A review by lcr16
Bliss Montage by Ling Ma

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

Surreal, tense, and evocative. The collection of short stories shares a similar tone and themes around women' being at odds with men, second generation immigrant Asian women coming to terms with their own identity, and the absurdity of our own reality. The standout stories for me where Returning, Oranges, and my personal favorite story, Peking Duck. Peking Duck is so beautifully structured, the characterization of her own mother feels so humanizing, and even though you already know the ending, it feels like a stab to the gut in the best way possible. For a collection of short stories, the tone and voice are so clear and connected, and the writing is so beautifully unexpected, that the whole book together makes sense. This book will leave you feeling like you woke up from a fever dream you cannot shake. Thank you to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the eARC