A review by taratearex
Bliss Montage by Ling Ma

slow-paced

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

2.75

Ok, first I just have to say that I loved Severance a lot, it was a 5 star read. But as with many short story collections, they can be hit or miss based on each story. Some of these I liked, and others I felt I was slogging through with no payoff at the end. Even the ones I did like still felt like they were too long and wandering to hold my attention, I struggled a lot with the pacing. A few times I thought about DNFing but just kept going since I was listening to the audiobook, I absolutely would have DNFd had I been reading the physical book because I just could not make it through the pacing. I will say that I still enjoy Ling Ma's writing and commentary throughout each story, but overall the sort of plotless wandering of them and singular POV style (were all the stories the same main character? I don't think so but they all seemed the same) kept me from being fully engaged. I don't know how to rate this, maybe a 2.75.