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rachel_hoey's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Suicide, Grief, Abandonment, and Alcohol
kaiyakaiyo's review against another edition
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I’m gonna be honest, this book was a lot less exciting than it sounded. I could say good things about how this was an interesting, internal sort of book about a woman who has completely given up on herself and her own future, but frankly I think there are plenty of books already doing a better job of this without the strange, uneven mushroom premise.
This book was frustrating, saddening, but ultimately extremely boring. Maybe I’m just not living a life where I’ll ever understand or want to understand how deeply inactive and miserable Song Yan is. She has all the tools to fix her own life but lets herself get sucked into more misery by an apathetic husband and his shrewish mother anyway. I was boggled by how self-flagellating she was able to be. She’s so neurotic it borders on superhuman.
Anyways, I bought this book expecting an interesting use of mushrooms and got something extremely halfbaked meant for people who like reading about miserable people. I’m sure others will love this book, and I wish them all the enjoyment. Just bordered too much on romanticized misery for me
This book was frustrating, saddening, but ultimately extremely boring. Maybe I’m just not living a life where I’ll ever understand or want to understand how deeply inactive and miserable Song Yan is. She has all the tools to fix her own life but lets herself get sucked into more misery by an apathetic husband and his shrewish mother anyway. I was boggled by how self-flagellating she was able to be. She’s so neurotic it borders on superhuman.
Anyways, I bought this book expecting an interesting use of mushrooms and got something extremely halfbaked meant for people who like reading about miserable people. I’m sure others will love this book, and I wish them all the enjoyment. Just bordered too much on romanticized misery for me
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Child death
sea_sea's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really like this book! It begins as a simple slice of life kind of story, but becomes more mysterious and complicated. A lot is written i metaphors, so there is a lot of room for interpretation. It also dives deeply into self-perception and discovery, as well es memories and expression. Its a really good and thought provoking read!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Grief, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
Minor: Child death and Suicide
aharper's review against another edition
emotional
tense
medium-paced
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Suicide
paperknotbooks's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death
hue's review against another edition
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.75
Not sure what the plot was exactly but I enjoyed it for what it was.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Suicide
Moderate: Sexual content
mondovertigo's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Child death and Death of parent
notsowellread's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Suicide
lyndsayreads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Song Yan is struggling with her identity. She gave up ambitions of becoming a concert pianist and instead settled into a life as a wife and piano teacher. She's desperate to have children but any time she broaches the subject with her husband, she is rebuffed. When her mother-in-law comes to stay with them for a while, she starts to learn that she may not actually know her husband at all. And she certainly doesn't know who she is outside of being his wife. This book is a journey of identity, reflection, and grief.
The prose in this book is beautiful. An Yu paints a very vivid picture of everything in this story. The descriptions of both food and music were wonderful to read and made me hungry at times. The characterization was excellent, especially of Song Yan. It's her story and her struggles and concerns are expressed well. There's a magical realism aspect to the story that I liked but didn't always necessarily understand. My only complaint is that I wish the book was longer.
I've never read from An Yu before but after reading this, I definitely want to. I know there are many mixed feelings about her first book, Braised Pork, but after reading and enjoying this, I think I might give it a go. I'd definitely recommend this if you're looking for something a little different, but beautifully written. And I would highly recommend the audiobook. The narrator did a fantastic job.
The prose in this book is beautiful. An Yu paints a very vivid picture of everything in this story. The descriptions of both food and music were wonderful to read and made me hungry at times. The characterization was excellent, especially of Song Yan. It's her story and her struggles and concerns are expressed well. There's a magical realism aspect to the story that I liked but didn't always necessarily understand. My only complaint is that I wish the book was longer.
I've never read from An Yu before but after reading this, I definitely want to. I know there are many mixed feelings about her first book, Braised Pork, but after reading and enjoying this, I think I might give it a go. I'd definitely recommend this if you're looking for something a little different, but beautifully written. And I would highly recommend the audiobook. The narrator did a fantastic job.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Suicide
savvylit's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Does Song Yan really know her husband? Does she really know herself? These two questions define the narrative of Ghost Music. Author An Yu then utilizes magical realism to answer these questions to delightful effect. The talking mushrooms and a spectral music mentor gradually nudge Song Yan to rediscover the individuality that she hadn't realized she'd left behind as soon as her marriage began.
This was my first read by An Yu and I'm now eager to check out her other book, Braised Pork. Yu has a beautiful, sincere authorial voice that left me wanting more. Here are two of my favorite quotes from Ghost Music to (hopefully) demonstrate what I mean:
"...the heart is not a magical armour that can withstand anything; it is real and beating and capable of being wounded. Sometimes it can be as hard as a diamond and other times as frail as rice paper. I felt mine tear."
"Empathy is a liar. It seduces us with the impression of selflessness, yet whatever feelings we think we can fathom are confined by the extent of our own hearts. We are living on our own, in our separate bodies. That was something I didn’t know how to accept."
Many thanks to @netgalley and @groveatlantic for the advanced reader copy of Ghost Music in exchange for my honest review! All thoughts and opinions are my own.
This was my first read by An Yu and I'm now eager to check out her other book, Braised Pork. Yu has a beautiful, sincere authorial voice that left me wanting more. Here are two of my favorite quotes from Ghost Music to (hopefully) demonstrate what I mean:
"...the heart is not a magical armour that can withstand anything; it is real and beating and capable of being wounded. Sometimes it can be as hard as a diamond and other times as frail as rice paper. I felt mine tear."
"Empathy is a liar. It seduces us with the impression of selflessness, yet whatever feelings we think we can fathom are confined by the extent of our own hearts. We are living on our own, in our separate bodies. That was something I didn’t know how to accept."
Many thanks to @netgalley and @groveatlantic for the advanced reader copy of Ghost Music in exchange for my honest review! All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Suicide, and Toxic relationship