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actonbelle 's review for:
The Ghost Bride
by Yangsze Choo
This being a book set in 19th-century Malaysia, I'm glad the author did not try to give Li Lan modern sensibilities or "westernize" her in any way. The former would be a cop-out and the latter would be a lot worse since we don't get many stories about the women living in this part of the world during this point in history (colonial era). Li Lan is very much a product of her time and culture, she's sheltered and unsophisticated, obeys her elders and generally lives a quiet life. Too quiet in fact. I also like that even though she respects her father, she doesn't sugarcoat the fact that he's negligent and irresponsible and really could have ruined her future by not cultivating her marriage prospects with business contacts. There is not doubt in any one's mind here that Li Lan has to marry, there is no other way seeing as they're on the verge of bankruptcy and marriage would take care not only her future but the household's dependents, notably her aging amah.
The initial attraction/romance with Tian Bai is a bit too abrupt for my liking although it is not completely unreasonable since Li Lan basically has no friends, let alone any male acquaintances her age. Tian Bai is kind and a decent prospect, the fact the he's easy on the eyes doesn't hurt either. As for Tian Bai, yes, I can buy his attraction to Li Lan once he finds out who she really is. That said, I couldn't really get behind their love story at first until, well, something else happens. The synopsis is a bit misleading in this respect but I'm happy to be misled. The ending to the love story is definitely earned, it could not have been possible for the Li Lan at the start of the story to make the choice she did at the end. But when we get to the last chapter, the author has already convinced us that Li Lan would have been miserable with the safer choice. I'm just disappointed there isn't more of the ending, such a wasted opportunity for more banter!
Going back to Li Lan, the author did a really good job with her. She's able to accomplish her ends without suddenly acting out of character, she's strong without being anachronistic. There are a couple of instances where she's a damsel in distress and needs a man to help her out of a tight spot. In her defense, the only person she knows who could possibly be of any help to her her happens to be a guy. But on the other hand, the author could have made use of the other female characters (it wouldn't be too much of a stretch since half the story is set in the Afterworld and as ironically commented in the book, women tend to hold the power in the world of the dead). This is my biggest issue with the book, the other female characters are not so well developed as Li Lan, being only a little better than stereotypes. There's the loyal and ever-dependable amah, the gossipy maid, the sainted mother who died too young, the vain backstabbing "friend", jealous concubines, etc. These characters have their moments but they're far too few. Given a bit more time on the page I think they could've been as well developed as Li Lan or the other male characters and I think there was definitely some wasted opportunity to develop these women.
(Disclosure: I got my copy of the book from a giveaway hosted by the author)
The initial attraction/romance with Tian Bai is a bit too abrupt for my liking although it is not completely unreasonable since Li Lan basically has no friends, let alone any male acquaintances her age. Tian Bai is kind and a decent prospect, the fact the he's easy on the eyes doesn't hurt either. As for Tian Bai, yes, I can buy his attraction to Li Lan once he finds out who she really is. That said, I couldn't really get behind their love story at first until, well, something else happens. The synopsis is a bit misleading in this respect but I'm happy to be misled. The ending to the love story is definitely earned, it could not have been possible for the Li Lan at the start of the story to make the choice she did at the end. But when we get to the last chapter, the author has already convinced us that Li Lan would have been miserable with the safer choice. I'm just disappointed there isn't more of the ending, such a wasted opportunity for more banter!
Spoiler
And c'mon, who doesn't want to meet Er Lang's family?Going back to Li Lan, the author did a really good job with her. She's able to accomplish her ends without suddenly acting out of character, she's strong without being anachronistic. There are a couple of instances where she's a damsel in distress and needs a man to help her out of a tight spot. In her defense, the only person she knows who could possibly be of any help to her her happens to be a guy. But on the other hand, the author could have made use of the other female characters (it wouldn't be too much of a stretch since half the story is set in the Afterworld and as ironically commented in the book, women tend to hold the power in the world of the dead). This is my biggest issue with the book, the other female characters are not so well developed as Li Lan, being only a little better than stereotypes. There's the loyal and ever-dependable amah, the gossipy maid, the sainted mother who died too young, the vain backstabbing "friend", jealous concubines, etc. These characters have their moments but they're far too few. Given a bit more time on the page I think they could've been as well developed as Li Lan or the other male characters and I think there was definitely some wasted opportunity to develop these women.
(Disclosure: I got my copy of the book from a giveaway hosted by the author)