Reviews tagging 'Death'

Severance by Ling Ma

144 reviews

minnxes's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

kathshiroma's review

Go to review page

4.5

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

ru_th's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

The past is a black hole, cut into the present day like a wound, and if you come too close, you can get sucked in. You have to keep moving.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

sunn_bleach's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Don’t believe the blurb on the back - this is NOT a “The Office”-like parody of work culture. This is a frequently sad, often tense, and occasionally whimsical view into the millennial struggle of never being at home. “Severance” takes on many meanings here, and all of them hit hard.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

erinpoo's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

“A second chance doesn't mean you're in the clear. In many ways, it is the more difficult thing. Because a second chance means that you have to try harder. You must rise to the challenge without the blind optimism of ignorance.” 

i really thought i might like this a bit more going into it a second time and because i am in dire need of a copy of bliss montage but! all feelings about this novel remained the same (which is not really a bad thing) 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

ohyeah_karyn's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

gardens_and_dragons's review

Go to review page

dark funny reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

I really did not like this book. It’s had an interesting premise, but it was painfully slow for being sub 300 pages. I was also very disappointed in the ending because it felt inconclusive.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

nadia's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

I'm so glad I've finally read this one and I really liked it. A very interesting experience to read it on the other side of the COVID-19 pandemic and spot parallels to what we've just lived through. I appreciated the book's structure and alternating perspectives and felt immersed in both strands. Ling Ma's writing was great and succeeded in generating an ongoing eerie, unsettling atmosphere from the get-go.

If anything, I'd have been happier with a slightly longer book. For one, I wanted a little more exploration — more story — beyond the ending that we're left with, though what we were given did work and fit the vibe of the book. I guess I wanted more because the whole thing was working so well!
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

ladylothlorien's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I find it nearly impossible to put down my thoughts on this book. There is something eerie about reading a pre-pandemic book about a pandemic and then to have so much of it ring true made it a difficult read. It was slow and depressing for a long time and then an event happened that added a sense of urgency to the narrative which carried through to the end. It meant the pacing was a little weird but honestly this book is a little weird: at times satirical and at others poetically reflective. Overall I would say I enjoyed it but I think it also brought up COVID feelings that I’m not sure I’m ready to deal with. And the themes surrounding the term “severance” will be rattling around in my head for a long time. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

sakisreads's review

Go to review page

challenging dark sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Ooh, I LOVED this book so much. I thought that because of its current popularity on BookTok, it had been written during the pandemic, but it turns out it had been published in 2018 which gave me a sense of foreshadowing 😳 

Ling Ma captures the boredom of day-in, day-out hustle culture for the big men; in her Bible production job in New York, it’s evident she’s not loving life but she’s just keeping it going.
In sharp contrast, her perspective on Shen Fever taking over the city and her having to join this group of ‘survivors’ is so interesting and once I’d gotten into the different flashbacks I couldn’t put this book down.

I wasn’t expecting Ashley’s fevered time in her house and could picture all that so clearly. This element of horror was intense and I was wide-eyed the entire time reading it 😳


I really loved the ending to this book as well. I wasn’t sure what I expected to happen in the end but I’m glad it ended the way it did 🥹
SHE GOT AWAY WITH THE BABY, NICE ✨


I would highly recommend this to people who are fans of reading Asian literature and about the immigrant experience… All with a twist. This book reminded me a little bit of The School for Good Mothers! Thank you so much ❤️
Expand filter menu Content Warnings