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The Third Elevator
by
Aimee Bender (Goodreads Author)
The Third Elevator is the story of a swan, a bluebird, the curious family they form together, and the mysterious elevators in the center of their village — one that rises into the sky, one that opens into a forest, and one that descends underground. Other characters include a miner in search of something beyond the walls of his cave, a logger too gentle to chop trees, a te...more
Paperback, 48 pages
Published
December 1st 2009
by Madras Press
(first published September 2007)
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Community Reviews
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Man, I knew I saved this for a reason. And the reason is not that I forgot I had it because it is so small it got lost on my shelf; no, the reason is that The Jewish Messiah disturbed me so profoundly that now I really need something incredibly inspiring and lovely and soft.
As far as I understand, this small booklet went along with an art exhibit, where people did art and then other people wrote stories about or incorporating said art.
My amazing bookfriend Josh actually called the gallery that...more
As far as I understand, this small booklet went along with an art exhibit, where people did art and then other people wrote stories about or incorporating said art.
My amazing bookfriend Josh actually called the gallery that...more
I love little tiny books that are awesome, so I've been trying to find a copy of The Third Elevator for a while now. Thankfully, Lit Pub Books just re-released it in a beautiful volume (and one that would fit nicely in a back pocket).
Basically, the story is a fairy tale overrun by modern sensibilities, in which the traditional fantastical elements (kings and queens and talking animals) are side by side with the everyday contemporary (mailboxes and telephone poles and games of poker). It is a wor...more
Basically, the story is a fairy tale overrun by modern sensibilities, in which the traditional fantastical elements (kings and queens and talking animals) are side by side with the everyday contemporary (mailboxes and telephone poles and games of poker). It is a wor...more
I picked up this little book at a recent reading by Aimee Bender. Brookline-based Madras Press produced this and three other small books to publish lengthier short stories as inexpensive gift-format paperbacks. A portion of the proceeds from each goes to the author's charity of choice. They have only local distribution, so those outside the Boston area should order through the press's Web site.
I enjoyed this odd fairy tale, probably more so because I enjoyed hearing the author read the first par...more
I enjoyed this odd fairy tale, probably more so because I enjoyed hearing the author read the first par...more
Less well known among Bender's books, is the microscopic The Third Elevator. This tiny gem comes to us with illustrations by the author. It is a fable about the choices we can make with what we are given, and the notion that there might be something else out there. The swan looks like a cloud, but has heavy moods. He loves a bluebird. Of course these lovers have amazing elemental children, whom they can't control no matter how they try. They live in a land with three elevators, which can take yo...more
This book is so hard to get! I even contacted the publisher, who is evidently some guy out of Oakland, so that we could get some into my bookstore, and the guy told me he would send me an invoice and work with me on getting a shipment of these, and then I never heard from him again. What a pain! Especially because this is Aimee Bender at her best, and when she's at her best there's just nothing better. Set down in her magical, fairytale style prose, the story itself is hard to describe, but some...more
normally i love aimee bender stories madly and thoroughly. this story i felt was, despite its magical absurdism and overall weirdness, strangely dull. especially for aimee bender.
I finally got to read this thing! It's over at the Madras Press website for six bucks now, which is nice, because before I got to read this my life was like, I am a Trivial Pursuit cake with five little wedges, eternally going round and round the board, unable to get ahold of the sixth wedge. But now I have it. I win!
'Cause seriously, what am I even going to tell you about an Aimee Bender story? It's a fairy tale about miners, loggers, a swan, a runty bluebird and some other people and you get...more
'Cause seriously, what am I even going to tell you about an Aimee Bender story? It's a fairy tale about miners, loggers, a swan, a runty bluebird and some other people and you get...more
A beautiful book to hold. A beautiful book to to open. A beautiful book to read.
One of the sweetest little stories I have read in a long time.
"Because birds listen to birds."
perfect back-pocket read
Apr 10, 2012
Karen Carlson
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
standalone-short-stories-novellas
A completely charming eco-fable. Detailed comments (with possible spoilers) at A Just Recompense
What an odd, compelling, little book. And I mean little- it's published as its own tiny book, but it's really a short story. I liked it, and I can't tell you why.
May 10, 2013
Sasha
marked it as to-read-unlimited
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
short-stories
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| The Third Elevator -- reprint | 2 | 13 | Oct 02, 2009 07:23am |
Aimee Bender is the author of the novel An Invisible Sign of My Own and of the collections The Girl in the Flammable Skirt and Willful Creatures. Her work has been widely anthologized and has been translated into ten languages. She lives in Los Angeles.
More about Aimee Bender...
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Oct 05, 2008 09:47pm
Oct 05, 2008 09:50pm