The premise of Blob: A Love Story immediately hooked me. It made me wonder what I would do if I could ‘create’ the ideal person? Blob: A Love Story is almost a prodding take on the creator myths in a contemporary setting. Keep reading this book review of Blob: A Love Story for my full thoughts.
Summary
The daughter of a Taiwanese father and white mother, Vi Liu has never quite fit into her Midwestern college town. Now at twenty-three, after getting dumped and dropping out of college, Vi works as a front desk attendant at a hotel where she refills cucumber water samovars and fends off overtures of friendship from her bubbly blond coworker, Rachel. But when Vi decides to accompany Rachel to a local drag show, her life changes forever. In the alley outside the bar, next to a trash can, is a blob with beady black eyes. Unable to leave it behind, Vi picks up the creature and, in a moment of drunken desperation, takes it home with her.
As her pet blob becomes sentient, Vi realizes it obeys her commands and she decides to mold the blob into her ideal partner. She feeds it sugary cereal and a stream of pop culture, and soon the creature transforms into a movie-star handsome white man. But as Vi’s desire to be loved unconditionally threatens to spiral out of control, she is forced to confront her lonely childhood, the ex-boyfriend who has unfriended her, and the racial marginalization that has defined her relationships. Ultimately, Vi embarks on a journey of self-discovery and learns that it’s impossible to control those you love.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
The themes of Blob: A Love Story absolutely captivated me. I love exploring the idea that love requires molding. When we have a relationship with someone, is there a piece of us that wishes we could shape them? Change them into someone else? And how much of modern rhetoric is shaped around the idea of creating a list of ideal traits and hobbies for our loved ones? Blob: A Love Story explores these turns of phrases and thoughts we all have in the middle of the night. What person would we make if we could? In a relationship, is there not always a degree of (mutual) shaping?
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Thematically, I continued to enjoy Blob: A Love Story. On the other hand, I had moments where I fell in and out of love with the story. I enjoyed Vi’s character as we can see her mistakes, but also knowing that we might not have done any better. What starts out as an innocent decision, becomes about control and love. While the ending, specifically the last 20%, felt a bit lost to me, I enjoyed playing over the themes in my head. Find Blob: A Love Story on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop.org, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.