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A review by circularcubes
Ghost Month by Ed Lin
2.0
To be clear, I wanted to like this book. I came across Ed Lin a long while ago while browsing books by Asian-American authors in the Kinokuniya bookstore in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles. I was thrilled to see an author that shared the same last name as me, but it took a few years to actually get around to reading one of his books. I liked how much information Lin put in about the history and politics of Taiwan. It made reading the book feel at times like it was hitting you over the head with "now learn this fact!" but I appreciated it and felt like Taiwan is complex and unfamiliar enough to most Western readers to warrant the explanations.
Now for what I didn't like about the book: most of it. I found Jing-nan to be boring, irritating, and unbelievable in his stubbornness. Who the hell would think it was a good idea to break up with someone with the intention of "coming back" for them down the line? Dude, give your fucking girlfriend a call. Facebook messaging! Texting! Skype! Communication! I never felt like Julia was a real person, she felt more like a prop for Jing-nan to angst over. I liked the character of Nancy better. Ming-kuo and Peggy were a bit like Julia - extremes of a character type pushed beyond believability and into irritability.
I also didn't get the book's obsession with Joy Division. Anyone who obsesses to that level over a band concerns me (although I guess it fits into Jing-nan's character as obsessive and rather lacking in anything resembling a life). I've never heard their music, so it was alienating to have so much of the book fixate on that.
Finally, although the book ends with a little bit of backing down by Jing-nan, I couldn't stand how vehemently he disrespected religion in Taiwan. As an atheist myself, I detest people who lack the decency to show respect for things that don't affect them, like other people's religious beliefs. It's rude and it gives atheism a bad name as a whole.
I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone, I don't think, unless they were exceptionally keen on reading non-fiction about Taiwan. I will say, however, that it is MILES better than the last Taiwanese-centered book I attempted to read, Formosa Straits, and I will still go on to read what else I can find of Ed Lin's works.
Now for what I didn't like about the book: most of it. I found Jing-nan to be boring, irritating, and unbelievable in his stubbornness. Who the hell would think it was a good idea to break up with someone with the intention of "coming back" for them down the line? Dude, give your fucking girlfriend a call. Facebook messaging! Texting! Skype! Communication! I never felt like Julia was a real person, she felt more like a prop for Jing-nan to angst over. I liked the character of Nancy better. Ming-kuo and Peggy were a bit like Julia - extremes of a character type pushed beyond believability and into irritability.
I also didn't get the book's obsession with Joy Division. Anyone who obsesses to that level over a band concerns me (although I guess it fits into Jing-nan's character as obsessive and rather lacking in anything resembling a life). I've never heard their music, so it was alienating to have so much of the book fixate on that.
Finally, although the book ends with a little bit of backing down by Jing-nan, I couldn't stand how vehemently he disrespected religion in Taiwan. As an atheist myself, I detest people who lack the decency to show respect for things that don't affect them, like other people's religious beliefs. It's rude and it gives atheism a bad name as a whole.
I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone, I don't think, unless they were exceptionally keen on reading non-fiction about Taiwan. I will say, however, that it is MILES better than the last Taiwanese-centered book I attempted to read, Formosa Straits, and I will still go on to read what else I can find of Ed Lin's works.