A review by bratatouille
Bliss Montage by Ling Ma

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

I am not typically a fan of short stories, but after this I may be a changed woman. Ling Ma threaded desperation, expectation, and the constant feeling of uncertainty, through stories of magical realism, surrealism, and situations that felt eerily relatable. The entirety of the book spun me into an intoxicated haze and while none of the stories made me cry, for some reason it’s all I want to do now that I’ve finished them. The protagonists manage to keep the same voice throughout each tale and although I can’t claim that they’re interconnected, I also can’t bring myself to definitively say that they’re not. I will absolutely be thinking about these stories for a while and can only truly gripe with the yeti, which I do not believe I will ever fully understand.