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A review by staticdisplay
Ghost Month by Ed Lin
3.0
the narrator finds himself investigating his girlfriend's death while also realizing that none of his childhood dreams will come true. instead of graduating from a prestigious school in America, the narrator has taken over his deceased parents' food stand in a large night market, where he works to pay off his grandfather's massive gambling debt. the Taiwan setting was great. as noted in many reviews on here, much of the book contains vivid descriptions of the architecture and culture in Taiwan, as well as several passages on the history and politics. some of the history/culture/politics could have been cut out to emphasize the mystery and increase the tension, but I liked reading those parts. I actually read the book pretty quickly, considering the page count.
I'm not giving it a higher rating because I found that most of the characters were unlikable and their interactions felt artificial. I especially didn't care for Nancy, who seemed like a pretty standard manic pixie dream girl. Jing-Nan barges into her life, makes a lot of outrageous demands, treats her like an object, doesn't pay any attention to her schedule - you have schoolwork and a time crunch? ok but I'm going to just keep talking to you and also get you involved in this hours-long scheme to trick some old people -- and she goes along with all of it because she's just absolutely in love with this guy, but... he's kind of written without much of a personality, except that he loves Joy Division, is an atheist, and is described by others as handsome. also he frequently makes thoughtless and hurtful comments. idk! I just wasn't feeling it. the whole explanation behind Julia's death was also kind of a lot. poor Julia. poor Peggy and Ming-Kuo.
I'm not giving it a higher rating because I found that most of the characters were unlikable and their interactions felt artificial. I especially didn't care for Nancy, who seemed like a pretty standard manic pixie dream girl. Jing-Nan barges into her life, makes a lot of outrageous demands, treats her like an object, doesn't pay any attention to her schedule - you have schoolwork and a time crunch? ok but I'm going to just keep talking to you and also get you involved in this hours-long scheme to trick some old people -- and she goes along with all of it because she's just absolutely in love with this guy, but... he's kind of written without much of a personality, except that he loves Joy Division, is an atheist, and is described by others as handsome. also he frequently makes thoughtless and hurtful comments. idk! I just wasn't feeling it. the whole explanation behind Julia's death was also kind of a lot. poor Julia. poor Peggy and Ming-Kuo.