A reluctant medium discovers the ties that bind can unleash a dangerous power in this compelling Malaysian-set contemporary fantasy.
When Jessamyn Teoh starts hearing a voice in her head, she chalks it up to stress. Closeted, broke and jobless, she’s moving back to Malaysia with her parents – a country she last saw when she was a toddler.
She soon learns the new voice isn’t even hers, it’s the ghost of her estranged grandmother. In life, Ah Ma was a spirit medium, avatar of a mysterious deity called the Black Water Sister. Now she’s determined to settle a score against a business magnate who has offended the god—and she's decided Jess is going to help her do it, whether Jess wants to or not.
Drawn into a world of gods, ghosts, and family secrets, Jess finds that making deals with capricious spirits is a dangerous business, but dealing with her …
A reluctant medium discovers the ties that bind can unleash a dangerous power in this compelling Malaysian-set contemporary fantasy.
When Jessamyn Teoh starts hearing a voice in her head, she chalks it up to stress. Closeted, broke and jobless, she’s moving back to Malaysia with her parents – a country she last saw when she was a toddler.
She soon learns the new voice isn’t even hers, it’s the ghost of her estranged grandmother. In life, Ah Ma was a spirit medium, avatar of a mysterious deity called the Black Water Sister. Now she’s determined to settle a score against a business magnate who has offended the god—and she's decided Jess is going to help her do it, whether Jess wants to or not.
Drawn into a world of gods, ghosts, and family secrets, Jess finds that making deals with capricious spirits is a dangerous business, but dealing with her grandmother is just as complicated. Especially when Ah Ma tries to spy on her personal life, threatens to spill her secrets to her family and uses her body to commit felonies. As Jess fights for retribution for Ah Ma, she’ll also need to regain control of her body and destiny – or the Black Water Sister may finish her off for good.
Modern dark magic and action richly set in a Malaysian context of spirits, gods, mothers and daughters, family status, face, identity, and revenge.
A good contemporary fantasy story set in Malaysia involving local spirits. It also serves as an introduction to the world of spirits in the region. As a former Malaysian now in Singapore, the non-fantasy aspects of Malaysian society and culture featured in the book ring true, while the fantasy aspects do have solid roots in how spirits are worshipped by local people. But on to the actual review. :-)
The book centres around Jessamyn Teoh, who is reluctantly moving back to Malaysia from the US with her parents. But from the start, strange things happens when a voice in her head begins to speak to her. This turns out to be her maternal grandmother, who has a bone to pick with a wealthy Malaysian who is developing land on which a shrine that is the home to the spirit of Black Water Sister is sitting.
Jessamyn reluctantly agrees to help …
A good contemporary fantasy story set in Malaysia involving local spirits. It also serves as an introduction to the world of spirits in the region. As a former Malaysian now in Singapore, the non-fantasy aspects of Malaysian society and culture featured in the book ring true, while the fantasy aspects do have solid roots in how spirits are worshipped by local people. But on to the actual review. :-)
The book centres around Jessamyn Teoh, who is reluctantly moving back to Malaysia from the US with her parents. But from the start, strange things happens when a voice in her head begins to speak to her. This turns out to be her maternal grandmother, who has a bone to pick with a wealthy Malaysian who is developing land on which a shrine that is the home to the spirit of Black Water Sister is sitting.
Jessamyn reluctantly agrees to help her grandmother, if only to be rid of her. But as the story develops, clues are dropped, by both her grandmother and the relatives she meets in Penang, Malaysia (the main setting of the story) that begin to show that she may be involved in more than just a battle over a shrine. It would centre over the murky past of her grandmother and also the chilling spirit that is the Black Water Sister, whose influence may cause Jessamyn to lose her own self, if she is not careful over who is in charge of events: sometimes violent events.
The book features a lot of local slang, and I find it surprising that the book has found an audience in the West, judging from the praise it has received. But I suppose this lies in the skill of the author, being able to produce a book that captures the atmosphere of actually living in Malaysia while still being appreciated by others.
I look forward to reading her other works, especially those set in the local culture.
TW: homophobia, misogyny, mentioned abusive husband, strangulation, rape, gang violence
4.2
Jess has been afloat since graduating college- she's in a long distance relationship that's also completely secret, since she'd rather never have to deal with coming out to her parents, and she's the only person she knows without a job. So moving with her parents, back to Malaysia, a place she doesn't even remember, is a strange step but not one she has any reason to fight against. Except that apparently stepping foot in Malaysia has made the voice of her grandmother's ghost stronger. She wants to believe it's stress, but as strange things continue happening it's harder to pretend. Jess has found herself in the middle of family secrets and old gods, with nothing to help her but her belligerent dead grandmother and a degree she can't use.
This book was a lot of fun! There's a great …
TW: homophobia, misogyny, mentioned abusive husband, strangulation, rape, gang violence
4.2
Jess has been afloat since graduating college- she's in a long distance relationship that's also completely secret, since she'd rather never have to deal with coming out to her parents, and she's the only person she knows without a job. So moving with her parents, back to Malaysia, a place she doesn't even remember, is a strange step but not one she has any reason to fight against. Except that apparently stepping foot in Malaysia has made the voice of her grandmother's ghost stronger. She wants to believe it's stress, but as strange things continue happening it's harder to pretend. Jess has found herself in the middle of family secrets and old gods, with nothing to help her but her belligerent dead grandmother and a degree she can't use.
This book was a lot of fun! There's a great sense of humor woven throughout the story, and a lot of unexpected moments for godliness to bleed through that made the whole experience so unique.
Jess herself is a great character. She's a very no nonsense, unshakable millennial type, and she's the perfect voice to navigate this old, tangled world of entitlement and assumptions. She's definitely flawed, and comes up short in many regards- which makes it even easier to root for her, and get invested in just what she's going to do to deal with this new responsibility and new roles.
I love the addition of the gangs, and the way the workers interact with the gods contrasted with the new world, upper class people's view of the gods. You really feel like you're getting a full idea of the world at work, and it makes the vibe something tangible.
I also love the way the dreams are presented. Jess' dive into memories and conversations inside her own head, through visions, are a atmospheric break from the real world and somehow both silkier and more brutal than anything else we see. They're such nice moments, and it makes the spiritual and physical both feel so much more defined and impactful.
Cho's writing as a whole is fantastic, actually. In the real world there are great descriptions, and in both you can get wrapped up in the way the dialogue is written. There's a great rhythm to the writing that makes it enjoyable to read.
The family dynamic is nice as well. You get to see Jess with her parents, and learn how she navigates being with these people she loves but also can't be herself around, and it feels so, so real. And then there's the extended family brimming throughout the house and the different personalities they bring.
I only wish the plot itself felt a little tighter/more focused. It isn't fast paced, and it tends to linger throughout in different places, which made it a little harder to pay attention. It felt hard to find the main focus, especially as things cycled through and repeated.
But as a whole I really enjoyed this book, and I'd happily pick up another one by Cho.
