The author of Severance is back with a collection of eight stories, and her best entries are the extremely weird ones, starting with the opening text about a woman living with her husband and her 100 ex-boyfriends. Ling Ma's world is haunted by all kinds of ghosts, many of them prompted by the immigrant experience and female realities, and it's her witty, often dark playfulness that make her angle so absorbing: From a young wife who joins her husband in his journey to his home country of Garboza (outside the novel non-existent, but somehow pointing to...Star Wars?) where she gets abandoned at the airport to old frenemies taking a rather unusual drug.

More conventional tales like "Peking Duck"about the intergenerational effects of migration aren't bad, but Ling Ma shines when she goes all out, intersecting the underlying grimness of her themes with humorous remarks and small tidbits that throw readers off.

A fun collection, but I can't wait for this author's next novel.

Bliss Montage is an engaging collection which transitions from realistic and tender stories to bizarre storylines flawlessly. It is personal, heartfelt and honest, with beautiful prose throughout and intelligent commentary on the Asian diaspora and women's experiences with race, love and their bodies.

Great selection of short stories! I honestly thought it read really quickly but I still keep thinking about the story so I can always tell that that means it’s good. Another great win for this author!