BLOB – Maggie Su

Published By: Sceptre
Pages: 256
Released On: 06/02/2025

Vi Liu’s life is a mess. Having dropped out of college, she’s stuck in a job she hates at a local hotel. Her ex-boyfriend has blocked her and she’s lashing out at her family and co-workers.

One night, drunk outside a drag club, she stumbles across a mysterious sentient blob. She takes it home, where she feeds it a diet of sugary cereal and reality TV. Slowly, she realises that she can shape the blob into her perfect man: someone attentive, outgoing and with more than a passing resemblance to Ryan Gosling.

But is Bob the blob really the answer to all her problems, or a catalyst for further disaster? Sharp, strange and very funny, BLOB is a delightful story about growing up, fucking up and learning how to be a real person.

*****

Thanks to NetGalley and Sceptre for the advanced proof of this title in return for an honest review.

This sounded so utterly absurd and ridiculous and utterly, utterly fabulous that I couldn’t wait to read it.

As someone who spends 99% of her life at home under a blanket with a book, I’m starting to think that the only way I’ll find the perfect man is if I make him out of a sentient blob.

It is such a weird and bizarre book, and I mean that in the most positive of ways. I read a lot of books, we’re talking 250-300 a year, thrillers, fantasy, sci-fi, crime, romance, festive – you name it, I read it – except perhaps horror, because I am a wuss. But after a while, you realise that there only so many stories that can be written in a genre, and instead you’re looking out for that one thing that makes that whodunnit a bit different to the previous one. But every so often you come across a book that is completely new, and this is that book. I’ve not read anything like it at all. Yes it’s fantasy and sci-fi, a bit weird, mysterious, but for me, its a love story. Yes there is the element of romantic love and lost love etc. but there’s more to it than that. It’s hard to explain, it’s more of a feeling. It’s this love Vi has, or doesn’t have, for herself, her family, friends, partners, and her life as a whole.

I thought it would be a fun, light and easy-going book, maybe not such a hard-hitting book, because how can a book about a sentient blob be that important really? But it is. It’s got so much heart and depth to it that it’s really moving. It’s written so well; great storytelling, interesting characters – Vi is one of the best protagonists I’ve read – and it really has that extra edge. It’s also really funny. I’m not one who generally laughs out loud at a book, but this one definitely got me the closest. I found myself smiling all the way through.

I read it in less than 24 hours. It was so addictive and I just felt really happy reading it. I even tried to slow down towards the end as I didn’t want to finish it so quickly. I’m actually quite sad that I don’t have it on my shelf to look forward to anymore.

It is a sort of coming-of-age story, a quarter-life crisis, about feeling like an outsider in your family and work, it’s about finding your place in your own story, finding your own place in the world, especially if you don’t necessarily conform to what is expected from your age, gender, background, intelligence etc.

It’s been a while since I’ve sat and read a book and just enjoyed it for what it is. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy most of what I read (we can’t like every book now can we), but I’m always reading it as a reviewer, what I thought of it, how were the characters etc. it can be hard for me to switch off and just enjoy it. And even though I was reviewing it, and was making notes, I found myself not really thinking about it whilst reading it. I was just taking it for what it was and enjoying it very much, and then just hoping I could remember how I felt about it afterwards.

It is a bit weird, I won’t lie. Sometimes a bit uncomfortable and awkward. But it’s absolutely brilliant. If this is what Maggie can produce for her debut, then I cannot wait for what she does next. I can see her being one of the new literary stars.

It’s an interesting look at what it means to be a person. Is it just to be alive? Or do you need autonomy, to be able to make decisions, to travel, explore, think, eat, drink, want, love? Where is the line? What is the line that makes us who we are.

It’s weird and interesting and unique and enjoyable and thought-provoking and funny, but one thing I really didn’t expect it to be was emotional. It’s really moving. For various reasons and for some reason, that made it all the more joyful. There aren’t enough words – although I’ve tried – to explain just how much I loved everything about this. It was most definitely one of my favourite books of 2024.