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beingsimba's review against another edition
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Death of parent and Suicide
rlyne's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
lunaphorie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This story was a beautiful mix of historic fiction and an eerie ghost story.
I loved the writing style of Yangsze Choo, who managed to paint a vivid picture of Malakka of the 1890s while introducing the reader to the rich culture of Malaysia, with the colonialism effects of the British and Dutch, as well as the strong link to Chinese culture and descendance. I've learned a lot about Malaysia throught this book and I felt like it was done in a very entertaining way. While the main character strolls through the city, she effortlessly explains cultural aspects of Malaysia, without it interfering with the flow of the story. I really enjoyed that.
The ghost city was very entertaining too, and the author was able to transmit that eerie, frightening but at the same time fascinating world of the (Un)Dead. My critique here is that I felt like there was too much time spent on the first parts of Li Lan entering the Ghost World, while other parts of the story towards the ending felt extremely rushed.
I also felt a lack of secondary characters, since Li Lan spent most of her time wandering the Ghost World by herself which at one point became very dragging. The character of Er Lang was extremely fascinating and I kept hoping for him to make more appearances. It left me with an unsatisfied feeling because we didn't get enough scenes with him, while Li Lan spent SO MUCH time walkind around alone, which could have been cut shorter.
Aside that, the characters were interesting and well done, except for Tian Bai which was extremely confusing and it also felt like we never got to really know who he was; this also contributed to the feeling of a rushed ending. The middle of the story dragged while the ending left many things open in an unsatisfying way.
Li Lan was not really that likeable to be honest, which also made me rate the book less high. She is of course very young (she turns 18 throughout her adventure), so I can understand her infatuation with Tian Bai, even though it seemed a bit superficial to me and didn't make me feel interested in their love story. She fell very quickly for Tian Bai and then also very quickly for Er Lang. I would have enjoyed the book more if the love stories would have gone a bit deeper, especially since her final decision was very dramatic and different.
I usually enjoy open endings, but in this case, due to the fact that the ending felt rushed, it was especially unsatisfying. It would have been nice to explore Li Lan's chosen love interest a bit more, but that didn't happen.
In any case, it was an interesting book and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys ghost stories and historic fiction.
I loved the writing style of Yangsze Choo, who managed to paint a vivid picture of Malakka of the 1890s while introducing the reader to the rich culture of Malaysia, with the colonialism effects of the British and Dutch, as well as the strong link to Chinese culture and descendance. I've learned a lot about Malaysia throught this book and I felt like it was done in a very entertaining way. While the main character strolls through the city, she effortlessly explains cultural aspects of Malaysia, without it interfering with the flow of the story. I really enjoyed that.
The ghost city was very entertaining too, and the author was able to transmit that eerie, frightening but at the same time fascinating world of the (Un)Dead. My critique here is that I felt like there was too much time spent on the first parts of Li Lan entering the Ghost World, while other parts of the story towards the ending felt extremely rushed.
I also felt a lack of secondary characters, since Li Lan spent most of her time wandering the Ghost World by herself which at one point became very dragging. The character of Er Lang was extremely fascinating and I kept hoping for him to make more appearances. It left me with an unsatisfied feeling because we didn't get enough scenes with him, while Li Lan spent SO MUCH time walkind around alone, which could have been cut shorter.
Aside that, the characters were interesting and well done, except for Tian Bai which was extremely confusing and it also felt like we never got to really know who he was; this also contributed to the feeling of a rushed ending. The middle of the story dragged while the ending left many things open in an unsatisfying way.
Li Lan was not really that likeable to be honest, which also made me rate the book less high. She is of course very young (she turns 18 throughout her adventure), so I can understand her infatuation with Tian Bai, even though it seemed a bit superficial to me and didn't make me feel interested in their love story. She fell very quickly for Tian Bai and then also very quickly for Er Lang. I would have enjoyed the book more if the love stories would have gone a bit deeper, especially since her final decision was very dramatic and different.
I usually enjoy open endings, but in this case, due to the fact that the ending felt rushed, it was especially unsatisfying. It would have been nice to explore Li Lan's chosen love interest a bit more, but that didn't happen.
In any case, it was an interesting book and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys ghost stories and historic fiction.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Death of parent
n_asyikin_'s review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
A simple fantasy set during the British colonialization of Malacca following Li Lan who'd found herself traversing between the land of the living & the spirits (i.e., dead).
