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perkyanda's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I loved this! The lack of resolution for the series Is the only aspect I didn’t love. But I loved the three and connection began stories, and the weirdness and realistic feelings and just aching they came through. I can’t wait till she has another novel or collection out!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Stalking, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Terminal illness, Infidelity, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Grief, Misogyny, Body shaming, and Death
w0rmonastring's review
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
an incredibly imaginative collection of stories where the seemingly innocuous moments of life in cities across the us take a turn for the surreal. ma’s writing is undeniably creative but a lot of these stories either left me wanting a fully fleshed out piece where concepts are fully explored or on the opposite end, not sure which concepts are meant to be being explored at all. there’s also not enough of a connecting thread through each of these stories for my taste, but i am eagerly looking forward to picking up Severance and exploring ma’s long-form work.
“What if I dissected my feelings, pulled them apart and brutalized them so that he would know they were true? Is this enough? … They would explode and drip over everything like bodily fluids and finally he’d be forced to look away.”
- from Los Angeles
“‘I never gave you my heart,’ you told me, two days before you got into that bike accident, breaking three ribs and your ancient, Germanic clavicles. If your body had been broken beyond repair, I would have paid them to pluck out those bones for me — me before all others…”
- from Yeti Lovemaking
“‘Ice cream is my favorite food.’ I write these words in the journal my mother gives me to record my first days in the US. English is just a play language to me, the words tethered to their meanings by the loosest, most tenuous connections. So it's easy to lie. I tell the truth in Chinese, I make up stories in English. I don't take it that seriously … It is the language in which I have nothing to lose, even if they don't believe a thing I say.”
- from Peking Duck
“What if I dissected my feelings, pulled them apart and brutalized them so that he would know they were true? Is this enough? … They would explode and drip over everything like bodily fluids and finally he’d be forced to look away.”
- from Los Angeles
“‘I never gave you my heart,’ you told me, two days before you got into that bike accident, breaking three ribs and your ancient, Germanic clavicles. If your body had been broken beyond repair, I would have paid them to pluck out those bones for me — me before all others…”
- from Yeti Lovemaking
“‘Ice cream is my favorite food.’ I write these words in the journal my mother gives me to record my first days in the US. English is just a play language to me, the words tethered to their meanings by the loosest, most tenuous connections. So it's easy to lie. I tell the truth in Chinese, I make up stories in English. I don't take it that seriously … It is the language in which I have nothing to lose, even if they don't believe a thing I say.”
- from Peking Duck
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Terminal illness
kamikazegirls's review
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse
Minor: Terminal illness
thewordsdevourer's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
bliss montage is a great collection of stories, some either more unpredictable or reflective than others, but all subtly gripping in their own way.
the volume opens w/ a bang w/ "los angeles," perhaps the most delightfully eclectic short story ive ever read, so unconventional yet - by the end - thrilling it is. thru her stories, ma wrestles w/ coming of age, the immigrant experience, the self, and relationships. ma's pondering on the first one esp hits true, her incredible, precise articulation of the strange weightless void post-undergrad bleak, quiet, yet comforting in the knowledge that others share this experience. im also amazed by how the author's able to capture and vocalize the inner condition and struggles that exist merely under the surface.
a great sophomore effort thats even better than its already good predecessor, and one of the best - tho def most eclectic - short story collection ive ever read.
the volume opens w/ a bang w/ "los angeles," perhaps the most delightfully eclectic short story ive ever read, so unconventional yet - by the end - thrilling it is. thru her stories, ma wrestles w/ coming of age, the immigrant experience, the self, and relationships. ma's pondering on the first one esp hits true, her incredible, precise articulation of the strange weightless void post-undergrad bleak, quiet, yet comforting in the knowledge that others share this experience. im also amazed by how the author's able to capture and vocalize the inner condition and struggles that exist merely under the surface.
a great sophomore effort thats even better than its already good predecessor, and one of the best - tho def most eclectic - short story collection ive ever read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Racism, and Drug use
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Stalking, and Sexism
Minor: Death of parent and Terminal illness
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