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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I am not sure that I understood the stories, some of them ended too abruptly to feel satisfying. There were moments that I was intrigued by, but they were only passing. I am not sure if I didn't connect with this book because I don't know firsthand what it's like to be an Asian-American? I was expecting to connect on the basis of womanhood, and there was some of that. beautifully written but not overly compelling to me.
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-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:
Yes
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-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:
Yes
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I was excited to read this one following my absolute love for Severance. While I still enjoyed the immersive writing style and interesting ideas, I felt that each story fell a bit short in terms of wanting more, and instead left me feeling confused. The premise for Returning had me the most intrigued and yet I feel like the focus on the "before" with the vagueness of the present left me confused by the end. Which is disappointing because I was so excited for that one.
Other stories of note for me were Office Hours (very immersive), Peking Duck (incredibly complex emotionally), and Tomorrow (just wonderfully weird). I am hooked on this author's books and hope more are coming!
Other stories of note for me were Office Hours (very immersive), Peking Duck (incredibly complex emotionally), and Tomorrow (just wonderfully weird). I am hooked on this author's books and hope more are coming!
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
fast-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:
Yes
I know this is comparing apples to oranges (see what I did there?), but I much preferred Ling Ma's Severance to this collection of short stories.
Part of it is personal preference - short story collections never land super well for me.
Part of it, though, is a sense of loss of Ma's voice as a writer and what I know she can do with it.
One of the reasons I enjoyed Severance so much was because of how millennial-ly existential it was. The writing, observations, and character relationships felt fresh, original, and natural.
These stories felt like they could have been written by anyone - none of the distinctiveness I know she's capable of comes through in Bliss Montage. It feels like a really literaryily self-aware book, like ah, yes, let us talk about Craft, which I generally dislike (I want Craft AND Earnestness). I liked some of the stories or thought they presented interesting concepts but I was expecting something more interesting from her :/
Favorites:
- G
- Peking Duck
Part of it is personal preference - short story collections never land super well for me.
Part of it, though, is a sense of loss of Ma's voice as a writer and what I know she can do with it.
One of the reasons I enjoyed Severance so much was because of how millennial-ly existential it was. The writing, observations, and character relationships felt fresh, original, and natural.
These stories felt like they could have been written by anyone - none of the distinctiveness I know she's capable of comes through in Bliss Montage. It feels like a really literaryily self-aware book, like ah, yes, let us talk about Craft, which I generally dislike (I want Craft AND Earnestness). I liked some of the stories or thought they presented interesting concepts but I was expecting something more interesting from her :/
Favorites:
- G
- Peking Duck
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes