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August 17, 2005
| ABOUT THE AUTHOR: | |
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Aimee Bender is the author of the short-story collections The Girl in the Flammable Skirt and Willful Creatures, as well as the novel An Invisible Sign of My Own. Her stories have appeared in Granta, GQ, Harper's Magazine, Paris Review, and several other publications. She lives in Los Angeles. |
Commentarium (15 Comments)
Hi Aimee:
Loved the story--this is your old Milwaukee friend--you actually met my wife and son at Shwartz's book store but I was out of town--send me a note off line -yitz@abdata.com (I know this is a crazy putting my e-mail out there but lost yours so I hope this isn't a bone headed move)
Jerry
Hi Aimee - I heard you read "Feel This Girl" at the Edinburgh Pub in SF back in 2000, and I've been a fan ever since. I still love Girl in the Flammable Skirt. You're poetry and humor and wryness are such a great, unique combination...good luck with your new book!
this is the kind of writing that nerve should constantly aspire to present to its readers.
excellent!
Great job introducing the character! She obviously needs to grow up a little, and hopefully something will happen later on in the story to cause that. I'd love to see those paintings, though!
Just one note: The narrator refers to "dead, earless van Gogh," when in fact, the artist simply cut off one ear, so he was not "earless." I feel accuracy is the key to effective writing.
this is a really nice piece ... the kind of piece that reminds us that fiction remains a useful genre even as it disappears from more and more print magazines. you couldn't write this as memoir -- the reader would be too pissed off at the narrator -- but as a short story it works beautiful (not to suggest that this protagonist is the narrator, which may or may not be the case). this is one tough young angry bitch of a protagonist and yet there is just a thread of humanity there that feels as if it would unravel into a much larger quantity were it pulled. compelling writing, well done.
svb - being without an ear - even one - would make one earless. what would you suggest? without one ear? missing just one ear? half a pair of ears? the writing is effective; the writer creates a voice of a narrator and characters and people who say things like 'earless' in a story and it manages to make sense. it does van gogh no injustice.
This is amazing. Can't wait for the book!
Hi Aimee, it looks like a fun story and all, but does your protagonist get it on with any african american men?
Aimee, if this gets to you, great story! It was really nice seeing your name again. I took a couple writing classes from you at UCLA extension, god, I don't know, five years ago. Coincidentally, I few weeks ago I took flammable skirt off the shelf and read a few of the stories.
All the best to you.
Bill Breslo
what a treat! Just read the review of your new book in the ny times, and was curious- and then here on nerve- one of the stories that was mentioned in the review. Life is good-and and the story was excellent.
Aimee:
I love the quote: "I wear perfume so expensive, it doesn't smell like anything but skin." If I can use this on my website, www.lmsparty.com (on the blog or the buy perfume page), I'd really appreciate it. I will give you credit for it and I will send you a free product of your choice.
MarieLynn Group--LMS Perfume Parties
The excerpt left off the most important part, the end. Cutting it there made it another story entirely. I know you only have limited space, so I suggest people should read the whole thing.
Aimee I just happened upon your story and it is just wow!!!
Hi there, trying to "print" the Aimee bender short story OFF, and when I hit "printable version" and entirely different store appears.
Now you say something