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I was waiting for something more to happen for the entirety of the book. The MC just mopes around from the middle of the book onward and doesn’t develop much of a backbone. It’s like the author lost steam halfway through and instead of fleshing out more of the characters into a sympathetic light, they turned the MC into an alcoholic and pessimistic husk who hates everyone. It’s pretty hard to like her as a character at all.
By the time I got to about 80% of the way through, it felt like I had sat wearily in the back of a marriage councillor’s office for days while the main couple refused to communicate their needs to each other. I DNF’d this book and just came back to blaze through the rest of the book. It was not a good book.
By the time I got to about 80% of the way through, it felt like I had sat wearily in the back of a marriage councillor’s office for days while the main couple refused to communicate their needs to each other. I DNF’d this book and just came back to blaze through the rest of the book. It was not a good book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Infertility, Suicide, Alcohol
Moderate: Infidelity
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
"But then I can’t help but think, if I can already watch each day of my life play out like an old recording, am I still alive?’"
"How do we endure living with a mind that can’t stop, starting the moment we’re born until the day we die?"
there were beautiful quotes like these here and there, however the whole thing with mushrooms and the color orange felt a bit incomplete and devoid of meaning, or maybe i didn't get it. it was beautifully written though.
"How do we endure living with a mind that can’t stop, starting the moment we’re born until the day we die?"
there were beautiful quotes like these here and there, however the whole thing with mushrooms and the color orange felt a bit incomplete and devoid of meaning, or maybe i didn't get it. it was beautifully written though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Suicide, Grief, Alcohol
Moderate: Infidelity, Pregnancy
Minor: Abortion
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
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, Death of parent, Pregnancy