“Were we processing trauma or were we simply re-experiencing it?”
I have decided, once again, to embark on a short story collection. I’m not sure why I keep coming back, the medium isn’t quite my favorite (the only short story collection I’ve really loved was Kurt Vonnegut’s Welcome to the Monkey House). Ling Ma’s collection Bliss Montage is highly regarded, so I decided to experience its eight short stories spanning different ideas written in a similar style. I actually must thank Jeff Rosenstock for this suggestion.
“‘Am I lacking in some way?’ I asked. ‘Are you?’ She wouldn’t stop, I thought, until she had totally consumed me. I’d end up in her digestive tract, as she metabolized my best qualities and discarded the rest.”
These stories are dreamlike, surreal, yet at the same time extremely grounded in situations that women, especially those in diaspora, can relate to. I’m impressed by Ma’s writing technique and how she manages to accomplish this. A commonality between these stories is that they have abrupt endings – not cliffhangers, just “cuts to black” – which was likely purposeful. It seems that Ma places a lot of weight on the reader to understand the meaning of each story, which I respect; almost every story is an allegory in some sense, some easy to pick up on, others not so much (maybe it’s just because I’m a white guy though). But it was enlightening to read a lot of these, and I got a lot out of them.
“He was always just standing there, not making and social gestures. How was he so special that he didn’t have to work to justify his existence? I’d wonder. I was constantly overcompensating back then.”
The first three stories (“Los Angeles”, “Oranges”, “G”) and second-to-last (“Peking Duck”) were my favorites, as they touched on themes such as domestic abuse, friendship, family and relationships. “Peking Duck” seems to be a meta-story for the entire collection, blurring the lines between reality and fiction. So check out Bliss Montage if these stories seem interesting to you. Of course, the catch-22 with short stories in general is that different stories appeal to different people – but you have to read the whole collection to get to know your favorites. I promise, you will see things differently once you do.
“English is just a play language to me, the words tethered to their meanings by the loosest, most tenuous connections. So it's easy to lie. I tell the truth in Chinese, I make up stories in English… It is the language in which I have nothing to lose, even if they don't believe a thing I say”
“Despite knowing the journey and where it leads, I embrace it and welcome every moment”
Maybe closer to 3.5 stars, but my score might surprise people with this one. Stories of Your Life and Others is a collection of science fiction short stories written by Ted Chiang from 1990 to 2002, compiled and published in 2002. The most famous story is, of course, Story of Your Life, for which Denis Villeneuve’s 2016 movie Arrival is based on. This story was my favorite too, a solid 5 stars for this one.
But the rest of them didn’t quite hit for me. Their premise was intriguing, as the subject matter drastically ranged from one story to the next; each one asking a different “what if?” question. And then of course, within the story, even more “what ifs” are posited. They branch out from science fiction, incorporating elements of fantasy, math, technology, and dystopia. Some just meandered a little bit before getting to the plot, but it didn’t turn me away from finishing them. Just how certain ideas were presented came off a little slow.
But don’t let the score deter you if you are into sci-fi; this is a highly acclaimed collection, and I’m in the minority here. They all made me think, which is the minimum requirement for solid sci-fi.
“‘Well if you already know how the story goes, why do you need me to read it to you?’
‘‘Cause I wanna hear it!’”
“So she kept watching TV, trying to empty her heart and mind as she gazed upon the meaningless progression of scenes on the screen. But the well of thought taps a deep spring, and no matter how much she tried to bail them out, her thoughts kept overflowing the brim…”
This horror-ish short story collection was a wild trip. I say “horror-ish” because there’s a little bit of everything in here – fantasy, science fiction, body horror, even drama, but these stories all share the common thread of surrealism. For example, characters might not respond how we would expect them to in certain situations, which admittedly can be a little disorienting at first. But once you accept that and embrace the absurdity, it becomes less disorienting – and I ended up really liking this aspect of the book (and Chung’s writing in general).
My favorites were probably the title story, 'Cursed Bunny,' and 'The Frozen Finger.' The former is a dark spin on the classic fairy-tale genre (but I guess considering that Grimms’ Fairy Tales was originally dark, this is more of a return to form), while the latter is a surreal trip where our we are as blind as the main character, trying to figure out the circumstances surrounding a mysterious car crash. 'Ruler of the Winds and Sands' is also a highlight, exploring the mythical desert world of kings, gods, and greed.
If any of these stories sound intriguing to you, I highly recommend this short story collection!
A must-read for any Vonnegut fan – I enjoyed it far more than I thought I would, as I’m normally not a short story person (maybe because the last collection I read was The Decameron Project: 29 New Stories from the Pandemic, which just didn’t really do it for me). But while those stories varied immensely in style and prose, this seemingly diverse set of stories are all connected together by Vonnegut’s signature social commentary via black humor.
Written and published anywhere from 1950-1968, they span a range of genres, including sci-fi shorts (“The Euphio Question”, “EPICAC”, “Report on the Barnhouse Effect”), dystopian futures (“Harrison Bergeron”, “Welcome to the Monkey House”, “Unready to Wear”), suburban dramas (“The Hyannis Port Story”, “Next Door”, “The Foster Portfolio”), and even purely heartwarming/emotional stories (“Long Walk to Forever”, “More Stately Mansions”, “The Manned Missiles”).
These stories are held together by the thread of critiquing the society and politics of the American dream in the 1950s. Many seem to have allusions of specific events in the early to mid-20th century, such as the development of the atomic bomb, the space race, or the Great Depression. A good number of stories also commented on the post-war American workforce, and those reminded me very much of Vonnegut’s first novel, Player Piano.
Most of these were excellent reads, and all are worth reading, but here are my personal standouts:
“Harrison Bergeron” (1960)
“All The King’s Horses” (1951): had me on the edge of my seat!
“The Euphio Question” (1951)
“Deer in the Works” (1955): such a profound statement said in such a simple story
a collection of short stories from The New York Times (2020)
This was definitely an interesting idea put forth by The New York Times. These stories were written during the height of the pandemic, but that doesn't mean that COVID-19 was the main conflict. In fact, in most of these stories, COVID-19 took a back seat to the plot, and each story focused more so on how the pandemic affected the characters and settings.
I struggled between 3 stars and 4 stars for this one – it's tough to rate a whole collection of short stories with just one number. The quality of the stories varied – some of them were really entertaining and thought-provoking, some were just average, and some of them didn't grab my attention at all. But I'll highlight my top ten favorites (in no particular order):
“Recognition” by Victor LaValle
“The Rock” by Leïla Slimani
“Outside” by Etgar Keret
“Keepsakes” by Andrew O'Hagan
“The Girl With The Big Red Suitcase” by Rachel Kushner (probably my favorite)
“If Wishes Was Horses” by David Mitchell
“The Perfect Travel Buddy” by Paolo Giordano
“The Cellar” by Dina Nayeri
“Origin Story” by Matthew Baker
“Barcelona: Open City” by John Wray
These particular stories were great, and made the whole collection worth reading. Would recommend to anyone who wants to read a variety of 1-2 short stories at a time to fill up some gaps in the day.
