There are truly 'tales'...fantastic (though totally believable) and not merely 'stories' which by their moniker seem to be lesser in terms of intensity. And interesting these tales are. Perhaps it's the 'age' thing (as we get older, we get bolder) or perhaps it's the 'success' thing (she's definitely been that), but there is a sure-handedness to these tales that loops one into the tale and makes it real. Who hasn't dreamed of ultimate vindication (if not of ultimate resolution) of many an experience in 'younger' life? Who hasn't thought of murder as a solution, but lacked the expertise/sophisticated thinking to develop a tactic that would 'work'? By the time I got to the last 'tale' I was totally convinced it was a 'true' imagined tale of her/our future. I was not diverted by the 'little people' our heroine saw (through her affliction) and actually believed there might be one (and maybe one only) resourceful senior who understood how to try for the best outcome.I think what I like best about these tales (and I've been reading Margaret Atwood since 'Edible Woman' was released in 1969 when I first moved to Toronto and vowed to 'learn about' Canadian literature) is that they straddle comfortably the unnecessary lines between imagination, fiction, and pure craziness.