahl where a wife gets away with murder thanks to a frozen leg of lamb; and Elizabeth Jolley's Five Acre Virgin).The other stories were each perfect in their own way, and I particularly loved the subtle horror of The Bag Lady. Reading short stories such as these is what the joy of reading is all about for me. They are absolutely brilliant.Just read it.
—Maree Kimberley
Each of these stories achieves the psychological richness and tone of The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye (the title story). It's amazing that she came up with so many of these, stories that are far more impressive than the simple fairytales that comprised the bulk of that collection. She has a wonderful way of characterizing without a lot of action or dialogue (which seems like it should be impossible) by showing the sensual world they inhabit, the way they frame things, where they go and what they eat, what stories and imagery speak to them. Her talent at this goes a long way toward creating her very enjoyable unique style. Cold is basically a classy, eloquent version of Frozen, which is a real treat :D The Lamia story is a beautiful example of how to bring a mythical creature up to contemporary standards of psychology and execution (plus the protagonist is presented as either gay or ace). The first story manages to present grief and caring for elderly people with dementia in a way that maintained my interest and never felt sentimental. Very good collection.
—Adam
You are fast becoming my reference point for my future journey into Byatt's world, Deea! I understand you would encounter these bumpy rides since she is a dame with a soaring pen that sets expectations sky high. I hope you enjoy your next date with her :)
—Deea
