Willful Creatures (Aimee Bender)

Aimee Bender's work is excellent, unique and very hard to categorize. I suppose I would think of her stories as I do my own dreams--random, wacky and horrific while simultaneous humorous--which I then wake up from to see how symbolic and telling those sleeping visions really are. They are simple yet sharp, leaving me wondering why no one (meaning me) could have pinned down that idea before or how someone (meaning me) could take inspiration from the story to create another something just as meaningful.

I simply love this woman's writing with the same passion as I did when first introduced to it through The Girl in the Flammable Skirt. Though I love and idolize it, I think it may be impossible to ever recreate. If anything, the inspiration a writer can glean from Bender is to treat all their ideas with the utmost seriousness, to never leave a small inspiriation by the wayside. Want to write a story about a woman with potatoes for children? Do it, it could be poignant and touching. Want to tell the story of a husband and wife who kill each other solely for their preference in food spice? Go for it, that tale could symbolize the contradictory nature of love, as in opposites attract and also drive each other bonkers.

In order to give you an idea of what this Incredible Ms. Bender is all about, let me quote you the first paragraph of the collection of stories, from a tale called Death Watch:

"Ten men go to ten doctors. All the doctors tell all the men that they only have two weeks left to live. Five men cry. Three men rage. One man smiles. The last man is silent, meditative. Okay, he says. He has no reaction. The raging men, upon meeting in the lobby, don't know what to do with the man of no reaction. They fall upon him and kill him with their bare hands. The doctor comes out of his office and apologizes, to the dead man.

Dang it, he says sheepishly, to his collegues. Looks like I got the day wrong again.

One can't account for murder or accidents, says another doctor in his bright white coat."

I looked at this book the same way I would a tasty dessert--a cheesecake, a box of sorbet or anything chocolate. The moment I had opened it, I wanted to devour it completely and yet I forced myself to pace it, unwilling to let the experience end too quickly. The moment I closed the cover, I mourned that there are not more Aimee Bender books I could lay my hands on ASAP. In the end, I am thankful for the sweet experience and also that books aren't high in calories or fat. It's just that the truly delicious ones often appear to be few and far between.