Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Bliss Montage by Ling Ma

63 reviews

eena's review against another edition

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dark informative reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Reading this made me want to reread Severance again, this is more of a 3.5 rating and here are my reasons:

  • Ling Ma’s main characters are usually fascinating that she goes beyond the usual immigrant stories that we know of and I truly love how she presented the relationships of her characters here
  • This reminded me of On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous and how for Asian people, especially immigrants, the English language is power and a status symbol
  • I LOVE THE TITLE SO MUCH it’s the most realistic part of this collection
  • What made me rate it a little lower than most of the reviews here was that I expecting the stories to go beyond just the fantasy of everything because I feel like some bits were confused in becoming a fantasy or a surrealist story. I also thought that it will be unique that each story will be interlaced with each other and this also disappointed me somehow. 

This is truly a high recommendation this year and I cannot wait for Ling Ma’s future works. Big thanks to Farrar, Straus and Giroux and NetGalley for the arc! 
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savvylit's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.5

Ling Ma carefully crafts eight fully-realized mini universes within Bliss Montage. If you've read and enjoyed Ma's novel Severance, then you'll be delighted to find that her sharp observational satire is back in many of these stories. Yet again, Ma has excelled at blending reality and fantasy in order to pose questions about human motivation.

The most memorable stories in Bliss Montage are those that feature surreal elements. In Office Space, a young professor discovers a hidden realm inside a closet. In Tomorrow, a pregnant woman's baby grows partially outside her womb. In G, two friends take a drug that turns them invisible. In Yeti Lovemaking... Well, the title speaks for itself.

As a whole, Bliss Montage is a purely delightful journey into Ling Ma's brilliant characterization and world-building abilities. Now that I have read both this collection and Severance, Ma has firmly cemented her place in my mind as one of my favorite authors. I can't wait to see what she publishes next.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus & Giroux for this Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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surlyjackson's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious

5.0

Working at a mostly used bookstore, I try to curb my spending by waiting for books on my TBR to appear in the used stock at the store, versus ordering it new. This is why I've yet to read Ling Ma's Severance despite it being one of my most anticipated reads. I think it's a testament to her writing quality that it has yet to appear. Ling Ma has mastered the art of showing, not telling. She uses vivid, poetic language to articulate even the most abstracted of concepts. The main through lines of the collection were abusive or unhealthy relationships and the tribulations of being an Asian immigrant in America. As an Asian immigrant that was seen her fair share of abusive relationships, I felt these stories to my core, an almost eerie amount that it felt like holding a mirror to my life. At times the endings felt too abrupt, but it's to be expected of a short story collection and do not fault the book on that. I just want more, need more.
Needless to say, I have just ordered Severance.
Many thanks to NetGalley and FSG for a copy of this beautiful book for review. 
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