Reviews with content warning for Racism - Bliss Montage

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Bliss Montage by Ling Ma

31 reviews

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).

Content Warnings

katieb1034's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

Content Warnings

reads2cope's review against another edition

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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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sakisreads's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I LOVED Severance by Ling Ma so I had high expectations for this one.
It was definitely very bizarre and out there, and not always my favourite read (for example, there were some gory moments which I found a bit tricky to read), but had some great moments highlighting the Asian-American experience 😳

I found ‘Los Angeles’ and ‘Oranges’ to probably be the most influential (in terms of holding the most space in my brain), but there were other stories in the collection I could appreciate too.

The narrator’s ex-boyfriend being an abuser and being condemned by his mum fucked me up! 😦

I will definitely include the content warnings needed for these stories below 🥲

All in all, I’m giving this story 3.5 out of 5 stars I think. Thank you ✨

Content Warnings

superiour_medium's review against another edition

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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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nataliegray's review against another edition

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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

Content Warnings

robinks's review against another edition

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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.

Content Warnings