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A review by savaging
The Color Master: Stories by Aimee Bender
5.0
I didn't love many of the first stories in this book. I was about to ask Why all the hullabaloo? and then I read a few more and found it. The hullabaloo.
Some of these stories take place in our own universe and some require magic, and some sit right on the uncertain hinge between them. Whatever the world, Bender is itching at something that's meaningful, but with humor and restraint.
There is no story better than "The Devourings," about a human woman who marries an ogre who, regrettably, eats their children. Or maybe the main character is actually a magic cake. Or maybe it's just the endlessness of desire.
Other good ones:
"The Fake Nazi" -- about a man who is obsessed with the delusion that he caused the holocaust.
"The Doctor and the Rabbi" -- don't argue with your friends about the merits of empiricism v. magic -- just read this story.
"Wordkeepers"
"The Color Master" -- "When you see a tomato, like me, you probably see a very nice red orb with a green stem, fresh and delectable. When she sees a tomato, she sees blues and browns, curves and indentations, shadow and light, and she could probably even guess how many seeds are in a given tomato based on how heavy it feels in her hand."
"A State of Variance" -- a man's perfectly symmetrical face dispels trust. "Then he sat down at the table of a large man, a man with tattoos but the old kind, before tattoos became dainty and about spiritual life. This man wore tattoos from the time when tattoos meant you liked to kick people around."
Some of these stories take place in our own universe and some require magic, and some sit right on the uncertain hinge between them. Whatever the world, Bender is itching at something that's meaningful, but with humor and restraint.
There is no story better than "The Devourings," about a human woman who marries an ogre who, regrettably, eats their children. Or maybe the main character is actually a magic cake. Or maybe it's just the endlessness of desire.
Other good ones:
"The Fake Nazi" -- about a man who is obsessed with the delusion that he caused the holocaust.
"The Doctor and the Rabbi" -- don't argue with your friends about the merits of empiricism v. magic -- just read this story.
"Wordkeepers"
"The Color Master" -- "When you see a tomato, like me, you probably see a very nice red orb with a green stem, fresh and delectable. When she sees a tomato, she sees blues and browns, curves and indentations, shadow and light, and she could probably even guess how many seeds are in a given tomato based on how heavy it feels in her hand."
"A State of Variance" -- a man's perfectly symmetrical face dispels trust. "Then he sat down at the table of a large man, a man with tattoos but the old kind, before tattoos became dainty and about spiritual life. This man wore tattoos from the time when tattoos meant you liked to kick people around."