Reviews

Ghost Month by Ed Lin

bookmarc's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.0

ivycoveredgarden's review against another edition

4.0

Great book but I felt finding out what happened to Julia was a little anticlimactic, and not as thrilling as I hoped. I'm in love with the characters and Taiwan though and will be picking up the next book.

dgrachel's review against another edition

0.25

I loathed this book. I found the solution to the mystery to be ridiculous and far-fetched. The MC, who is sadly also the narrator, had an obsession with the band, Joy Division, and he went on about the band incessantly. His attitude towards “the woman he was going to marry”, who he hadn’t seen in years, who is also the murder victim, was bizarre and his attitude towards other women was equally strange. Very little of the MC’s thoughts or actions moved the (weak) plot forward at all. There were too many irrelevant tangents and 3/4 of the books could have been cut, leaving a much shorter, but far better, more cohesive narrative. 

xcdo's review against another edition

3.0

Man, I really wanted to like this. The author does a great job of depicting Taiwan with its multifaceted history with its neighbors and its original inhabitants, and even more tantalizingly, the food. But to be frank, this book doesn’t get interesting until more than halfway through... and even then, the interesting bits are wrapped up too quickly.

The main character is like JGL in 500 Days of Summer - he’s mopey, he’s stuck, and he’s literally judging everyone (especially the women) based on their music tastes, specifically their love (or lack of) for Joy Division. And listen, I love Joy Division, but it made him so flat and pretentious that I didn’t really have an urge to read more (literally everyone else in his life, including Cookie Monster, was more interesting.)

Overall, so so. Not a bad read entirely, but a little slow and too quickly resolved.

addison_reads's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious medium-paced

3.25

First off, although this book starts with an unexplained murder, that is not the main focus. Do not go into this book expecting it to be all about the mystery of the murder because you will be disappointed. What this book does deliver on is a detailed trip through the sights, sounds, tastes, and people of the Taipei Night Market. 

The mystery takes a backseat to the author giving you a literary tour through the Night Market, but he connects it back to the mystery in the end, which I personally enjoyed. Also, the book is set during Ghost Month which added to me learning new, interesting things about a holiday I previously knew nothing about. 

lizardskin's review against another edition

Going in I really thought I was going to like this, but after a few chapters and no plot, I'm moving on to other things. The first chapter alone is largely exposition about what ghost month is, coupled with the narrator's whiny navel-gazing. This should be an amazing setting for a murder mystery, but there was no building interest in the murder, just the narrator's self-pity, and I don't feel like slogging through more of that to find out if the plot ever develops.

saralynnburnett's review against another edition

3.0

I read this after spending a week in Taipei and loved it for that - reliving all the temples, foods, night markets, and excitement. I will be reading the next one for the same reason!

jiohz's review against another edition

adventurous tense slow-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Really enjoyed this book as it gave a lot of context and history to Taiwan. As an asian reader, I identified with many of the cultural practices of the chinese during the ghost month. This book demonstrated the distinction between someone who has a modern mindset and his/her struggle accepting traditional practices. This is definitely a struggle that I face very commonly.

However, the plot wise was not as rich as the context that was painted. The storyline was quite predictable and I would have appreciated more depth to uncovering the life of Julia right before she had passed on.

I did enjoy the ending a lot where he comes to the conclusion that he was in fact, chasing a ghost when what he really needed was the person that has all along been there for him and supporting him.

Coming from a male author, this book felt very sexual used for no actual reason. The women portrayed in this book kinda fell flat and they were mostly appreciated for how they look rather their inner thoughts and intellect (typical).

overall, an easy read but don’t have too much expectations to a strong storyline.

xcdo's review against another edition

3.0

Man, I really wanted to like this. The author does a great job of depicting Taiwan with its multifaceted history with its neighbors and its original inhabitants, and even more tantalizingly, the food. But to be frank, this book doesn’t get interesting until more than halfway through... and even then, the interesting bits are wrapped up too quickly.

The main character is like JGL in 500 Days of Summer - he’s mopey, he’s stuck, and he’s literally judging everyone (especially the women) based on their music tastes, specifically their love (or lack of) for Joy Division. And listen, I love Joy Division, but it made him so flat and pretentious that I didn’t really have an urge to read more (literally everyone else in his life, including Cookie Monster, was more interesting.)

Overall, so so. Not a bad read entirely, but a little slow and too quickly resolved.