Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Bliss Montage by Ling Ma

21 reviews

ac_rva's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse

jessi_c's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

To be clear, I haven’t finished the book. I just finished the ‘Returning’ chapter and knew I needed to rate this 5 stars immediately. IMMEDIATELY. No matter how the rest of the book unfolds, it’s 5 stars to me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use

Moderate: Toxic friendship and Physical abuse

Minor: Toxic relationship, Body shaming, and Rape

siriface's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Drug abuse, Pregnancy, and Physical abuse

ninahuynh's review against another edition

adventurous challenging slow-paced

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

2.0

This was quite the read. There were times I thought maybe the stories connected, but then the story would go into confusing narration. It may be because I was not in the mindset for this type of narrative, but boy was it difficult to get into. The only story that really intrigued me and I actually remember is the yeti story. I usually like odd stories but these were not for me; I was just confused on what I was reading for most of the time. It might have been bliss for me to still have this on my tbr.

Interesting concepts; execution did not work for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, and Drug use

Moderate: Addiction, Physical abuse, and Racism

Minor: Sexual content

marissab's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Weird, but in a really good way!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Medical content, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship

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).

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Racism, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Cancer and Car accident

mzynda's review against another edition

emotional 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Pregnancy, and Infidelity

danibailey's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Drug use, and Xenophobia

Minor: Rape

robinks's review against another edition

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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Racism

Moderate: Pregnancy, Death, and Infidelity

Minor: Sexual content

siebensommer's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

favourites: oranges, returning, office hours 

She wanted a homecoming, whatever that meant. Maybe it was to be overwhelmed by déjà vu, a staggering tsunami wave.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Classism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Racism, Emotional abuse, and Medical content