Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

Bliss Montage by Ling Ma

47 reviews

marissab's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Weird, but in a really good way!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Medical content, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship

skyba3's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Such a great book! Wonderfully written and imaginative. I l sometimes didn’t even know I’d entered the fantasy until it was blatantly obvious. It was disturbing, sad, beautiful, and sometimes even creepy (I’m talking to you, office hours)? It was witty, imaginative, and sometimes very jarring. I just really loved this one. I will note that most stories end very ambiguously (which I loved), so I’m not sure many would enjoy not receiving a clear answer, but I loved how the end of each story allowed me to take a beat and think about the meaning of the story, the imagery and symbols, what the fantasy was and what it represented. It was a very beautiful book, and I think anyone can easily pick up this book. It’s amazing what Ling Ma does to build a story so quickly and so engaging. I often struggle getting into new novels but each short story was enticing from the start. 

Also - I wanted to note that this book would be very easy to listen to as an audiobook (try libby).

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Cancer and Car accident

mzynda's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Physical abuse, and Pregnancy

cfries's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Pregnancy

reads2cope's review

3.75

Disturbing, strange, unsettling, disquieting... I can't describe this book accurately, but I guess that's a start. I loved Severance and short stories aren't typically my favorite format, but Ling Ma has done it again, though some pieces were more enthralling than others. The last one, Tomorrow, actually made me gag with horror, which I normally avoid at all costs, so thanks for getting me out of my comfort zone.
I did have some trouble figuring out when each story ended and the next began, going to start begging audiobook producers to leave more of a pause between chapters and put more stress on chapter titles, but maybe that's just me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Domestic abuse, Drug use, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Drug abuse, Racism, and Xenophobia

Minor: Stalking and Toxic friendship

superiour_medium's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Surrealist immigrant racial trauma anthology. Magical realism? We got it. Psychopomp blending of reality? Check. Unsettling imagery? Droves of the stuff. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Pregnancy

Moderate: Racism, Toxic friendship, and Classism

nataliegray's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Racism, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Stalking

robinks's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

This was such an interesting collection of stories. They all left me feeling a bit uneasy and unresolved, though the fantastic elements in each of the stories were quite creative. I particularly enjoyed Oranges and Peking Duck.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Racism, and Sexism

Moderate: Death, Infidelity, and Pregnancy

Minor: Sexual content

readingbrb's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy

Moderate: Racism

Minor: Colonisation

siebensommer's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

favourites: oranges, returning, office hours 

She wanted a homecoming, whatever that meant. Maybe it was to be overwhelmed by déjà vu, a staggering tsunami wave.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Pregnancy, and Classism