Bliss Montage

Last updated
Bliss Montage
Author Ling Ma
LanguageEnglish
Publisher Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication date
September 13, 2022
Pages228
AwardsWinner 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]

Contents

Plot

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

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

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lisa Ling</span> American journalist

Lisa J. Ling is an American journalist and television personality. She is a news contributor for CBS News. Previously, she was the host for This Is Life with Lisa Ling on CNN, a reporter on Channel One News, a co-host on the ABC daytime talk show The View (1999–2002), the host of National Geographic Explorer (2003–2010), and a special correspondent for The Oprah Winfrey Show. Ling later hosted Our America with Lisa Ling on the Oprah Winfrey Network from 2011 to 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susanna Fogel</span> American director, screenwriter and author

Susanna Fogel is an American director, screenwriter and author, best known for co-writing the 2019 film Booksmart and for co-writing and directing the 2018 action/comedy The Spy Who Dumped Me. Her many accolades include a DGA Award and nominations at the BAFTA Film Awards, the Primetime Emmy Awards and the WGA Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ja'Tovia Gary</span> American artist and filmmaker

Ja'Tovia Gary is an American artist and filmmaker based in Brooklyn, New York. Her work is held in the permanent collections at the Whitney Museum, Studio Museum of Harlem, and others. She is best known for her documentary film The Giverny Document (2019), which received awards including the Moving Ahead Award at the Locarno Film Festival, the Juror Award at the Ann Arbor Film Festival, Best Experimental Film at the Blackstar Film Festival, and the Douglas Edwards Experimental Film Award from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wayétu Moore</span> Liberian-American author

Wayétu Moore is a Liberian-American author and social entrepreneur. Her debut novel, She Would Be King, was published by Graywolf Press in September 2018, and was named a best book of 2018 by Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Entertainment Weekly & BuzzFeed. The novel was positively reviewed by Time Magazine, The New York Times, and The New Yorker. Moore has published work in The New York Times, The Paris Review, Guernica Magazine, The Atlantic, and other journals. She was awarded a Lannan Literary Fellowship for fiction in 2019. Moore's memoir, The Dragons, The Giant, The Women, was named a 2020 New York Times Notable Book, a Time Magazine 10 Best Nonfiction Books of 2020, and a Publishers Weekly Top 5 Nonfiction Books of 2020. In 2011, Moore founded a publishing house and nonprofit organization, One Moore Book, which publishes and distributes books intended for children in countries underrepresented in literature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ling Ma</span> Chinese American novelist and academic

Ling Ma is a Chinese American novelist and professor at the University of Chicago. Her first book, Severance, won a 2018 Kirkus Prize and was listed as a New York Times Notable Book of 2018 and shortlisted for the 2019 Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award. Her second book, Bliss Montage, won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction and The Story Prize. She is a 2024 MacArthur Fellow.

Garrett Bradley is an American filmmaker and director of short films, feature films, documentaries, and television. She is known for blending cinematic genres to explore the larger sociopolitical significance of the everyday moments of her subjects' lived experience.

<i>Severance</i> (novel) 2018 novel by Ling Ma

Severance is a 2018 post-apocalyptic novel by Chinese-American author Ling Ma. It follows Candace Chen, an unfulfilled Bible product coordinator, before and after an incurable infection slowly obliterates global civilization. Severance explores themes of nostalgia, modern office culture, monotony, and intimate relationships. The novel, Ma's debut, won the 2018 Kirkus Prize for Fiction and was included on many prominent Best Books of 2018 lists.

<i>Them</i> (TV series) 2021 American epic horror drama anthology television series

Them is an American horror series, created by Little Marvin and executive produced by Lena Waithe. The series stars an ensemble cast, which consists of Deborah Ayorinde, Ashley Thomas, Alison Pill, and Ryan Kwanten in the first season, and Pam Grier, Luke James, Joshua J. Williams and Jeremy Bobb in the second season, with Ayorinde returning in a new lead role.

<i>Day Shift</i> (film) 2022 film by J. J. Perry

Day Shift is a 2022 American action comedy horror film directed by J. J. Perry in his directorial debut, written by Tyler Tice and Shay Hatten from a story by Tice, and starring Jamie Foxx as a blue-collar father whose pool-cleaning job is a front for his work as a vampire hunter. The film also stars Dave Franco, Snoop Dogg, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Meagan Good, Karla Souza, Steve Howey, and Scott Adkins.

<i>Enola Holmes 2</i> 2022 mystery film by Harry Bradbeer

Enola Holmes 2 is a 2022 mystery film and the sequel to the 2020 film Enola Holmes, both of which star Millie Bobby Brown as the title character, the teenage sister of the already-famous Victorian-era detective Sherlock Holmes. The film is directed by Harry Bradbeer from a screenplay by Jack Thorne that adapts the book series The Enola Holmes Mysteries by Nancy Springer. Unlike the film's predecessor, it does not adapt one of Springer's novels and instead takes real-life inspiration from the 1888 matchgirls' strike. In addition to Brown, Henry Cavill, Louis Partridge, Susie Wokoma, Adeel Akhtar, and Helena Bonham Carter reprise their supporting roles, while David Thewlis and Sharon Duncan-Brewster join the cast.

