Author:Aimee Bender
In The Girl in the Flammable Skirt Aimee Bender has created a world where nothing is quite as it seems. From a man suffering from reverse evolution to a lonely wife who waits for her husband to return from war; to a small town where one girl has a hand made of fire and another has one made of ice. These stories of men and women whose lives are shaped and sometimes twisted by the power of extraordinary desires take us to a place far beyond the imagination.
Aimee Bender’s debut short-story collection shows a writer ready to flirt with the fantastical. Largely concerned with the love lives of young metropolitans and desperate housewives, her cheerily bizarre scenarios give romance a fresh twist … Bender is a writer with a very incendiary turn of phrase.
—— IndependentThese stories are unusual, certainly and they take you inside people’s feelings. Bender gets you to see the world in very particular ways. Beautifully done; you won’t forget this.
—— Evening StandardHilarious, deep and a little bit dirty
—— Harper's BazaarMany of the stories in The Girl in the Flammable Skirt, begin with a premise just on the fringe of the familiar, then give it a tantalising twist ... Bender's stories are powered be voice - by pleasure of an electric simile and a restrained sauciness
—— New York Times Book ReviewFierce and true ... Fantastic!
—— Los Angeles Times Book ReviewMakes you grateful for the very existence of language
—— San Francisco ChronicleBender has hit the ground running with this debut
—— Entertainment WeeklyMagical … a collection of mesmerisingly imaginative tales
—— Bella MagazineAmple proof of her pre-eminent brilliance in the short form…her acute probing of malfunctioning relationships are both provocative and highly entertaining
—— James Urquhart , Financial TimesI found her stories just as hard to put down as I used to; and repeated exposure to them just makes one appreciate the artistry even more… Simpson keeps her eyes open to what is around her, as well as to what is within her characters. It's the kind of detail that makes us wish she would hurry up so that we can read her thoughts about what's going on right now, the precise contours of our present anxieties. I suspect that she will have much to say, and be able to say it very well
—— Nicholas Lezard , GuardianA compact insight into the acclaimed writers work
—— Big IssueSimpson, to my mind, is one of the best contemporary chroniclers of womanhood that I’ve read. She manages to get under the skin of her characters in a way that makes you feel you know them and completely understand their anxieties, at each point in their lives
—— Bookbag.co.ukShe’s a genius at noticing and listening
—— Andrew O'Hagan , Scotland on SundayUnexpected tales, perfectly pitched…suggesting Simpson sprand fully formed when she began writing
—— Lesley McDowell , Sunday HeraldThe great thing about Helen Simpson – or one of the great things – is that she pins people down so beautifully…her phrases sparkle
—— William Leith , Evening StandardSimpson's meticulous fragments of contemporary self-delusion make beautiful narrative shapes out of the ordinary horrors of domestic life
—— John Mullan , Guardian