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4.25 AVERAGE
4.25 AVERAGE
absolutely amazing! loved this collection so much
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I really loved these works! There’s a lot of depth in such short spans of time and I enjoyed the way magic was weaved into more modern stories. Would love to read a novel length work by Cho at some point
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
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
I am glad my third attempt in reading Zen Cho's work paid off. Maybe because the setting is so familiar to me, but I am just in awe of her ability to weave these local myths and legends into a compelling narrative. I believe my Indonesian buddies would find this enjoyable too ;)
The book was hyped alot during the last few online conventions I attended and I could definitely see why. One interesting thing is the non-italicizing policy of the publisher, Buku Fixi, for non-English words - I am now in total agreement of this.
A perfect read for those who are in the mood to try a different kind of horror fic or just want to try a specfic work from Malaysia/Southeast Asia/Chinese diaspora.
The book was hyped alot during the last few online conventions I attended and I could definitely see why. One interesting thing is the non-italicizing policy of the publisher, Buku Fixi, for non-English words - I am now in total agreement of this.
A perfect read for those who are in the mood to try a different kind of horror fic or just want to try a specfic work from Malaysia/Southeast Asia/Chinese diaspora.
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I usually just can't get into short stories, but this is the best collection of short stories that I've ever read. "The First Witch of Damansara" and "The Earth Spirit's Favorite Anecdote" were particular favorites - practically perfect in every way.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm
This book is a collection of short stories which somehow I missed when I started so was quite frustrating at the start when characters kept changing and not returning.
But all that aside the stories were all engaging and I enjoyed them all. Just wish they were a little bit longer and didn’t end so abruptly. It felt as though each time I got attached to a character the story just ended. Most of the endings didn’t feel satisfying like a real end in my opinion
But all that aside the stories were all engaging and I enjoyed them all. Just wish they were a little bit longer and didn’t end so abruptly. It felt as though each time I got attached to a character the story just ended. Most of the endings didn’t feel satisfying like a real end in my opinion
3.5⭐
My favourite will be The House of Aunts. Wish Balik Kampung included backstory on why Lydia's husband killed her, though. The premise of the story i.e. hungry ghosts, 'balik kampung' was already very interesting but too bad the story was cut short
My favourite will be The House of Aunts. Wish Balik Kampung included backstory on why Lydia's husband killed her, though. The premise of the story i.e. hungry ghosts, 'balik kampung' was already very interesting but too bad the story was cut short
A fantastic collection of short stories revolving around family, spirits, and death. The stories are similar in tone and ideas, which is nice as you know where the stories are going to go. They are all of high quality and I enjoyed all of them. Some of the short stories are outstanding. They are not connected, except for a few. They all are based on a Chinese-Malaysian culture, therefore there may be some terms used that some people may not be familiar with. If anyone is interested in short stories, I highly recommend this book.
Modern takes of how Malay stories can (and are) written now of older tales. Some are ghost stories, some are mythos (I like the one of Monkey King, Faire Queene), of the mixing of cultures that happen more and more these days. It's nice to see a good mashup.