Aimee Bender
writes stories of magical realism that have an edge of darkness to them- and
sometimes more than an edge. While some are quite lovely- her writing has a bit
of a bejeweled quality- they all have something ‘off’ even when there is no
actual magic involved. The people don’t seem to make connections with each
other, and they are all seeking that connection. A number of the stories feel
like fairy tales; not the ones with pretty fairies and happy endings, but more
of a brothers Grimm feel- a bit disturbing and unsettling. But the unsettled
feeling is part- along with the language- that makes this book so good. This
isn’t a book to read in a rush; each story deserves to be read by itself, with
time to savor it before moving on. I’m not usually impressed by an entire book
of short stories, but I am with this one. Even in a book of good stories,
though, one stands out, the title story “The Color Master”. In this tale, a
store produces clothing and shoes for the upper class. They don’t just use
regular dyes and pigments; they use multiple dyings of different colors and
pigments rubbed on over the top of these. Some of the pigments and dyes are
crushed opals and diamond powder. The real treasure of the story is the Color
Master herself, though, the person who can create such marvels as a dress the
color of the sun, or the color of the moon. I highly recommend this book and
need to find some of her other works.
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