Aimee Bender

What an odd assortment of stories this is. The cover blurb from the Los Angeles Times begins with saying that "[Bender] is Hemingway on an acid trip," and I have to say that feels pretty accurate, with the caveat that that blurb led me to think there'd be a lot more...well, *fun* involved in these stories. Instead, the overall mood is rather bleak if not outright depressing, though Bender's minimalist writing style allows the stories to read without too much heaviness overlaying the collection. For the most part, I felt myself to be more amused and curious as the collection unfolded, as opposed to fully engaged--I just wanted...more? There's plenty of curiosity here, and endless strangeness, but the stories themselves build on one another in putting forth Bender's style and universe, so that few of them felt like stories I could fully appreciate on their own, without having the full spectrum of strangeness in play. I think I would say that some of the stories in the third part of the book--especially "Job's Jobs," "The Case of the Salt and Pepper Shakers," and "The Leading Man"--felt like they had the best chance of standing on their own and also remaining with me long-term.

All told, however, I doubt I'll be seeking out more of Bender's work. This is an interesting collection, but feels more on the abstract art side of the spectrum of prose than what I normally go for, if that makes sense, and I simply wanted more.… (more)