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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
I did not have high hopes for this book, I thought it would be a placid read. I was so wrong and it was so good. If you liked the movie Spirited Away you’d enjoy this book. I very much need this to be a series filled with the new adventures Li Lan goes on.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I enjoyed the story but details and relationships between characters were sloppy, and the writing felt, overall, immature. Lots of telling instead of showing, and over-explanation. For example, Li Lan’s thoughts literally explained how a foreshadow occurred earlier in her journey into the Plains. It felt like handholding.
I loved the setting and the descriptions of Malaya and Malacca in both real and spirit worlds. The characters were all very interesting, too. I loved Amah. And Er Lang, of course.
A good first book. I’m adding Choo’s other books to my TBR list.
I loved the setting and the descriptions of Malaya and Malacca in both real and spirit worlds. The characters were all very interesting, too. I loved Amah. And Er Lang, of course.
A good first book. I’m adding Choo’s other books to my TBR list.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Death of parent
Moderate: Drug use, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Fatphobia
medium-paced
Fantastic.....really intriguing, magical story and I loved the setting. Ending did feel a little abrupt but that's OK. I think if I had read this in high school I would've given it a solid 5 stars--Li Lan can be really juvenile sometimes. I did read this after I read The Fox Wife and between the two of them I like the Fox Wife a lot more--but I can't wait to see what Choo writes next.
I listened to this book, which is read by the author and was instantly in thralled. The story and the characters were so much deeper and complex then I had expected. This is a book I will read or listen to again.
The premise and start in this book were really promising and intriguing. I liked all the elements of historical background to set up this story. It did lag on some parts, maybe a little too much, but overall, a pleasant read. A lot of things happen that our main character is not part of, so you miss out on a lot of what happens to the other characters introduced.
I will give props to the author, though. Li Lan is infuriating most of the time. I can see how she was a 17-year-old about to be 18. She jumped into conclusions too fast and was really quick to judge. It had me rolling my eyes a lot.
The ending was lackluster, though. There was all this buildup of characters and arcs. She so wanted to be with the man she was originally betrothed to, and then she changed her mind. In the end, she never loved him if she could cast him aside so quickly. It left everything as an open ending, but we didn't even get much closure from anything else. That was pretty irritating.
I will give props to the author, though. Li Lan is infuriating most of the time. I can see how she was a 17-year-old about to be 18. She jumped into conclusions too fast and was really quick to judge. It had me rolling my eyes a lot.
The ending was lackluster, though. There was all this buildup of characters and arcs. She so wanted to be with the man she was originally betrothed to, and then she changed her mind. In the end, she never loved him if she could cast him aside so quickly. It left everything as an open ending, but we didn't even get much closure from anything else. That was pretty irritating.
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
ER LANG ER LANG ER LANG ER LANG ER LANG ER LANG ER LANG ER LANG ER LANG ER LANG ER LANG ER LANG ER LANG ER LANG ER LANG ER LANG ER LANG ER LANG ....anyways ER LANG
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Four and a half stars! Looking at the cover of this book, I expected some slow-moving historical fiction kind of like Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. Instead I got a book that could easily have been put into the genre section (scifi/fantasy) but has been marketed as "literary fiction" because that's where the acclaim and hopefully for this author, the money will be.
To be clear, saying that the book is like genre fiction is a compliment from me.
This plot of the book hinges on a practice I had never heard of- that of marrying the dead in order to unite a family financially or legitimize an heir. In this case, the reason for Li Lan, our protagonist, to be approached with the idea of being a ghost bride is more sinister. Her prospective bridegroom met with an untimely death, and it turns out that he still wants her, even from beyond the grave.
Atmosphere and setting are quite well done in this novel. Malaya (now Malaysia) in the late nineteenth century, in a genteely decaying town that is no longer a trade center. We hear the chirping of insects, feel the heat of the nearby jungle, see the melding of European and Chinese architecture. There are also some quite creepy ghost scenes. The sense of dread felt by our heroine as she dreams of her ghostly suitor is brought out well.
Midway through the book, suddenly we are transported to the spirit world along with our heroine, and what had been a meditation on culture and women's roles becomes a coming of age story in which Li Lan must find her own strength and save herself in a place where she doesn't know the rules. The book's spirit world is a hodge-podge of different religious traditions, much like the world our heroine left behind. I found it fascinating. To me, much of the book reads like a Chinese fairy tale, with both malevolent and benevolent characters- it's all a question of who to trust, and how far.
There's also some romance in the book, and I'm not sure that was my favorite part. I won't say too much about it, but I wonder if the book would have been better left by our heroine finding herself instead of choosing the right guy.
Sometimes the pacing of the book was a bit jerky, and sometimes I wanted more of the interior life and feelings of our main character. I'm still not quite sure who she is or what personality traits I would ascribe to her, mostly because she serves as a reader stand-in as we discover the author's wonderful invented spirit world.
However, this was a very strong debut and I'll happily read more by this author. I'll recommend it to friends, too. Anyone who is interested in different cultures or mythology will enjoy this book.
To be clear, saying that the book is like genre fiction is a compliment from me.
This plot of the book hinges on a practice I had never heard of- that of marrying the dead in order to unite a family financially or legitimize an heir. In this case, the reason for Li Lan, our protagonist, to be approached with the idea of being a ghost bride is more sinister. Her prospective bridegroom met with an untimely death, and it turns out that he still wants her, even from beyond the grave.
Atmosphere and setting are quite well done in this novel. Malaya (now Malaysia) in the late nineteenth century, in a genteely decaying town that is no longer a trade center. We hear the chirping of insects, feel the heat of the nearby jungle, see the melding of European and Chinese architecture. There are also some quite creepy ghost scenes. The sense of dread felt by our heroine as she dreams of her ghostly suitor is brought out well.
Midway through the book, suddenly we are transported to the spirit world along with our heroine, and what had been a meditation on culture and women's roles becomes a coming of age story in which Li Lan must find her own strength and save herself in a place where she doesn't know the rules. The book's spirit world is a hodge-podge of different religious traditions, much like the world our heroine left behind. I found it fascinating. To me, much of the book reads like a Chinese fairy tale, with both malevolent and benevolent characters- it's all a question of who to trust, and how far.
There's also some romance in the book, and I'm not sure that was my favorite part. I won't say too much about it, but I wonder if the book would have been better left by our heroine finding herself instead of choosing the right guy.
Sometimes the pacing of the book was a bit jerky, and sometimes I wanted more of the interior life and feelings of our main character. I'm still not quite sure who she is or what personality traits I would ascribe to her, mostly because she serves as a reader stand-in as we discover the author's wonderful invented spirit world.
However, this was a very strong debut and I'll happily read more by this author. I'll recommend it to friends, too. Anyone who is interested in different cultures or mythology will enjoy this book.