Our first read for 2023 is Ling Ma’s Bliss Montage. Purchase a copy or borrow it from your local library if you’d like to follow along! If you can’t get a hold of it, read Peking Duck online, at The New Yorker — a story that appears in the collection in a slightly different form.
Once you’ve read Bliss Montage, join in the conversation below! Think reading experience, writing craft (setting, scene, voice, structure, characterisation, mood, subtext, POV etc), insights, inspiration, or anything else that comes to mind.
Hi Mek! Thank you for another fantastic recommendation. I read 'Peking Duck' from The New Yorker. It is such an intricate story, I could analyse it for hours. I particularly enjoyed the layering, the doubt that is introduced that made me look twice at every sentence. We read one thing and in the next moment its veracity is in question. For example, in the first section the narrator says, 'English is just a play language to me.' This comes right after the narrator has told us how disappointed she was by her first taste of ice cream, which had been much more enjoyable in fantasy than in her actual experience. Yet, in her journal she has written: 'Ice cream is my favourite food,' which we know is not true for the narrator, but written as a way of 'pretending' with language.
The ice cream fantasy sets up a parallel with Lydia Davis's story about the Peking Duck, which is enjoyed vicariously. It also sets up a parallel with the mother / daughter who ask each other (at different moments, in different ways) to construct a narrative for each other to throw over the harsher lived reality. This sentence caught my eye: 'it's not easy to move through the world shielded from the unkindness of others by only their thin veneer of liberal respectability.' Because of the way this sentence is composed, I only see the unkindness here, and not the 'shielding'. Throughout, we're being asked to read beneath the first layer of meaning, what is declared, to scratch away the 'thin veneer' and try to see what is beneath. And the thing that is beneath is not at all uncomplicated, it's not like the story is suggesting that there is a perfectly translatable reality, if only we could find a universal language in which to transcribe it. (We see the limitations of this idea with the partially unsuccessful ordering of the meal: 'So, we'll get B16, C7, and F22.')
Even though the piece has all these layers of doubt, meaning, questioning, I think the story of the visitor who forces his way through the door holds the whole piece together. I imagine the story would totally flop if that final section weren't so strong. But it is, and it brings all the intricate layerings to a crescendo, then ends with a reflective moment of mother/daughter looking (via a mirror!) and looking away. All the while our ears are still ringing with the doubts that the story has been nested in. ('Except when I got to the end, my mind would go blank. What’s the lesson here supposed to be?')
I'd love to be able to write a story as intricately structured as this. Though, it's beyond me right now. I'm not sure if it's something you can work towards. Just seems out of my league. Anyway, thanks again for introducing me to this piece. Kristen
I’m so glad you enjoyed Peking Duck, Kristen! Thanks for kicking off the discussion. I gave Peking Duck 5 stars during my intense 100DaysofNewYorker read-a-thon.
Here’s my review from that time, noting I have not yet read the version in Bliss Montage:
‘I'm so grateful to have come across Peking Duck. An important story that goes a long way to resolving some of my questions about the stories I have a right to tell; it is relatable in obvious and highly nuanced ways, with Ma's exploration of the many layers in telling a story and owning a story.
‘I've often wondered if I could tell the story of Ethiopian characters authentically, and if I did, how they'd sound, what they'd say (considering I don't have the language nor the 'authentic' cultural experience). This story revealed to me how 'ethnic' characters are erased of their inner worlds, their personhood, their uniqueness when expected to be represented first and foremost as 'ethnic' to an assumed white audience.
‘The story within the story that closed this piece is thought provoking–a character who is not proficient in English being given the full range of expression and multidimensional characterisation with first person narration that draws on more complex vocabulary and fluency than the character has (in English). It was also interesting to read the MFA workshop group's discussion on this story within this story within this story.’
I will return to discussing Peking Duck and the observations you have made in more depth once I read the version in the collection, but I do have thoughts in response to your thoughts on the sentence 'it's not easy to move through the world shielded from the unkindness of others by only their thin veneer of liberal respectability.' And how you ‘…only see the unkindness here, and not the 'shielding'.
On a personal level, I know these thin veneers and I am acutely aware of the kind of smiles and pleasantries Ma is talking about; they are often accompanied by body language or other non-verbal signifiers of fear, defensiveness or even disgust—for example: holding a purse more tightly, drawing a handbag closer to the body, following a customer around a shop and repeatedly asking if one can be of assistance (when the real intention is surveillance), or giving a wide berth when crossing paths.
On the sentence level, I wonder if ‘unkindness’ jumped out at you more than ‘shielding’ because the complete subject is ‘unkindness of others’, which places emphasis on this trait in the simple subject ‘others’. If we recast the sentence to 'it's not easy to move through the world shielded from others who are unkind by only their thin veneer of respectability' aside from being a clumsy sentence, I think it results in less emphasis on the adjective 'unkind'.
I love how with this choice of words, Ma has ‘othered’ those who often do the ‘othering’. Oh, and while we are doing a deep dive on this sentence, interestingly, ‘unkindness’ is one of the collective nouns for ravens (unkindness of ravens).
I am currently on the third story in Bliss Montage, reading it in order. I shall return with more thoughts once I complete the collection. So far, so so good. I’m in awe of Ma’s inventiveness, sense of humour, mastery of voice, and fearlessness. I have a lot to say about the first two stories, which explore the inner world of the same character in very different styles and narrative voice.
If you can, grab a copy and read the others!
Catch you soon
Mek
p.s. I don’t believe it’s beyond you … give it a go, maybe start with a story that resonates and build layers around it! We all have to start somewhere. I am feeling very inspired by Ma.