What I liked most about the story was the element of mystery; a sort of whodunnit relating to the death of Li Lan's suitor (from the dead). Also, the fantasy world created by Choo rooted in Chinese beliefs was a source of adventure; the world-building related to this was pretty decent.
This story was written from a first-person perspective, rooted more in the "telling" than "showing" what occurred. I wouldn't have any problem with that, but I felt that Li Lan's narration & attention tend to be flighty, disrupting the flow of the story. I found myself unable to enjoy the progress fully as just as I was about to delve into one of the story arc, the story diverted into another. And the prior story arc tends to re-appear at odd moments at times; the transition rather none smooth.
I also thought most of the side characters tend to be rather one-dimensional. Li Lan was verbose as a narrator (honestly, I thought she was too verbose at times). Often, I found a lot that was being said lacking in substance. So her descriptions over her interactions with others tend to be rather superficial. Not to say that her relationships with others weren't interesting, e.g., how could her interactions with Fan the stubborn spirit be boring, or her willingness to investigate the corruption in the afterlife with an "agent" of Heaven (& love interest, the loong Er Lang, be anything less than fascinating. But, I found that I don't really get the opportunity to know "know" them. Many of Li Lan's observations weren't insightful for me. Also, there was an inherent "she's not like other girls" theme which I don't really like. Some may argue that it reflected era-related misogyny, the superficiality of Li Lan's thinking made me feel its unnecessary; that it didn't really contribute much to the story. And I felt the same way about the romance, unfortunately; I just wasn't convinced, & thought it was kind of out-of-nowhere sort of situation. Although, the romance did have an air of lightness, or dreaminess to it. Maybe that was why I did not respond well to it; I tend to prefer greater emotional insights with romances.
That being said, I did quite enjoy the story. The elements of fantasy was suffice to make it interesting, though only little aspects of the characters were shown. If you like a simple read that doesn't delve too much into characterizations, that focus heavily on the external world & quick observations, you would enjoy this.
What I liked most about the story was the element of mystery;
This story was written from a first-person perspective, rooted more in the "telling" than "showing" what occurred. I wouldn't have any problem with that, but I felt that Li Lan's narration & attention tend to be flighty, disrupting the flow of the story. I found myself unable to enjoy the progress fully as just as I was about to delve into one of the story arc, the story diverted into another. And the prior story arc tends to re-appear at odd moments at times; the transition rather none smooth.
I also thought most of the side characters tend to be rather one-dimensional. Li Lan was verbose as a narrator (honestly, I thought she was too verbose at times). Often, I found a lot that was being said lacking in substance. So her descriptions over her interactions with others tend to be rather superficial. Not to say that her relationships with others weren't interesting, e.g., how could her interactions with Fan the stubborn spirit be boring, or her willingness to investigate the corruption in the afterlife with an "agent" of Heaven (& love interest, the loong Er Lang, be anything less than fascinating. But, I found that I don't really get the opportunity to know "know" them. Many of Li Lan's observations weren't insightful for me. Also, there was an inherent "she's not like other girls" theme which I don't really like. Some may argue that it reflected era-related misogyny, the superficiality of Li Lan's thinking made me feel its unnecessary; that it didn't really contribute much to the story. And I felt the same way about the romance, unfortunately; I just wasn't convinced, & thought it was kind of out-of-nowhere sort of situation. Although, the romance did have an air of lightness, or dreaminess to it. Maybe that was why I did not respond well to it; I tend to prefer greater emotional insights with romances.
That being said, I did quite enjoy the story. The elements of fantasy was suffice to make it interesting, though only little aspects of the characters were shown. If you like a simple read that doesn't delve too much into characterizations, that focus heavily on the external world & quick observations, you would enjoy this.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Misogyny
beholderess's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Suicide
ehmannky's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
It took me a second to get into this book. I had watched the miniseries first and the tone and overall plot of the book and show are so different. But I still really enjoyed the book. It's got a dreamlike quality to it that I really loved reading. I also liked the journey of Li Lan moving from being sheltered and wanting convention to wanting something more than her mortal life. I don't know, I had a good time (and the third act of the book is so different from the show that I could not put it down).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, and Drug abuse
incigiru's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Sexism
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