“Brilliant. … Byatt’s fiction, like Matisse’s art, pays close attention to colors and contours of surfaces, then probes beneath them to reveal further surprises.”

—Newsday

“Wonderful. … Like the best of Matisse’s works, these stories are luminous and illuminating.”

—Miami Herald

“A. S. Byatt’s three-tale sequence hits the imagination’s retina with all the vibrant splatter of an exploding paintbox. … Everywhere, scenes sizzle with chromatic intensity.”

—The Sunday Times (London)

“A writer of dazzling inventiveness.”

—Time

“These stories are multi-layered … and thought-provoking. … Byatt has achieved the result she wanted—a book that is every bit as rich and sensual as a painting by Matisse.”

—San Diego Union-Tribune

“Exquisite triptych. … The Matisse Stories is richly drawn and touches upon things that matter to people.”

—People

“Byatt exuberantly plays with the language of color, using it to establish a mood and, like a painter, to draw the reader into a carefully arranged scene.”

—L.A. Reader