“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.