You'll love it. Severance is on my TBR list but not purchasing till I knock off some others that are waiting. I hope you come back and join the discussion after reading Bliss Montage.
Hi Mek! Thank you for another fantastic recommendation. I read 'Peking Duck' from The New Yorker. It is such an intricate story, I could analyse it for hours. I particularly enjoyed the layering, the doubt that is introduced that made me look twice at every sentence. We read one thing and in the next moment its veracity is in question. For example, in the first section the narrator says, 'English is just a play language to me.' This comes right after the narrator has told us how disappointed she was by her first taste of ice cream, which had been much more enjoyable in fantasy than in her actual experience. Yet, in her journal she has written: 'Ice cream is my favourite food,' which we know is not true for the narrator, but written as a way of 'pretending' with language.
The ice cream fantasy sets up a parallel with Lydia Davis's story about the Peking Duck, which is enjoyed vicariously. It also sets up a parallel with the mother / daughter who ask each other (at different moments, in different ways) to construct a narrative for each other to throw over the harsher lived reality. This sentence caught my eye: 'it's not easy to move through the world shielded from the unkindness of others by only their thin veneer of liberal respectability.' Because of the way this sentence is composed, I only see the unkindness here, and not the 'shielding'. Throughout, we're being asked to read beneath the first layer of meaning, what is declared, to scratch away the 'thin veneer' and try to see what is beneath. And the thing that is beneath is not at all uncomplicated, it's not like the story is suggesting that there is a perfectly translatable reality, if only we could find a universal language in which to transcribe it. (We see the limitations of this idea with the partially unsuccessful ordering of the meal: 'So, we'll get B16, C7, and F22.')
Even though the piece has all these layers of doubt, meaning, questioning, I think the story of the visitor who forces his way through the door holds the whole piece together. I imagine the story would totally flop if that final section weren't so strong. But it is, and it brings all the intricate layerings to a crescendo, then ends with a reflective moment of mother/daughter looking (via a mirror!) and looking away. All the while our ears are still ringing with the doubts that the story has been nested in. ('Except when I got to the end, my mind would go blank. What’s the lesson here supposed to be?')
I'd love to be able to write a story as intricately structured as this. Though, it's beyond me right now. I'm not sure if it's something you can work towards. Just seems out of my league. Anyway, thanks again for introducing me to this piece. Kristen
I’m so glad you enjoyed Peking Duck, Kristen! Thanks for kicking off the discussion. I gave Peking Duck 5 stars during my intense 100DaysofNewYorker read-a-thon.
Here’s my review from that time, noting I have not yet read the version in Bliss Montage:
‘I'm so grateful to have come across Peking Duck. An important story that goes a long way to resolving some of my questions about the stories I have a right to tell; it is relatable in obvious and highly nuanced ways, with Ma's exploration of the many layers in telling a story and owning a story.
‘I've often wondered if I could tell the story of Ethiopian characters authentically, and if I did, how they'd sound, what they'd say (considering I don't have the language nor the 'authentic' cultural experience). This story revealed to me how 'ethnic' characters are erased of their inner worlds, their personhood, their uniqueness when expected to be represented first and foremost as 'ethnic' to an assumed white audience.
‘The story within the story that closed this piece is thought provoking–a character who is not proficient in English being given the full range of expression and multidimensional characterisation with first person narration that draws on more complex vocabulary and fluency than the character has (in English). It was also interesting to read the MFA workshop group's discussion on this story within this story within this story.’
I will return to discussing Peking Duck and the observations you have made in more depth once I read the version in the collection, but I do have thoughts in response to your thoughts on the sentence 'it's not easy to move through the world shielded from the unkindness of others by only their thin veneer of liberal respectability.' And how you ‘…only see the unkindness here, and not the 'shielding'.
On a personal level, I know these thin veneers and I am acutely aware of the kind of smiles and pleasantries Ma is talking about; they are often accompanied by body language or other non-verbal signifiers of fear, defensiveness or even disgust—for example: holding a purse more tightly, drawing a handbag closer to the body, following a customer around a shop and repeatedly asking if one can be of assistance (when the real intention is surveillance), or giving a wide berth when crossing paths.
On the sentence level, I wonder if ‘unkindness’ jumped out at you more than ‘shielding’ because the complete subject is ‘unkindness of others’, which places emphasis on this trait in the simple subject ‘others’. If we recast the sentence to 'it's not easy to move through the world shielded from others who are unkind by only their thin veneer of respectability' aside from being a clumsy sentence, I think it results in less emphasis on the adjective 'unkind'.
I love how with this choice of words, Ma has ‘othered’ those who often do the ‘othering’. Oh, and while we are doing a deep dive on this sentence, interestingly, ‘unkindness’ is one of the collective nouns for ravens (unkindness of ravens).
I am currently on the third story in Bliss Montage, reading it in order. I shall return with more thoughts once I complete the collection. So far, so so good. I’m in awe of Ma’s inventiveness, sense of humour, mastery of voice, and fearlessness. I have a lot to say about the first two stories, which explore the inner world of the same character in very different styles and narrative voice.
If you can, grab a copy and read the others!
Catch you soon
Mek
p.s. I don’t believe it’s beyond you … give it a go, maybe start with a story that resonates and build layers around it! We all have to start somewhere. I am feeling very inspired by Ma.
You'll love it. Severance is on my TBR list but not purchasing till I knock off some others that are waiting. I hope you come back and join the discussion after reading Bliss Montage.