Bliss Montage
| Author | Ling Ma |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Farrar, Straus and Giroux |
Publication date | September 13, 2022 |
| Pages | 228 |
| Awards | Winner of the 2022 National Book Critics Circle Award Winner of The Story Prize |
| ISBN | 978-0-374-29351-2 |
Bliss Montage is a collection of eight(8) imaginative and genre-bending short stories by Ling Ma, published in 2022 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. The stories explore themes of identity, relationships, belonging and the human condition. Each story looks at the complexities of modern life, often with a strange and surprising twist.[1]
Plot
[edit]In Bliss Montage, Ling Ma shares eight very different stories about people dealing with the ups and downs of life and the illusions we hold onto, like love, loneliness, connection, and the idea of home. The stories include a woman living with all her ex-boyfriends, a harmful friendship based on a drug that makes you invisible, and an ancient ritual that might cure anything if you bury yourself alive. These tales show how the strange and the ordinary can be surprisingly similar, both in heartbreaking and unexpected ways.
Each story presents a unique narrative:
"Los Angeles" opens the collection with a story about a woman living in a house with her husband and 100 ex-boyfriends, a surreal setup that explores themes of memory and emotional baggage.
"Oranges" involves a woman who takes a drug that allows her to become invisible, touching on the feeling of being overlooked by society.
"G" follows two friends who use a drug that makes them disappear, highlighting on the challenges of friendship and the desire to escape reality.
"Yeti Lovemaking" involves a sexual encounter between a human woman and a yeti.
"Returning" follows a young woman who travels with her husband to his homeland to partake in an unusual ritual.
"Office Hours" explores how gender and race affect people's lives, set against a strange and eerie background.
"Peking Duck" tells the story of a writer struggling with her identity and past, using storytelling to explore these themes.
In the final selection, “Tomorrow,” a woman named Eve finds out she is pregnant and is alarmed to discover that the fetus’s arm is protruding through her cervix and out of her vagina. When the doctor explains that this condition is a result of now-discontinued hygiene products and other toxic substances she has consumed, Eve decides to book a six-month trip to her (unspecified) country of origin to spend most of her pregnancy there.[2][3][4]
Reception
[edit]Writing for The New York Times, Lovia Gyarkye stated that "The eight wily tales mark the return of an author whose inventive debut, Severance, urgently announced her as a writer worth watching ... [5]
Hillary Kelly, writing for Los Angeles Times stated that the stories of Bliss Montage keep the cover’s cheeky promise. They take place in little pockets removed from 'real' life, whatever that means: inside a parallel world hidden behind a wardrobe; at a cultish festival in a fictional country; on a protracted vacation in a 'de-Americanized' world; in an MFA workshop.[6]
Reviewing the novel for Wired, Camille Bromley stated that "Her plots move just a half-step away from reality, integrating fantastical elements so seamlessly that they almost escape notice ...[7]
Michele Filgate writing for The Washington post, stated that "Most of these stories are uncanny and haunting ... The acts of looking and being seen come up repeatedly in these pages, as does the idea of concealment ... [8]
Abby Manzella of The Star Tribune stated that the book is insightful, showing readers the darkness of our time but delivering it with an astute approach that often becomes surreal. [9]
Awards
[edit]- Winner of the 2022 National Book Critics Circle Award [10]
- Winner of The Story Prize [11]
References
[edit]- ^ "Bliss Montage". Goodreads. Retrieved 2024-08-22.
- ^ "Bliss Montage: Stories | Washington Independent Review of Books". www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com. Retrieved 2024-08-22.
- ^ "Startling Glimmers of Truth: On Ling Ma's "Bliss Montage"". Los Angeles Review of Books. 2022-12-14. Retrieved 2024-08-22.
- ^ Roberts, Chloe Garcia. "Bliss Montage". Harvard Review. Retrieved 2024-08-22.
- ^ Gyarkye, Lovia (2022-09-09). "Ling Ma's Surreal Subversions". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-08-22.
- ^ Kelly, Hillary (2022-09-09). "Review: 'Severance' author Ling Ma doubles down on surreal premises in 'Bliss Montage'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2024-08-22.
- ^ Bromley, Camille. "Ling Ma's 'Bliss Montage' Peels Back a Different Kind of Fantasy". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2024-08-22.
- ^ "Review | Ling Ma's surreal stories explore the absurdity of labels". Washington Post. 2022-09-14. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2024-08-22.
- ^ Manzella, Abby (2022-09-23). "Review: 'Bliss Montage,' by Ling Ma". www.startribune.com. Retrieved 2024-08-22.
- ^ Elmajdoubi, Halima (2023-02-25). "Bliss Montage by Ling Ma". National Book Critics Circle. Retrieved 2024-08-22.
- ^ "Ling Ma Wins the Story Prize for 'Bliss Montage'". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 2024-08-22.