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laurenjullienne 's review for:
Bliss Montage
by Ling Ma
Bliss Montage falls to the curse that a lot of short story collections succumb to – there are a few standout stories and the rest are more or less mediocre. At the top tier, I would say Returning, Office Hours and Peking Duck were the standouts. The middle tier holds G, Tomorrow, and Oranges. At the bottom of the pile is Los Angeles and Yeti Lovemaking.
Thematically, Bliss Montage delves into not only a fear of change, but even an almost medical aversion to it – the anxiety and repulsion from finding ourselves outside of what we believe we know is something that touches the edges of our vision all the time, and in its absurd twists, the stories in Bliss Montage aims to lend a tangible form to that feeling.
I did enjoy these pieces and the writing is not difficult to follow or maintain interest in. I only wish Ling Ma had committed a bit more solidly to the absurdity of some of these stories, it felt like the best parts were when it was at the very tip of becoming surreal.
Thematically, Bliss Montage delves into not only a fear of change, but even an almost medical aversion to it – the anxiety and repulsion from finding ourselves outside of what we believe we know is something that touches the edges of our vision all the time, and in its absurd twists, the stories in Bliss Montage aims to lend a tangible form to that feeling.
I did enjoy these pieces and the writing is not difficult to follow or maintain interest in. I only wish Ling Ma had committed a bit more solidly to the absurdity of some of these stories, it felt like the best parts were when it was at the very tip of becoming surreal.