There is something vividly sharp and alluring about the word “quirky.” Many of us who see this adjective tacked onto nearly any noun will be enchanted, and we are bound to further inspect said objects.
Characters in books – protagonist, antagonist or mere shadow – are no different. So when someone suggested to me one day — nay, implored me — to read “The Girl in the Flammable Skirt,” by Aimee Bender, because she had such quirky characters, I stored the title in my memory and purchased the paperback shortly after.
That was six months ago. I picked it up recently, exasperated with novels built upon languid, long, lyrical (let’s see, what other alliteration can I add here to say “exaggerated?”) sentence structure. The books were beautiful: “Great Expectations,” “Corelli’s Mandolin,” “The Whole World Over,” but they were weighing me down with paragraphs the size of my Ford Focus.
Enter “Flammable Skirt.” Wow. The sentences that form this collection of short stories have strength in their brevity and their complicated rhythms. Not exactly language one can clap to, but poetic and songlike nonetheless.
The storylines are ones you’ve yet to see, I would almost bet money on it. At least I hadn’t before. I wished I had imagined them.
The plots are steeped in the absurd, but this does not sway them from a humanness to which you will relate. You will nod your head or shake it in disgust when reading the fables and the dramas of each little world. Some stories are only three pages, and you will wonder how this is possible. Some tales are gritty. You will read them and feel as though there is sand in your mouth and the only relief is to keep reading. Only then will you spit out the grains and sigh. Then you will applaud.
However clever the storylines, and however real and flawed the scenes and situations, it is the characters who bring their sleeping bags and percolators and camp out for days and weeks in your mind. The teenage mermaid and the imp; the love who disappears in reverse evolution; the adult who has yet to see himself in a mirror; the boy with an uncanny ability to find objects and the woman who cuts steak with the beveled edge of a large emerald. These are pets, my dear readers – characters demanding to be treasured.
My colleague was correct: the quirky characters and the fresh language of this book affected me in a way I wasn’t expecting. I’ve moved on to three new reads and still, when the afternoon is quiet and all thought still, a mermaid toting a backpack filled with notes and science books swims through my head. Now tell me, what could be better?
Cheers, best and be good.
~Scalder
Shannon Calder is a freelance writer, consultant, inspiration specialist and book reviewer. To read more go to postcardscalder.blogspot.com.
