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gstwilson's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Firstly, the edition I have (Vintage/Penguin Random House paperback) is 226 pages, not 240 pages as listed on the publisher's website. Publishers don't usually include front matter and blank endpapers in page count, so I have no idea why that's the case in this instance. I've tried multiple times to get this corrected on Storygraph, but to no avail. It doesn't really matter at the end of the day, but I like tracking percentage read, and this sort of thing messes with those statistics.
An interesting and thoughtful read, though it took me far longer to finish than I'd have expected, and didn't go in the direction I thought or hoped it would. The blurb suggests a very different novel, rather than what is truly an exploration of loneliness and grief. I can say I'm pleased to have read it nonetheless. I think it's well written for what it is, (though the translation isn't always flawless) and I'm keen to read more by An Yu.
It's a real pity that the final chapter, a short story in its own right following not the main character, was the most touching and left me wanting more.
An interesting and thoughtful read, though it took me far longer to finish than I'd have expected, and didn't go in the direction I thought or hoped it would. The blurb suggests a very different novel, rather than what is truly an exploration of loneliness and grief. I can say I'm pleased to have read it nonetheless. I think it's well written for what it is, (though the translation isn't always flawless) and I'm keen to read more by An Yu.
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death, Grief, Suicide, Death of parent, Alcohol, Mental illness, and Death
amanda_reads89's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Suicide and Death of parent
lidia7's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Child death, and Abandonment
Moderate: Alcohol and Grief
Minor: Death of parent
cgm42's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
5.0
gorgeously written
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Death of parent, Suicide, and Grief
james1star's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
This book started out well and I was very intrigued to see what followed. The first person POV from children’s piano teacher Song Yan was gripping as she was getting used to living with her mother-in-law in Beijing, trying to talk with her husband about starting a family and recollecting about missed opportunities in her past. And then boxes of Yunnan mushrooms sent from a great ‘missing’ pianist arrive coupled with dreams with a talking ghost mushroom start to complicate things as well as the unraveling of Song Yan’s husband Bowen’s past comes out too. There is more to the plot in some sense but from here on out it does lose its foundations and goes off in a maybe a few too many tangents or at least a ‘no plot all vibes’ notion to an extent. I sometimes like this but it definitely lost me as the book developed around the 40% mark onwards. I still understand what was going on but I didn’t really care so much I’d say and this continued till the end so in many ways I do wish I DNF’d it, the ending also left maybe some lose ends. The writing was alright and maybe if I got on board with the magical realism or abstract elements more I’d have enjoyed it or understood some symbolism possibly too but yh, take it as you will.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Death of parent, Child death, Misogyny, Sexism, and Suicide
chawleeknight's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Ghost Music is a reflection on familial grief, personal expression, and the act of creation. I personally wanted much more out of this book than I got from it--the themes and imagery it sets up are fascinating and I ended up turning the juxtaposed themes of motherhood and musical expression (both acts of creation) over in my head for quite a while, but I felt that the narration was deeply lacking in how well it explored these themes. The main character is highly introspective but often dwells upon the same handful of issues instead of exploring new ideas, which was fairly frustrating. The setting also felt quite bare-bones--I loved the few tangible details about Beijing that were included, but for the most part I didn't have a good idea of the environment the story took place in, which is such a missed narrative opportunity. All in all though, I appreciate the potential this book had and enjoyed unraveling its themes on my own time.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity, Grief, Pregnancy, and Death of parent
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
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