The Color Master

Aimee Bender’s work defies strict categorization. Is it sci fi, fairy tale, mythology, slipstream fiction, new fashioned story telling? Depending on which story you read in The Color Master, you likely will find all these elements.The fifteen stories include the puzzling “Tiger Mending” in which gifted seamstresses must mend tigers who are shredded for unknown reason. A very short story that left me hanging with wonder. “The Fake Nazi” gives us a man who wants to assume the guilt of Nazi evil, even if he is guiltless. “Lemonade” has teen angst at the mall. “The Color Master” is much like a fairy tale about a king and a beautiful princess in a faraway, darker kingdom. The color master is passing on her technical and magical artistry to the narrator, who comes to understand how to feel the right color mixtures. In "The Devourings" a woman discovers a magical cake while contemplating life with her ogre-husband.I have been a fan of Bender since The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake. The collection of stories here holds some of the same elements. The senses can switch places. Those individuals with less typical brain wiring make their way somehow in the world. Thenarrators’ humanity and compassion are infused in direct and subtle ways.The stories overall have a sweetness and redemptive cast that make the not-so-normal seem closer to normal, which of course draws us into these worlds. I find my own imagination absolutely stimulated after reading her stories as I punch the boundaries of the ordinary.Like Bender, this collection is an orginal.I have been a fan of Bender since The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake. The collection of stories here holds some of the same elements. The senses can switch places. Those with less typical brain wiring make their way somehow in the world. The narrators’ humanity and compassion are infused in direct and subtle ways.The stories overall have a sweetness and redemptive cast that make the not-so-normal seem closer to normal, which draws us into these worlds. I find my own imagination absolutely stimulated after reading her stories as I punch the boundaries of the ordinary. Like Bender, the stories are originals.I have been a fan of Bender since The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake. The collection of stories here holds some of the same elements. The senses can switch places. Those with less typical brain wiring make their way somehow in the world. The narrators’ humanity and compassion are infused in direct and subtle ways.The stories overall have a sweetness and redemptive cast that make the not-so-normal seem closer to normal, which draws us into these worlds. I find my own imagination absolutely stimulated after reading her stories as I punch the boundaries of the ordinary. Like Bender, the stories are originals.The stories overall have a sweetness and redemptive cast that make the not-so-normal seem closer to normal, which draws us into these worlds. I find my own imagination absolutely stimulated after reading her stories as I punch the boundaries of the ordinary. Like Bender, the stories are originals.

Aimee Bender is wonderfully creative, and it's so easy to make your way through this collection, when it seems there's something completely novel just on the next page. Bender does a great job giving the reader what they want from a story, without flaying it open and spelling things out. For me there are a couple of duds in this collection, but there are so many more moments that escalate so thrillingly and so naturally, that it's no question as to whether the book was worth the read.

I don’t even know what to say about this collection of stories. I’ll start by saying: They’re brilliant and memorable. Also, I imagine they could be used not just for discussion in book clubs, but as assigned reading in a therapeutic setting. Plainly told stories with layers upon layers and depth.

Though she writes at a desk, I imagine Aimee Bender with pen and paper straddling a slightly bouncing diving board suspended atop a skyscraper under construction. There she sits, smiling, daring and fearless, joyous and delightful, creating worlds outside the boundaries of expected reality. But like dreams, her worlds seem so real. Though some characters make choices which might only be available in a dream, their choices reach us in our gut, somewhere between consciousness and the sense that "Yea, that is so true."The worst part about The Color Master is that it ends. I was saddened there wasn't more, but felt, Wow. This is a writer getting better and better.

Excellent. Incredible characterization; she has a way of writing a character without defining their gender until it matters. I found myself creating a picture of someone in my mind, only to be blown away when their whole self is revealed. Very daring and she delivers.

This collection of stories are colorful, deep, and confrontational. Aimee Bender uses language exquisitely. Her words paint pictures and transport the reader into exotic settings both geographically and internally. The reader is held and carried into the mysterious, stories then returned at the end with ideas to reflect on again and again. This is like being at a feast, where every dish brought out is beautiful to look at, with surprising combinations of texture and taste. I did not devour this book like many novels. I relish it with room to breathe.

Great book! The stories are so compelling and beautifully done. The characters are bland but Aimee Bender makes it work! My favorite short story in here is the Devourings because of how zoomed in it was to the ogre's wife and the cake but then completely puts in an allegory of life.

Aimee Bender is one of my favorite short story authors. I admire how she can use words to create such powerful images, it is enchanting and really draws you in. This collection is especially tantalizing, and I would highly recommend it.

She never disappoints however I prefer her novels to short stories. I like the depth of characters in her full novels

Short stories like you can't imagine. Must read.

è un libro visionario e bellissimo, il migliore letto negli ultimi anni. l'inglese è splendido e semplice, come i racconti.