An Invisible Sign of My Own

This is a book full of the anguish and mystery of ordinary things, and I suppose that is what all books should be about, but this one is, and does it very well. There is in the novel a sort of pervasive, gothic dread made bearable by a keen sense of human needs and their struggle for insight. I have also read The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, and found it possibly even better.

From the moment I started the beginnings of this book, I found it absoultely irresistible. In fact, I found it very complicated to even put it down. I read through it in most of one sitting, even denying myself the simplicity of water.Aimee Bender gives us a wonderfilled, poetic story about Mona Gray. A woman, turned 20, obsessed with numbers and good luck. This incredible story reaches far into the reader, taking a life of it's own deep inside, even though far from insouciant.A must read for Plath lovers, as parts of the novel remind me of Esther Greenwood (The Bell Jar), and in reality, these two could have been best of friends, or better yet...worst enemies.Bender turns obsession and compulsion into a moving story of a woman that knows too much...and too little.

I have to admit that I did not enjoy the short stories that Aimee Bender told in "The Girl in the Flammable Skirt." I picked this one up, however, because I was curious if her novel would be better than the short stories: and oh, was it. Short stories just aren't for me, and I'm so glad that this book was written. I loved every second of it.

This novel is really unique and extremely well written. It combines magical elements with very real ones and touches upon the fears and insecurities that are part of the human condition.I'll never look at a bar of soap again in the same way. Read this book and find out why!

I loved Flammable Skirt so when I heard Bender was writing a novel I bought it immediately. I love it! She delivers on the promise of her stories in a way I wouldn't have imagined. The darkness that was present in the stories about the Ice Girl and the Fire Girl or The Rememberer, is deeply explored in this novel. The novel has a weighty sadness which is revealed through the prism of Bender's magical language. In terms of what it has to say about family too, this book is both frightening and relevant. I am so happy to spend a whole book with her characters.

Displaying an even finer blend of the virtuosity she gave us in her fabulous debut story collection, THE GIRL IN THE FLAMMABLE SKIRT, Ms. Bender has concocted a fable that seeps into the reader's heart and spleen. She pulls you into her reality and makes you see the world through her poignant, painful, compassionate and downright hilarious prism. Take this ride, if you like your fiction to set off tiny concussion bombs in your heart rather than just telling a mildly compelling story.