Review by 2treads - Ghost Town

2treads 's review for:

Ghost Town by Kevin Chen

4.0

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Yes, a ghost that exists because of memory is itself full of various memories, of scent and touch and pain. —Cliff

Ghost Town is an engrossing chronicle of one family and all the ghosts that have manifested within and around the parents and siblings. With perspectives from sisters, brother and even a couple ghosts, Chen builds a story that you just want more of.

Keith has murdered his partner (non spoiler) but now he's returned home to face memories of his childhood, emerging queerness, and the haven he was denied by irrational homophobia.

What kept me hooked was how place, food, behaviour, smells, and dialogue was used to establish each characters state of mind and well-being. It is clear that each of these characters carries feelings of guilt, neglect, hope, and are unmoored by the state of their personal lives, each in their own way searching for home, for voice, for freedom.

Chen controlled this story that he wrote almost in a backward sense, where the ending held all the answers to the clues that came before. Any book that surprises me on the very last page is a read that I will remember for a long time to come.

Content Warnings