<i>The Woman King</i> 2022 film by Gina Prince-Bythewood

The Woman King is a 2022 American historical action-adventure film about the Agojie, the all-female warrior unit that protected the West African kingdom of Dahomey during the 17th to 19th centuries. Set in the 1820s, the film stars Viola Davis as a general who trains the next generation of warriors to fight their enemies. It is directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood and written by Dana Stevens, based on a story she wrote with Maria Bello. The film also stars Thuso Mbedu, Lashana Lynch, Sheila Atim, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, and John Boyega.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spencer Creaghan</span> Canadian musician and composer

Spencer Creaghan is a Canadian musician and film composer.

<i>Show Me What You Got</i> (film) 2021 indie film

Show Me What You Got is a Black and white American independent film shot in Los Angeles, Italy and Joshua Tree that follows three millennials as they meet and form a ménage à trois. With the restless energy of a French New Wave film, the story follows the three as they join political protests and make art while falling deeper in love. When one has to leave for Italy, their experience there threatens their relationship.

<i>Beauty</i> (2022 film) 2022 American film

Beauty is a 2022 American drama film directed by Andrew Dosunmu from a screenplay by Lena Waithe. It premiered at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival and was released on Netflix on June 29, 2022. It stars Gracie Marie Bradley, Niecy Nash, Giancarlo Esposito, Sharon Stone, Andre Ozim, Micheal Ward, and Kyle Bary.

<i>Under the Fig Trees</i> 2021 Tunisian film

Under the Fig Trees is a 2021 Tunisian drama film directed by Erige Sehiri, starring Fidé Fdhili, Feten Fdhili, Ameni Fdhili, Samar Sifi, Leila Ouhebi, Hneya Ben Elhedi Sbahi, Gaith Mendassi, Abdelhak Mrabti, Fedi Ben Achour and Firas Amri.

<i>Riotsville, U.S.A.</i> 2022 American documentary film

Riotsville, U.S.A. is a 2022 American documentary film by Sierra Pettengill and narrated by Charlene Modeste.

<i>Wildflower</i> (2022 film) 2022 film by Matt Smukler and Jana Savage

Wildflower is a 2022 American coming of age comedy-drama film directed by Matt Smukler and written by Jana Savage, from a story by Smukler and Savage. It stars Kiernan Shipka, Dash Mihok, Charlie Plummer, Jean Smart, Alexandra Daddario, Reid Scott, Erika Alexander, Samantha Hyde, Brad Garrett, and Jacki Weaver.

<i>Bruiser</i> (2022 film) 2022 American film

Bruiser is a 2022 American drama film that written by Ben Medina and Miles Warren, directed by Warren and starring Trevante Rhodes, Shamier Anderson, Jalyn Hall and Shinelle Azoroh.

<i>Sometimes I Think About Dying</i> 2023 film by Rachel Lambert

Sometimes I Think About Dying is a 2023 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Rachel Lambert, written by Kevin Armento, Stefanie Abel Horowitz, and Katy Wright-Mead. It is based on the 2014 play Killers by Armento, and a short film that was released in 2019, directed and co-written by Horowitz. The film stars Daisy Ridley, Dave Merheje, Parvesh Cheena, Marcia DeBonis, Meg Stalter, Brittany O'Grady, and Bree Elrod.

Rasheeda Williams, also known as Koko Da Doll and Hollywood Koko, was an American performance artist. She is known for starring in the documentary Kokomo City, a film that premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and featured her and three other Black trans women discussing their lives and experiences as sex workers. After her death, the film was dedicated to her.

References

  1. ↑ "Bliss Montage". Goodreads. Retrieved 2024-08-22.
  2. ↑ "Bliss Montage: Stories | Washington Independent Review of Books". www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com. Retrieved 2024-08-22.
  3. ↑ "Startling Glimmers of Truth: On Ling Ma's "Bliss Montage"". Los Angeles Review of Books. 2022-12-14. Retrieved 2024-08-22.
  4. ↑ Roberts, Chloe Garcia. "Bliss Montage". Harvard Review. Retrieved 2024-08-22.
  5. ↑ Gyarkye, Lovia (2022-09-09). "Ling Ma's Surreal Subversions". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2024-08-22.
  6. ↑ 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.
  7. ↑ Bromley, Camille. "Ling Ma's 'Bliss Montage' Peels Back a Different Kind of Fantasy". Wired. ISSN   1059-1028 . Retrieved 2024-08-22.
  8. ↑ "Review | Ling Ma's surreal stories explore the absurdity of labels". Washington Post. 2022-09-14. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 2024-08-22.
  9. ↑ Manzella, Abby (2022-09-23). "Review: 'Bliss Montage,' by Ling Ma". www.startribune.com. Retrieved 2024-08-22.
  10. ↑ Elmajdoubi, Halima (2023-02-25). "Bliss Montage by Ling Ma". National Book Critics Circle. Retrieved 2024-08-22.
  11. ↑ "Ling Ma Wins the Story Prize for 'Bliss Montage'". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 2024-08-22.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.