Welcome to Litsy!

Such interesting female narrators. Perfect amount of surrealism. Love the short story format to get me back into fiction. The yeti lovemaking one was my fave. Need to read her first book.

#pantone2023 @Clwojick
This collection of short stories took me longer to read in part because after reading the opening short story, I didn't like any of the other short stories and had a hard time getting into them.
Not sure if it was the setup of the short story but I felt disconnected from them and couldn't find anything of interest after the first one so maybe this wasn't a good intro for me to the author but I'm thinking to borrow another.

The stories are interesting enough, but the prose is really mediocre. "I paged through the first few pages." That's a representative sentence.

I really liked most of these stories. Especially the ones that delved a little deeper into the authors family/heritage. It just reminded me of something my current professor would like so of course I had to email her about it bc I‘m a kiss ass. The last story was probably my fave bc I feel like I‘ve been thinking heavy about the ethics of motherhood these days (idk why)

Good set of short stories. All very different from each other. They are beautifully written and leave you pondering.

Most of the stories here felt like a sock to the stomach. I lingered with the collection for that reason, savoring them and apprehensive, too. After reading, I was often left staring into the middle distance, too moved to do anything but think about what I‘d read.

Interesting short story collection from the same author as Severance. Most stories have an element of magical realism or fantasy/sci-fi, though some stories felt more fully realized than others.

I was attracted to this book because the author wrote Severance, which you might have seem on tv. Can‘t say these stories spoke to me, as there was only one that I found interesting about a student and her professor. Pretty dull all the way around.

Unpopular opinion but I scratched my head during the entire book, wondering what I was missing. Maybe I wasn‘t paying enough attention but the women seemed so passive and uninspired I felt drained after many of the stories.

These are both EXCELLENT short short story collections! Universal took a sci-fi look at different types of love and how they might manifest in the future from sex in VR suits to dead holographic spouses. Still thinking about these over a week later!

Ma looks in relationships but in a more subversive way. She‘s got a keen eye for what makes people tick and even drives them to do crazy things like live with 100 boyfriends or bury themselves alive.

Have you ever gone to Target and loaded up your basket and within an hour put everything back? Or even worse just left the cart full and walked out of the store? That dissatisfaction, disillusionment of what not knowing what you want and what you don‘t know you need is the itchy thread in all 8 of the short stories in here. The language was vibrant and the stories, very creative. I can‘t wait to see what she writes next. All the 🍊s!!!

Besides my LMPBC books every book I‘ve read this month has been off of Libby. I started Bad Cree one day and then the next day all 4 of the others came in and I just kept seeing 14 days count down. The theme song in my head has been The Heat is On by Glenn Fry. The pressure!!! Lol also top right guy is because The Heat Is On has a catchy sax lick like most 80‘s songs do and who can think about 80‘s sax without thinking about Lost Boys Sax Guy?👇🏼

Such interesting female narrators. Perfect amount of surrealism. Love the short story format to get me back into fiction. The yeti lovemaking one was my fave. Need to read her first book.

Ling Ma's writing is incredible, and her observations on contemporary workplaces, pop culture, and social psyche are sharp and often framed in an unsettling manner leaving the reader perhaps a bit uneasy. The stories in Bliss Montage pick apart illusions, considering why we maintain them and what happens when they are shattered.

Thank you so much for this book @Reggie it was weird and wonderful! I‘m so looking forward to you reading it because many stories could be interpreted wildly differently and I‘m keen to discuss! Ling Ma writes in a very realistic style but in most stories there is one singular element that is surreal, that shocks the reader, but is accepted as rational in the world Ma has created. Some stories seem to be detailing a legacy of trauma or numbness⬇️

I loved Severance, so I was excited for this one and it doesn‘t disappoint! Ling Ma sprinkles magical realism through some of her stories and they are all intriguing. My only quibble is that two of the stories just stop abruptly in an unsatisfying way, to the point that I wondered if my ebook didn‘t fully download.

Book 123 of the year.

Good book good food!

Reading at work. Only made it two full hours for #20in4. That‘s 20 points for #teamslaughter! @Clwojick Also watched two Halloween shorts so I believe that‘s another 10 pts making it 30 total so far.

Ling Ma is fantastic - I loved Severance and this short story collection seals Ma as a favorite author for me! Short stories are hit or miss for me but I loved every quirky moment with this collection!

I‘ve been on a short story kick lately. I love the form and I feel like it - even more than a novel - gives you a sense of an author‘s mind and style. Ling Ma is brilliant. These were funny and engaging and weird and powerful. I very much recommend this book! Out in September.