Starts off brilliantly but never quite recaptures the woozy wonder of the first two stories. Worth the price of admission for those alone, though. ( )

Exquisitely written stories that were odd and also touching. Ling Ma is skilled at concisely creating a mood and atmosphere. The story Returning was my favorite. ( )

Two of the first three stories are wildly inventive farce. The rest are more measured, but on the whole still very good. She's made the list of writers whose books I'll be looking out for going forward. Her creativity seems unlikely be bound by models, preconceptions, or programmes. She's a force in motion. ( )

Just a wonderful collection of short stories from Ling Ma, author of Severance, which I also liked. Her writing is restrained and clear; her storytelling is creative and poetic. There isn’t a clunker in these eight stories, and the string of G, Yeti Lovemaking, Returning, Office Hours, and Peking Duck is fantastic. She imagines some pretty wild things, in case the title “Yeti Lovemaking” wasn’t a giveaway, but her stories are rooted in the most fundamental things, e.g. friendship, identity, love, and loss. She provides the perspective of being a woman (body image, domestic abuse, being condescended to in academia) as well as being Asian-American (facing the banality of those who see her as an “other” despite being a citizen, dealing with the expectations of the older generation), and yet she is far from being defined by these things. She is wonderfully restrained at making her points, and writes with cool, honest precision. I will continue to look for more from this author. ( )

Very strange stories, both the content and many times the structure. Quite a variety, she’s very creative and willing to take risks. Not sure I liked the stories as much as I liked her novel from a couple years ago -Severance (not to be confused with the TV show). But I’m impressed and will be watching for her next work. ( )