Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

Bliss Montage by Ling Ma

5 reviews

kkulhannie's review against another edition

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challenging emotional slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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perkyanda's review against another edition

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challenging emotional 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? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I loved this! The lack of resolution for the series Is the only aspect I didn’t love. But I loved the three and connection began stories, and the weirdness and realistic feelings and just aching they came through. I can’t wait till she has another novel or collection out!

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w0rmonastring's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

an incredibly imaginative collection of stories where the seemingly innocuous moments of life in cities across the us take a turn for the surreal. ma’s writing is undeniably creative but a lot of these stories either left me wanting a fully fleshed out piece where concepts are fully explored or on the opposite end, not sure which concepts are meant to be being explored at all. there’s also not enough of a connecting thread through each of these stories for my taste, but i am eagerly looking forward to picking up Severance and exploring ma’s long-form work.

“What if I dissected my feelings, pulled them apart and brutalized them so that he would know they were true? Is this enough? … They would explode and drip over everything like bodily fluids and finally he’d be forced to look away.”
- from
Los Angeles

“‘I never gave you my heart,’ you told me, two days before you got into that bike accident, breaking three ribs and your ancient, Germanic clavicles. If your body had been broken beyond repair, I would have paid them to pluck out those bones for me — me before all others…”
- from
Yeti Lovemaking

“‘Ice cream is my favorite food.’ I write these words in the journal my mother gives me to record my first days in the US. English is just a play language to me, the words tethered to their meanings by the loosest, most tenuous connections. So it's easy to lie. I tell the truth in Chinese, I make up stories in English. I don't take it that seriously … It is the language in which I have nothing to lose, even if they don't believe a thing I say.”
- from
Peking Duck

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kamikazegirls's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75


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thewordsdevourer's review against another edition

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challenging reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

bliss montage is a great collection of stories, some either more unpredictable or reflective than others, but all subtly gripping in their own way.

the volume opens w/ a bang w/ "los angeles," perhaps the most delightfully eclectic short story ive ever read, so unconventional yet - by the end - thrilling it is. thru her stories, ma wrestles w/ coming of age, the immigrant experience, the self, and relationships. ma's pondering on the first one esp hits true, her incredible, precise articulation of the strange weightless void post-undergrad bleak, quiet, yet comforting in the knowledge that others share this experience. im also amazed by how the author's able to capture and vocalize the inner condition and struggles that exist merely under the surface.

a great sophomore effort thats even better than its already good predecessor, and one of the best - tho def most eclectic - short story collection ive ever read.

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