Scan barcode
A review by lunaphorie
The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This story was a beautiful mix of historic fiction and an eerie ghost story.
I loved the writing style of Yangsze Choo, who managed to paint a vivid picture of Malakka of the 1890s while introducing the reader to the rich culture of Malaysia, with the colonialism effects of the British and Dutch, as well as the strong link to Chinese culture and descendance. I've learned a lot about Malaysia throught this book and I felt like it was done in a very entertaining way. While the main character strolls through the city, she effortlessly explains cultural aspects of Malaysia, without it interfering with the flow of the story. I really enjoyed that.
The ghost city was very entertaining too, and the author was able to transmit that eerie, frightening but at the same time fascinating world of the (Un)Dead. My critique here is that I felt like there was too much time spent on the first parts of Li Lan entering the Ghost World, while other parts of the story towards the ending felt extremely rushed.
I also felt a lack of secondary characters, since Li Lan spent most of her time wandering the Ghost World by herself which at one point became very dragging. The character of Er Lang was extremely fascinating and I kept hoping for him to make more appearances. It left me with an unsatisfied feeling because we didn't get enough scenes with him, while Li Lan spent SO MUCH time walkind around alone, which could have been cut shorter.
Aside that, the characters were interesting and well done, except for Tian Bai which was extremely confusing and it also felt like we never got to really know who he was; this also contributed to the feeling of a rushed ending. The middle of the story dragged while the ending left many things open in an unsatisfying way.
Li Lan was not really that likeable to be honest, which also made me rate the book less high. She is of course very young (she turns 18 throughout her adventure), so I can understand her infatuation with Tian Bai, even though it seemed a bit superficial to me and didn't make me feel interested in their love story. She fell very quickly for Tian Bai and then also very quickly for Er Lang. I would have enjoyed the book more if the love stories would have gone a bit deeper, especially since her final decision was very dramatic and different.
I usually enjoy open endings, but in this case, due to the fact that the ending felt rushed, it was especially unsatisfying. It would have been nice to explore Li Lan's chosen love interest a bit more, but that didn't happen.
In any case, it was an interesting book and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys ghost stories and historic fiction.
I loved the writing style of Yangsze Choo, who managed to paint a vivid picture of Malakka of the 1890s while introducing the reader to the rich culture of Malaysia, with the colonialism effects of the British and Dutch, as well as the strong link to Chinese culture and descendance. I've learned a lot about Malaysia throught this book and I felt like it was done in a very entertaining way. While the main character strolls through the city, she effortlessly explains cultural aspects of Malaysia, without it interfering with the flow of the story. I really enjoyed that.
The ghost city was very entertaining too, and the author was able to transmit that eerie, frightening but at the same time fascinating world of the (Un)Dead. My critique here is that I felt like there was too much time spent on the first parts of Li Lan entering the Ghost World, while other parts of the story towards the ending felt extremely rushed.
I also felt a lack of secondary characters, since Li Lan spent most of her time wandering the Ghost World by herself which at one point became very dragging. The character of Er Lang was extremely fascinating and I kept hoping for him to make more appearances. It left me with an unsatisfied feeling because we didn't get enough scenes with him, while Li Lan spent SO MUCH time walkind around alone, which could have been cut shorter.
Aside that, the characters were interesting and well done, except for Tian Bai which was extremely confusing and it also felt like we never got to really know who he was; this also contributed to the feeling of a rushed ending. The middle of the story dragged while the ending left many things open in an unsatisfying way.
Li Lan was not really that likeable to be honest, which also made me rate the book less high. She is of course very young (she turns 18 throughout her adventure), so I can understand her infatuation with Tian Bai, even though it seemed a bit superficial to me and didn't make me feel interested in their love story. She fell very quickly for Tian Bai and then also very quickly for Er Lang. I would have enjoyed the book more if the love stories would have gone a bit deeper, especially since her final decision was very dramatic and different.
I usually enjoy open endings, but in this case, due to the fact that the ending felt rushed, it was especially unsatisfying. It would have been nice to explore Li Lan's chosen love interest a bit more, but that didn't happen.
In any case, it was an interesting book and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys ghost stories and historic fiction.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Death of parent