Scan barcode
A review by jesikasbookshelf
Black Water Sister by Zen Cho
5.0
"The difficulty was that Ah Ma was the kind of person who accumulated nemeses."
I love books that blend modern life and it's genuine problems with those of ancestors, of the legacies they left us with and the ways they navigated the world.
This book does that brilliantly as it seamlessly brings together Jess and her American upbringing with the mind and agenda of her Ah Ma - who it turns out is a deceased...spirit medium and gangster.
Yes. EXACTLY.
I loved this one. The gods and ghost of Penang come to life a little too much for Jess and we watch her find her authentic adult self as she learns to also navigate being haunted by her grandmother, possessed by a god and stalked by hitmen on the payroll of the 5th richness man in Malaysia. It shouldn't all come together, which is what makes the fact that it does so brilliant.
The dialogue between Jess and her Ah Ma cracked me up the whole way through too. Jess learns a lot about herself by getting to know her grandmother. The book really shows the singularly frustrating relationship you can have with someone you love and respect as much as you want to throttle.
Brilliantly written, Zen Cho has rocketed straight into auto-buy author territory for me.
I love books that blend modern life and it's genuine problems with those of ancestors, of the legacies they left us with and the ways they navigated the world.
This book does that brilliantly as it seamlessly brings together Jess and her American upbringing with the mind and agenda of her Ah Ma - who it turns out is a deceased...spirit medium and gangster.
Yes. EXACTLY.
I loved this one. The gods and ghost of Penang come to life a little too much for Jess and we watch her find her authentic adult self as she learns to also navigate being haunted by her grandmother, possessed by a god and stalked by hitmen on the payroll of the 5th richness man in Malaysia. It shouldn't all come together, which is what makes the fact that it does so brilliant.
The dialogue between Jess and her Ah Ma cracked me up the whole way through too. Jess learns a lot about herself by getting to know her grandmother. The book really shows the singularly frustrating relationship you can have with someone you love and respect as much as you want to throttle.
Brilliantly written, Zen Cho has rocketed straight into auto-buy author territory for me.