If
you’ve ever read Aimee Bender’s work, then you know that it’s a little off-beat
to say the least. However, even when writing something that is intentionally
off-kilter, she still manages to keep the reader following what’s going on. I’ve
been reading a bit of her collection of short stories The Girl in the Flammable Skirt because I am fascinated by stories
that have elements of “the weird” in them. Sometimes it’s a fantastic drawn-out
metaphor, like in “The Remember” where the main character’s lover de-evolves
from a man into a salamander. Sometimes it’s just unnatural situations and
events that break the laws of nature or physics.
What
fascinates me is that even though I
don’t always understand the rhyme or reason behind what is going on, I am still
aware of what is happening in the story. I think this feat is not one easily
accomplished, and I’m still trying to figure out just how to do it on my own.
How do you write something that makes no sense and yet somehow still creates a
cohesive story?
It
is ability and technique of showing mania and making the reader feel insanity
without completely losing them along the way that I am trying to feel out. I’m
not sure yet how Bender does this exactly, nor do I think that there is only
one way to do this. Basically all I can do at this point is keep reading, keep
trying, and hopefully one day I will be able to turn out a beautifully insane,
easily followed piece of fiction.
Do
you have any ideas about how to accomplish a rule-breaking, off-beat, or flat
out crazy feel without completely losing your reader in the process? Have you
read anything else that follows along this same kind of vibe?
I read Aimee Bender's novel The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake last summer and had the same thoughts. I even tried to write a bit of magical realism just for fun, but it didn't turn into anything even first draft worthy. I think part of what helps her maintain control over such strange situations is that she keeps the reader grounded in other, familiar details. It's not like we're suddenly in Rainbow Land cavorting with unicorns. Her settings are the here and now most of us are familiar with, and then the weird stuff is thrown in nonchalantly so we accept it. What was interesting in Lemon Cake is that, because of its length, Bender was able to make the main character just as confused about the strange happenings as the readers were. It turned into a journey with her to discover exactly why she was able to taste emotions in home-cooked food. At the end, there were still questions left unanswered. This is something I actually really appreciated as a reader, because it made the whole thing feel like it really happened and no one ever knew why.
ReplyDeleteI've been thinking a lot about magical realism lately, and it is an incredibly difficult thing to master. I think a lot of it relies on keeping true with the realistic details and being honest with the reader, even though what is happening in the story is completely impossible. It seems that stories in this genre are strongest when the writer treats the magic as if it were indeed something possible, though unlikely, and doesn't get too carried away in building it up and gawking at it.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately I have not read any Aimee Bender, although after reading your post I think I want to, but I hope these tips help. It seems that weird stories like that seem so believable because it's as if even the author can't draw the line between fantasy and reality, and so she treats it as if it were all the same.
I love Aimee Bender! I read Girl in the Flammable skirt last year for Writer's Style and it totally changed my mindset on waht is acceptable magic within a storyline. I think it really anchors on keeping those settings of realism, yet adding the things that we think about and then stop ourselves because it's not socially acceptable. I think it has to do with writing without considering your audience at all. Just going for it. I want to give myself more opportunity to write like that and see where it takes me. It's such fun to be a rebel and mess with people's minds. :)
ReplyDeleteAt the same time, there still needs to be solid core of a message running through the piece. Bender doesn't just build strange scenarios for the sake of confusing people. There is always something she's trying to say, even if I'm not quite sure what it is.
Heidi, that’s a good question, and I have no idea. I’m just read a short story where most of it was really random, I wouldn’t say odd, but definitely random, and it was sometimes hard to see how it fit into a cohesive story…but it did…somehow. So I tried to imitate that style a little bit. It was sort of enjoyable because I was just able to think of a random situation and then decide what that character would think about that situation and how he would react there. Somehow, it kinda sorta worked for me. I needed to find a better flow to it, but it was a start. It was helpful for me to imagine the whole spectrum of that character’s life, not just that moment. And that would probably help in other forms of writing as well. In memoir, focus on the random, quirky parts of you. That might be where you find the best material. I have no idea if that’s anything like what you were thinking of, but those are my thoughts.
