Though there are a few good stories here, they are few and far between. Most pieces read more like highly buffed exercises that never acquire any emotional depth. The few good ones are worth a look, but take it out of the library . . .

L'autrice pubblica questa raccolta all'età di ventinove anni.
Vederla seduta nell'auditorium al Festivalletteratura di Mantova sembra che il tempo per lei si sia fermato. Oggi ne ha quarantatre.

E' una Signora -inizialmente l'avevo presa per una ragazzina- dal viso aperto, allegra, serena e si direbbe del nostro sud e invece l'accento tradisce la sua provenienza californiana. Ma sempre di sud si tratta.
Gesticola, sorride. Alla domanda: "Ma a lei come vengono in mente le situazioni dei suoi racconti?" risponde per niente indispettita: "Ad esempio per 'La ragazza con la gonna in fiamme' mi trovavo in un negozio di abbigliamento con un'amica e alla cassa era affisso un cartello con preghiera alle clienti di portare indietro un tipo di gonna che si era rivelata di un tessuto estremamente infiammabile."

In effetti traspare, leggendo queste strane fiabe dove i protagonisti sono spesso adolescenti, l'esercizio creativo che ha come input un fatto più o meno plausibile, dal quale si diramano visioni surreali, spesso interrotte così come in un sogno che finisce all'improvviso, ma in cui il teenager narrante osserva il mondo con l'atteggiamento tipico di capire la realtà attraverso i suoi estremi, nella più candida inconsapevolezza delle conseguenze dei propri atti e pensieri.

Trovo che sia un modo, questo di scrivere, un brainstormig liberatorio con un flusso ininterrotto che pesca nel profondo, di ciò che è irrisolto, ma allo stesso tempo terapeutico a tal punto da rallentare i segni del tempo, così come la Bender lascia intuire di sè. Magico.

The first time I read this, I gave it four stars. Recently I had to reread it for a fiction class, and after poring over it a second time, I have no choice but to lower the score to a three. Initially, I think I was enchanted with Bender's work due to her unique plots and characters. Following my second run through, I can't say that there were many characters I liked, and the characters I did like usually weren't the protagonists.

as always... top notch

Merged review:

"Books are the mirrors of the soul."
Virginia Woolf, Between the Acts


take Revenge: Eleven Dark Tales by Yoko Ogawa, especially the writing style and slight drips of metaphysicalness, spirituality, and imagery, slather it with Haruki Murakami; but don't over do it. Add a dash of Karen Russell (when she is on her game).... and you have this book.

these stories, while completely, definitely grounded in their ownness, are somehow linked. The linking is personal, and grounds the read, or at least it did for me. It's difficult to explain, but for the most part I found myself able to identify personally with every story, and curtail its meaning around my history—present and past—advancing this long, expansive trajectory. It's remarkably scary in its depth and honesty, nakedness and realness. It's jagged around the edges, but a warm and assuring hug in the middle. It whispers "it will all be ok" and it honestly means it.


A link to my favorite, below recalled the raw, gnawing, realness of mental illness (or death, or whatever feelings rush in) and completely shattered me word by word.


  the rememberer


Personally, it was my 'Mia Michaels moment' of the series (see below for visual)....




I kid you not, dear goodreader's this one made me tear up, and that is a rarity. If you can not connect to this story to a bad break up, your own mental illness or a loved one, or terminally ill grandparents/parent's then you are heartless... terribly and absolutely heartless.

Calling these amazing gems short stories is a disservice. They aperitifs, sliding down your throat after a long cry. Some will hurt, and you will buckle over, holding your stomach, as if your insides might burst open. Some glide across your palate effortlessly and kindly, relieving inward and outward pain. Others are a shade of gray, some learning towards the darker side of the color wheel, while others are dashed with heavy white tones.

good god the first story crushed my soul, spit it out, and folded it back into pieces....