Edit: there was a spelling mistake on page 226 where it says 'hdinner' instead of 'dinner' 5 rows down.

‘Blob’ was full of so many emotions, it was almost hard to keep track. The main character of Vi is very hard to love and like while we follow her journey through this mess she calls life. When finding a clear blobfish-like creature in a back alley behind a club, she drunkenly decides to take it home and her life gets a bit more confusing.
Stuck in a job she hates, having her ex-boyfriend blocking her and dropping out of college; she did not think her life could get any better; but she realises that Bob the Blob can transform into anything she tells it to – including an attractive man. But Bob won’t be the answer to all her problems like she thinks, he turns out to just cause a lot more.
I love how bizarre this story is for a start, it is an interesting concept that I do not think I've read about before. I do think that although the story comes across as a romance and almost sci-fi story; the baseline of it all is just really depressing. Vi does not get any wins within this story, other than becoming closer to her family, starting college again and quitting her job. These all seem to happen quickly at the end of the book and we do not get any development about them.
I feel like the moral of the story is to face your past and stop running away from it. Take it for what it is and learn from it rather than letting it defeat you.
While the closest book I can relate to this is ‘Frankenstein’ by Mary Shelley, which is not the same at all, but they are both about ‘humans’ being created and then somewhat regretting it a little. I believe Vi does regret creating Bob a little due to how the book ends and they do not end up together.
I gave this book 3 stars, but I am finding it hard to write why I did. Other than the fact there seems to be no real character development with the main character, and I did not seem to like any of the characters involved in this story; we just got to see everyone for their flaws and negative versions of themselves which was a bit deflating.
I would have loved to have seen more character development, and maybe a longer story explaining why Bob was just shipped off with Rachel suddenly, and what happened with Vi after Bob left and all of that would have tied the book up perfectly. The book just seemed to have a lot of open ends than I like to see in a book, I guess.

Once in a while, a book comes up that is completely bizarre. This is one of those books and the story had me hooked.

I absolutely loved the unique concept. However, I really didn't like the main character Vi who just seemed to continuously get herself into a rut. I suppose she did have to get herself into the depths of despair, in order to eventually get out of the mess and get her life sorted.

Blob is a novel about a woman who meets a blob in an alley and tries to turn it into a perfect man. Vi has dropped out of college, is still dealing with her last breakup, and works at the reception in a local hotel, where she tries to avoid talking to her friendly co-worker, Rachel. When she finally gives in to Rachel and goes out with her to a drag club, Vi finds a blob in an alley. Intrigued, she takes it home, where it eats cereal and watches TV, and soon Vi realises she can shape the blob as she wants, so she tells the blob to become an attractive man. However, even the blob resists Vi's control, and she has to face the fact she might have to stop running away from everything.

The blob concept is such a fun one for a novel and I love weird novels like this, exploring a character's constant fucking things up through the lens of something strange. Vi feels like a outsider everywhere and protects herself by ruining things or avoiding what she really wants, and the blob appears as an easy way out, until she realises that it isn't, because the blob becomes Bob, who has autonomy and doesn't want to do what she does. It's like using Frankenstein as a chance to realise you have to actually take control of your life and be better to other people, rather than not putting the work in with them. The narrative does actually give Vi a chance to change, and it's a charming take on a coming of age story.

Blob by Maggie Su has a relatable flawed narrator who keeps messing things up but learns how that is just part of being human as she works her way towards making changes in her life and in how she sees herself. It has a quirky slant to it and I think fans of Melissa Broder, Rachel Yoder and Jen Beagin will also enjoy it.

To be honest, Vi wasn't the most sociable of characters. She was being unkind several times, but somehow I kept rooting for her, you know. All her insecurities, her vulnerability as a character... despite not knowing if I could deal with her as a real-life person. But yeah, hoping for her to find her feet and Bob too :)

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book.