Bliss Montage

Named a Must Read by The New York Times, TIME, Vulture, The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Esquire, Nylon, Bustle, Buzzfeed, Gothamist, Associated Press, Fortune, Good Housekeeping, Literary Hub, The Millions, Publishers Weekly, Book Riot, Pop Sugar, Polygon, and Tor

“A striking collection that peddles in the uncanny and the surreal . . . [Bliss Montage] stay[s] with you ― evidence of a gifted writer curious about the limits of theoretical possibility.”
―Lovia Gyarkye, The New York Times Book Review

“Remarkable . . . Bliss Montage delivers on the white-hot promise of [Ma’s] 2018 breakout.”
―Christopher Borrelli, The Chicago Tribune

“Weird and wonderful, surreal and subversive . . . Ma is well on her way to a landmark career.”
―Adrienne Westenfeld, Esquire

“Surreal . . . [with] powerhouses so absorbing that you’ll pray Ma spins them off into future novels.”
―Hillary Kelly, Los Angeles Times

“A joy to read . . . Dark and fantastic and very, very true.”
―Abby Manzella, The Minneapolis Star Tribune

“Captivating . . . Ma harnesses the pulsating desire and power dynamics present in all relationships, from intimate friendships and haunting romantic entanglements to motherhood and the invisible yet omnipresent ties of ancestors.”
―Cady Lang and Angela Haupt, TIME

“Swift, smart . . . As always, Ling Ma’s big, weird ideas set the stage for keen emotional insights.”
―Patrick Rapa, The Philadelphia Inquirer

“By turns blunt . . . hilarious . . . and insanely clever.”
―J. Howard Rosier, Vulture

“A surreal and unnerving collection of stories that explores the nature of connection and autonomy.”
―The New Yorker

“You turn the pages of Bliss Montage . . . and find the world you thought you knew shaken up and rearranged . . . Told with what’s become [Ma’s] signature sting of wit and satire.”
―Scott Simon, NPR

“Each story unspools like a dream sequence privately remembered . . . What’s so satisfying about Ma’s second act [is] how Bliss Montage picks up the thread left by Severance’s coming-of-age arc into these stories of older, hardened women, who’ve already confronted their pasts over and over, who now find relief―and rebellion―via dissociation.”
―Delia Cai, Vanity Fair

“Strange and unsettling . . . There’s a bit of magic realism in Ma’s imaginings, a bit of horror and often an emotional distancing.”
―Allison Arieff, San Francisco Chronicle

“Ma offers an astute insider-outsider perspective and a sharp eye for detail . . . [Bliss Montage] tweak[s] the everyday to allow us to question the mirages scaffolding our reality.”
―Mia Levitin, Financial Times

“Far-out stories . . . each one its own deadpan flight of fancy, sly and strange.”
―Leah Greenblatt, Entertainment Weekly

“As outlandish as [it is] delectable.”
―Sophia June, Nylon

“Uncanny and powerful . . . Soaring . . . Brilliantly layered.”
―Bruna Dantas Lobato, Astra

“[Ma] writes as if the past can be re-scripted, people reborn, as easily as a story is spun on the page. And indeed her stylistic versatility makes it appear that way.”
―Jenny Wu, Chicago Review of Books

“A surreal twist on run-of-the-mill contemporary experiences . . . Kaleidoscopic . . . A display of artisanship.”
―Lily Houston Smith, Cleveland Review of Books

“[Bliss Montage] effortlessly gloss[es] the absurd over the quotidian. . . I blasted through this book in a day and couldn’t stop; less a feverish dream state than akin to being buoyed along by a current of shallow, ambient fantasy . . . Stunning.”
―Trisha Low, Tor

“[A] rich and capacious collection, a montage which begs to be viewed over and over again.”
―William Shaw, Strange Horizons