Blob: A Love Story

by Maggie Su

Overview

“There is so much at play in this wondrous novel. Vi, struggling to place herself in any context that makes sense within the world, earnestly leads us into a wild experiment, to turn a blob into the man of her dreams, and I was transfixed by her voice. This is a book that looks at identity and desire in profoundly interesting ways.”  — Kevin Wilson, bestselling author of Now Is Not the Time to Panic

A humorous and deeply moving debut novel in the vein of Bunny and Convenience Store Woman about a young woman who tries to shape a sentient blob into her perfect boyfriend.

The daughter of a Taiwanese father and white mother, Vi Liu has never quite fit into her Midwestern college town. Aimless after getting dumped by her boyfriend and dropping out of college, Vi works at the front desk of a hotel where she greets guests, refills cucumber water samovars, and tries to evade her bubbly blond coworker, Rachel. Little does Vi know her life is about to be permanently transformed when she agrees to a night out with Rachel. In the alley outside the bar, Vi discovers a strange blob—a small living creature with beady black eyes. In a moment of concern and drunken desperation, she takes it home.

But the blob is no ordinary pet. Becoming increasingly sentient, it begins to grow, shift shape, and obey Vi’s commands. As the entity continues to change, Vi is struck with a daring idea: she’ll mold the creature into her ideal partner. Feeding it a stream of sweet breakfast cereals and American pop culture, the creature grows into a movie-star handsome white man. But when Vi’s desire to be loved unconditionally threatens to spiral out of control, she is forced to confront her lonely childhood, her aloof ex-boyfriend, and the racial marginalization that has defined her relationships—a journey of self-discovery that teaches her it’s impossible to control those you love.

Blending the familiar with the surreal, Blob is a witty, heartfelt story about the search for love and self and what it means to be human.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780063358669
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	01/28/2025
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256

About the Author

Maggie Su is a writer with a PhD in fiction from the University of Cincinnati. Her work has appeared in the New England Review, Four Way Review, TriQuarterly Review, Puerto del Sol, Juked, Diagram, and elsewhere. She has edited for publications such as The Georgia Review, Cincinnati Review, and Indiana Review. She currently lives in South Bend, Indiana with her partner, cat, and turtle.

Editorial Reviews

There is so much at play in this wondrous novel. Vi, struggling to place herself in any context that makes sense within the world, earnestly leads us into a wild experiment, to turn a blob into the man of her dreams, and I was transfixed by her voice. This is a book that looks at identity and desire in profoundly interesting ways.” — Kevin Wilson, bestselling author of Now Is Not the Time to Panic

“A rollicking fun, funny, poignant coming of age story, filled with honesty and delight.” — Aimee Bender, bestselling author of The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake

"Unique, heartfelt, and hilarious, Blob: A Love Story is a delightfully inquisitive meditation on relationships and identity. What responsibility do we have in the creation of our relationships? What do we bring and leave behind? And what repercussions exist when we force ourselves into an identity instead of nurturing our real selves? This winsome book pulls off the impossible feat of examining our deepest existential questions with equal parts tenderness and droll." — Ling Ling Huang, author of Natural Beauty

"Maggie Su has written an inventive, utterly unique debut. BLOB is not only a deliciously creepy, deeply entertaining take on modern relationships, it’s also a moving look at new adulthood, and the inherent vulnerability that comes along with figuring out exactly who you're meant to be." — Kimberly King Parsons, author of Black Light

"Like a beguiling literary love child of Melissa Broder and Jeff VanderMeer, Blob enthralls with raw intimacy and Frankensteinian science. This is a novel that dives headfirst into the gelatinous messiness of early adulthood—with its bad jobs, bad boyfriends, and bad decision-making—finding self-actualization along the way. Maggie Su’s debut will make you laugh, shriek, and cheer for its wayward, wobbly inventions. Blob is not to be missed!" — Allegra Hyde, author of The Last Catastrophe and Eleutheria  

"In Blob: A Love Story, Su’s prose breathes magic, humor, and empathy into everything it touches. This meditation on change (and the weird, startling, and even otherworldly ways it can manifest) plunges the reader into the can’t-look-away mess of the narrator, Vi’s quarter life crisis as she navigates encounters with heartbreak, self-evolution, and alien lifeforms. You’ll want to read this in one sitting, but try to savor it: there are gems of laughter and insight to be unearthed on every page." — Renée Branum, author of Defenestrate

"Blob is absolutely charming. Maggie Su's writing is imaginative and funny. Vi is a deliciously messy narrator who will make readers laugh, yes, but also think deeply about the relationship between love and generosity. A pleasure." — Megan Giddings, author of The Women Could Fly

From the Publisher