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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
absurdly beautiful. ling ma discovers pieces of a story for the reader and trusts that we will put them together in a meaningful way.
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Really cool book. The writing was easy/approachable but the stories implied so much more. I don’t know how to explain it. Would/will definitely read more from this author.
I think my favorite stories were Returning and Office Hours.
I think my favorite stories were Returning and Office Hours.
((2.5)) (read via audiobook)
as my second ling ma read, meh. some of the stories left very positive impressions on me (e.g., returning & peking duck) while some were just.... not it (e.g., G & yeti love making). overall, this shows ling ma's breadth and variety as a writer. i don't think this collection's purpose is to resonate over and over- there are some that will work for you and some that wont. this makes it particularly hard to rate the whole collection, so i fall back on comparing it (although, perhaps unfairly) to severance which i enjoyed immensely more than this.
if you like weird collections of variable length stories, def worth a read even if some of the stories were eye-roll worthy!
as my second ling ma read, meh. some of the stories left very positive impressions on me (e.g., returning & peking duck) while some were just.... not it (e.g., G & yeti love making). overall, this shows ling ma's breadth and variety as a writer. i don't think this collection's purpose is to resonate over and over- there are some that will work for you and some that wont. this makes it particularly hard to rate the whole collection, so i fall back on comparing it (although, perhaps unfairly) to severance which i enjoyed immensely more than this.
if you like weird collections of variable length stories, def worth a read even if some of the stories were eye-roll worthy!
My fried recommended this book to me. I had dnfed his other suggestions so I thought it wise to see this through seeing as it is short.
I am not exactly sure what it is I’ve just read
I cannot in good faith rate this book as I don’t think I understand what it is I’ve read
I am not exactly sure what it is I’ve just read
I cannot in good faith rate this book as I don’t think I understand what it is I’ve read
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Her family would only wound her, nothing more, so that she went through this life maimed, but still she went through life.
3.5 stars. A very interesting collection of short stories. There's something very captivating about Ling Ma's prose and the way she wrestles her themes. Even in the stories that I didn't particularly like, there was always something about the writing that really gripped me. These are all mostly literary, contemporary fiction, but a few of them have a slight speculative bent, a hint of magical realism or sff. I really enjoyed the mix. A lot of stories dealing with interpersonal relationships, love, the immigrant experience, loneliness, grief. This has one of the most interesting stories about pregnancy/motherhood I've ever read, and I'm super picky when I read about that topic. My favourite was definitely "Office Hours"; lots of great analysis and character study and a really interesting liminal space.
Some brief notes and ratings for each story.
Oranges - 4 stars. This hit pretty hard. A narrative of survivorhood that looks at both victim and perpetrator in interesting ways.
G - 3.5 stars. An invisibility drug is a novel concept. I'm meh about the ending though. I wanted more character insight.
Yeti Lovemaking - 2.5 stars. I don't get it lol. I don't usually want to have things spelled out for me but IHNI what happened here. She fucked a yeti and transformed? IDK
Returning - 3.5 stars. The bulk of this story about marriage didn't touch me, but I really liked the descriptions of the novels and short stories within it though.
Office Hours - 4.5 stars. Okay this was metaphorical and abstract in a way I actually really enjoyed. I love liminal spaces, and I loved he idea of leaving an imprint of yourself behind.
Peking Duck - 4 stars. Stories within stories, the transmutation of them, retelling in different mouths, mother/daughter relationships. I liked this a lot.
Tomorrow - 3.5 stars. Okay. These have all had vaguely unsatisfying endings, but this one more so. Still, a REALLY interesting pregnancy/motherhood story.
Listened to the audiobook as read by Katherine Chin; it was really great. Some interesting sound effects for some of the stories, particularly "Los Angeles". While I didn't like this as much as Severance, I'm definitely looking forward to more from Ma.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
my ratings of each short story:
Los Angeles • 4/5
Los Angeles • 4/5
Oranges • 3/5
G • 5/5
Yeti Lovemaking • 4/5
G • 5/5
Yeti Lovemaking • 4/5
Returning • 2/5
Office Hours • 5/5
Peking Duck • 3/5
Tomorrow • 3/5
Office Hours • 5/5
Peking Duck • 3/5
Tomorrow • 3/5
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
9/10
pc: 288
this was a collection of short stories that were all good. Every story was haunting and insightful in some way. There was a lot of imaginative and surreal events/characters. There were a couple of common themes through most of the stories- namely how identity influences life, displacement, and the exploration of joy/youth and mundane aspects of life. Some notable plots I liked were a drug that makes you invisible, falling in love w yeti, and haunting a man that abused the main character. Ling’s writing style is so well done, I can’t wait to read more from her.
pc: 288
this was a collection of short stories that were all good. Every story was haunting and insightful in some way. There was a lot of imaginative and surreal events/characters. There were a couple of common themes through most of the stories- namely how identity influences life, displacement, and the exploration of joy/youth and mundane aspects of life. Some notable plots I liked were a drug that makes you invisible, falling in love w yeti, and haunting a man that abused the main character. Ling’s writing style is so well done, I can’t wait to read more from her.
Lonely & observational & unsettled & definitely something I’d come back to read again. My favorite story was Peking Duck!
“It doesn’t take much to convince yourself that you’re ok. Just some discretionary income & a regularity to your days.”
“It doesn’t take much to convince yourself that you’re ok. Just some discretionary income & a regularity to your days.”