ReplyDeleteMan oh man I struggle through my understanding of this as well. Because I am no linear thinker, my understandings and processing comes out in ways that I think another will understand but it is not often that they do! When writing a story I become discouraged when my reader needs explanations through each turn of event. If you have to tell your reader the message and objective of your writing, I do not think the writing is good. Yes, the reader will interpret their own story from yours - this is the beauty of literature - but it must be cohesive to start.
ReplyDeleteWhen reading your overview of Bender's work I was disturbed about the salamander bit and wonder how any reader could take that seriously. But when I reflect on the Chronicles of Narnia, the speaking animals play a key role. Something shifted in my imagination to accept that. How does an author get away with this? How is their story so ridiculously believable? It must have to do with our desire to be taken away, to step out of our understanding and embrace new ideas. This must be done with caution. I think it's a great idea to be reading authors such as Bender to get a grasp on how she perfects her world.
Thanks for the post Heidi! Very thought-provoking. About the questions...
ReplyDeleteI'm gonna take a stab at this and it might be completely wrong. I think, if I remember right, that I read the salamander de-evolution story a while ago, and it was fascinating. If I remember right, part of what drew me was how the main character described the events. She seemed very resigned and understanding of the de-evolution process, as though it were normal. More than that, though, the events in the story seemed to follow their own set of rules and prescribed logic, even if I didn't know what it was. And the story seemed to be something about loss of intimacy, maybe? As though Bender was exploring that through a literal manifestation of what relationship loss could look like? Maybe magical realism/craziness stories just have to have their own rules and follow them. This story is more complex than I'm making it, though.
I'd love to hear your thoughts as you keep working through these stories or writing them!
Wow, that's probably one of the weirdest stories lines I've ever heard, but I think I understand what you mean when you talk about how you somehow seem to accept it. I read through some magic realism stories in Non-Western Contemporary Lit, and while it was all very strange, I felt like I could accept it because it did have so many elements that were real, or at least acceptable. I think Ashley really hit it when she said that the only way to pull this off is to make sure the reader is "grounded in other, familiar details. It's not like we're suddenly in Rainbow Land cavorting with unicorns. Her settings are the here and now most of us are familiar with, and then the weird stuff is thrown in nonchalantly so we accept it." I was also thinking too about how sometimes, depending on how crazy you want to get, that most of the time, magic realism tries to exclude anything that is OVERLY fantastic, so that it is more easily acceptable as reality.
ReplyDeleteIt's a challenge to try anything like this, but I think that with practice and probably lots of drafts, it could work.
Always tough. I generally run into this when writing abstract poetry...I want to show the reader a feeling or impression of something, but a lot of the time it ends up making no sense whatsoever. I think it's a combination of grounding your subject and giving little hints here and there as to what you're trying to imply, but not being blatant.
ReplyDeleteSomeone told me that some poets and writers just have poetic license to be weird and write in an extraordinarily abstract way - I don't know if I agree with that. I think you or anyone else can have the freedom to do that and still be legit :)
Heidi, I agree it would be hard trying to write something crazy/manic. But interesting! I remember reading a short story about a guy who was on drugs with his friends and the wild, crazy (common) experiences he had in his altered state. The story was believable because it was so disconnected in a way, yet I imagined I could piece together the scenes and figure how he got from one place to another. I think you could do the same thing, with practice. We just have to read the right material and get the ideas flowing!
ReplyDeleteIn the modern era, there has been a focus in accepted literature on writing the real: showing real people living real life in ways that people can relate to. It's usually very realistic in an often depressing, unmagical sort of way. Somehow, though, I doubt that this satisfies everything that readers are looking for. Why else the surge of things like magic realism? Maybe magic (of a sort) IS a real part of life, and we need to remember to include it. Do you relate to the unexplainable? Do you think it could be true that everybody, deep down, needs something a little bit magical in their lives?
ReplyDeletei haven't thought much about these questions. First off, i love the image you put up there. It reminded me of "Inception" and the paradoxes that the architects build into their worlds.
ReplyDeletei think good writing keeps the real world fresh, keeps it from sitting out too long in the same wording, the same images, the same way of saying. Good writing, i think, billows more than it boxes.
As far as insanity goes, i also think we as Christians need to keep a sense of coherence, yet as you say, it's great to pursue a whole new imaginative framework for looking at things. Our stories should be dream-like sometimes, i think. i guess overall, i do not have a concrete answer, other than to keep the resonance of truth in the writing while renewing the story with new imaginative worlds.