You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.

A review by mariebrunelm
Black Water Sister by Zen Cho

dark emotional funny tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Jess hadn’t planned to come back to Malaysia with her parents, but as her job prospects aren’t looking good anyway she might as well spend time with her family. That is, her living family. She wasn’t expecting to hear a voice in her head once setting foot in Penang, and even less for the voice to be her recently-deceased, estranged grandmother, but apparently the old woman has some scores to settle, and a god may or may not be involved in the process.
This magical realism / urban fantasy / ghost story held a lot to love. I really enjoyed the picture of Malaysian contemporary society depicted by Zen Cho. It felt very real and tangible, and as the author stated in her recent Tolkien lecture (you can watch that on YouTube), the weight of religion and folklore isn’t a way to make this book a mythical fantasy novel, but very much a reality for people living in Penang today.
The portraits of Jess’s family were delectable, especially her grand-mother and her aunt who are very judgmental but ever so funny (not always funny to Jess, though) and I particularly enjoyed how the author dealt with languages, since there are at least 3 languages spoken throughout the book (English, Hokkien and Cantonese, the last two translated into English except for a couple of words here and there) but the transitions are very smooth.
There were some touching discussions on grief as well as family legacy, loyalty and expectations. On the whole it was a multi-facetted book with feet firmly rooted in reality, but hints of the supernatural and brushes with the local mafia.
Rep: Malaysian lesbian MC.
CW: s3xual assault, murder.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings