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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
reflective
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
This short story collection blends the absurd with sharp explorations of immigration, racism, toxic relationships, and intimacy (even with a yeti i guess).
I’ll admit, I originally picked it up because the premise of the first story sounded hilarious : a woman living in a house with her 100 ex-boyfriends, alongside her husband, who speaks in dollars and cries in cents. I expected some kind of logistical explanation of how this arrangement could possibly work, but Ling Ma doesn’t bother with that.
What struck me most is how the bizarre elements never feel random. They open up space to talk about power dynamics, memory, and the haunting weight of personal and cultural histories. Each story pushes you to sit with discomfort while also making you laugh at the sheer absurdity of it all.
mysterious
fast-paced
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I see this as a refutation of the idea that "immigrant stories" are all the same and the collection challenges you to allow each young Chinese American woman to live her own story even if she happens to have overlapping experiences with other people of a shared background. And happening to fall into tropes once in a while doesn't make her somehow weaker or written by a lesser author.
This collection is a lesson is forgiving the "disappearing woman" for disappearing, for accepting that she is expected to disappear from a narrative that doesn't want to center her and finding freedom in giving into that. She lets her scary abusive ex get away, lets his other ex-girlfriend fall out of touch, admits that she wants to be invisible and dependent right as she is forced to, lets her marriage fade when faced with lack of connection, runs from her office, her city, her country, her homeland. And is it because no one makes room for her in her spaces, in her own narratives? Or because she never wanted them in the first place and she's escaping something thrust upon her? Does she know the difference?
I think it was a beautiful collection, but a difficult one to understand because it chose to leave every story a little unfinished. Very worth reading, but it will take a while set in fully. Make it through 3 stories and you won't be able to stop.
This collection is a lesson is forgiving the "disappearing woman" for disappearing, for accepting that she is expected to disappear from a narrative that doesn't want to center her and finding freedom in giving into that. She lets her scary abusive ex get away, lets his other ex-girlfriend fall out of touch, admits that she wants to be invisible and dependent right as she is forced to, lets her marriage fade when faced with lack of connection, runs from her office, her city, her country, her homeland. And is it because no one makes room for her in her spaces, in her own narratives? Or because she never wanted them in the first place and she's escaping something thrust upon her? Does she know the difference?
I think it was a beautiful collection, but a difficult one to understand because it chose to leave every story a little unfinished. Very worth reading, but it will take a while set in fully. Make it through 3 stories and you won't be able to stop.
Finished just over a month ago and all I remember is enjoying these stories without being able to actually recall the plot of a single one.
Okay, I’ve refreshed my memory.
My favorite stories were “Returning” and “Office Hours.” Both contained a sort of quiet horror, the foreboding presence of all too common threats explored in unique ways. Her work is spiritual, internal, and contemplative. Each story offers a new theme for reflection and the space to do so while drawing beautiful imagery with a dreamlike quality.
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
dark
medium-paced
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"'it is in the most surreal situations that a person feels the most present, the closest to reality'"
i love reading collections of stories, especially when they all have a shared theme to them. this book is about disconnecting with the body, ownership of one's body, and rebirth. when you abandon yourself, there's only one person you can come back to. there's a point in surrealism where it becomes so familiar and inviting.
the short story 'office hours' was such a banger
vulnerable, dystopia & mystical
i love reading collections of stories, especially when they all have a shared theme to them. this book is about disconnecting with the body, ownership of one's body, and rebirth. when you abandon yourself, there's only one person you can come back to. there's a point in surrealism where it becomes so familiar and inviting.
the short story 'office hours' was such a banger
vulnerable, dystopia & mystical
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced