The Girl in the Flammable Skirt

 
The Girl in the Flammable Skirt by Aimee Bender
William Leith8 November 2012

The Girl in the Flammable Skirt
by Aimee Bender
(Windmill, £7.99)

A woman feels strange because her husband comes back from the war without lips. Another woman tries to deal with the fact that her boyfriend is turning into different creatures — an ape, a baboon, a turtle, a salamander. He’s evolving in reverse. A librarian, whose father has died, begins to seduce men who come into the library. In another, a girl explains what it’s like to see herself as men see her. These 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.

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