Reviews and Comments

Thanks to Atria Publishing & Netgalley for the ARC!

The premise of this book really intrigued me as I haven't seen a whole lot of fiction novels that delve into the topic of epigenetics. However, this novel fell short for me. For a book that was supposed to be about how trauma connects generations of family members, they all felt very disconnected and their stories, disjointed. I would have liked to know more about how the treatment worked from Dorothy's POV. We got each woman's story in chapter form, sure, but how did that work for Dorothy? When she did her treatment, did she live the lives of these women or view it on the outskirts? Did she just enter a deep sleep and wake up, seeing the hallucinations of the characters in her ancestors' lives and ~feeling~ their feelings? It was just not developed enough for me to enjoy it, and I felt like the plot was too rushed to really flesh it out.

Three stars for trying, and for a relatively entertaining story.

Severance is one of my favorite books, so I was very, very excited to receive this ARC! Bliss Montage is a collection of short stories that follows in the same vein as Severance, in that they are dark, sometimes grim, and definitely surreal. I would compare it to the feel of Black Mirror, specifically the episodes that focus on social issues (like the video game lovers or social media one).
Most of the stories were really intriguing. I loved G, Returning, Office Hours, and Tomorrow for how bizarre and sometimes dark they were, and I think that's where her writing shines the most. Peking Duck was another favorite for the double perspective we got about the same scenario, which completely changes how the reader views the mother. Love that kinda thing.
My only complaint with the book was that it felt like the stories ended just a few pages too soon! I love a good abrupt ending, but for me, I feel like I didn't get enough details from the story to piece together an ending of my own. I felt this the most with Returning and Office Hours, and a little bit with Tomorrow.

Favorite quotes:
"It is in the most surreal situations that a person feels the most present, the closest to reality."
"An ideology defined only by what it opposes is doomed to be defined by that exact thing."

Overall, a really excellent read and one I would recommend to others. Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy!