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A review by bookstorian
Ghost Girl, Banana by Wiz Wharton
3.0
Wanting a change of pace and keen to knock another gifted read off my shelf I picked up Ghost Girl, Banana.
Ghost Girl, Banana follows a duel time line of two women, Sook-Yin and her daughter Lily. Sook-Yin's story begins on a boat headed to London on a quest to honour her family and become a trained nurse. Her life soon changes as she struggles to live in a place so far from the home she knows. Similarly, thirty years later Lily is a-drift, when a mysterious inheritance is left to her she becomes determined to understand why such a sum is left to her and if there is any connection between the money and her deceased mother. Exploring the themes of memory, siblings and belonging Ghost Girl, Banana winds the reader through time and place.
What I did enjoy about this read was the shift in time and perspective, I usually enjoy a mother-daughter story. In addition I learnt a bit about Hong Kong culture, both in the 60s and 90s (especially during the hand over) which is something I am appreciative of when reading more diverse books. There was also some moments of beautiful writing and exploration of memory, siblings and belonging. I especially appreciated how these themes connected between generations, with both mother and daughter having an interesting relationship with their sibling for example.
Overall, whilst I was intrigued in the story at the beginning it did take a slide. I think this is because it just seemed to be incredibly slow to unwind. I felt like it was going nowhere for awhile I started to avoid picking it up. In addition, I felt very isolated from the characters and their relationships and it was difficult to become invested in the narrative because of this, it felt like key scenes were missing all together from the novel, especially moments between Sook-Yin and Hei-Fong Lee.
If you enjoy slower paced reads, one that leave a trail of mystery and are shrouded in tragedy perhaps pick this one up. Unfortunately it wasn't for me. Nonetheless thank you to Hachette Australia for the gifted copy.
Ghost Girl, Banana follows a duel time line of two women, Sook-Yin and her daughter Lily. Sook-Yin's story begins on a boat headed to London on a quest to honour her family and become a trained nurse. Her life soon changes as she struggles to live in a place so far from the home she knows. Similarly, thirty years later Lily is a-drift, when a mysterious inheritance is left to her she becomes determined to understand why such a sum is left to her and if there is any connection between the money and her deceased mother. Exploring the themes of memory, siblings and belonging Ghost Girl, Banana winds the reader through time and place.
What I did enjoy about this read was the shift in time and perspective, I usually enjoy a mother-daughter story. In addition I learnt a bit about Hong Kong culture, both in the 60s and 90s (especially during the hand over) which is something I am appreciative of when reading more diverse books. There was also some moments of beautiful writing and exploration of memory, siblings and belonging. I especially appreciated how these themes connected between generations, with both mother and daughter having an interesting relationship with their sibling for example.
Overall, whilst I was intrigued in the story at the beginning it did take a slide. I think this is because it just seemed to be incredibly slow to unwind. I felt like it was going nowhere for awhile I started to avoid picking it up. In addition, I felt very isolated from the characters and their relationships and it was difficult to become invested in the narrative because of this, it felt like key scenes were missing all together from the novel, especially moments between Sook-Yin and Hei-Fong Lee.
If you enjoy slower paced reads, one that leave a trail of mystery and are shrouded in tragedy perhaps pick this one up. Unfortunately it wasn't for me. Nonetheless thank you to Hachette Australia for the gifted copy.