Allison Wyss reviewed The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo
Review of 'The Ghost Bride' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
I wrote about a backward scene that creates a ghost of itself: bit.ly/GhostBrideOutOrder
362 pages
English language
Published July 14, 2013
The Ghost Bride
by Yangsze Choo
4 stars
(11 reviews)
"One evening, my father asked me if I would like to become a ghost bride ..." Though ruled by British overlords, the Chinese of colonial Malaya still cling to ancient customs. And in the sleepy port town of Malacca, ghosts and superstitions abound. Li Lan, the daughter of a genteel but bankrupt family, has few prospects. But fate intervenes when she receives an unusual proposal from the wealthy and powerful Lim family. They want her to become a ghost bride for the family's only son, who recently died under mysterious circumstances. Rarely practiced, a traditional ghost marriage is used to placate a restless spirit. Such a union would guarantee Li Lan a home for the rest of her days, but at a terrible price. After an ominous visit to the opulent Lim mansion, Li Lan finds herself haunted not only by her ghostly would-be suitor, but also by her desire …
"One evening, my father asked me if I would like to become a ghost bride ..." Though ruled by British overlords, the Chinese of colonial Malaya still cling to ancient customs. And in the sleepy port town of Malacca, ghosts and superstitions abound. Li Lan, the daughter of a genteel but bankrupt family, has few prospects. But fate intervenes when she receives an unusual proposal from the wealthy and powerful Lim family. They want her to become a ghost bride for the family's only son, who recently died under mysterious circumstances. Rarely practiced, a traditional ghost marriage is used to placate a restless spirit. Such a union would guarantee Li Lan a home for the rest of her days, but at a terrible price. After an ominous visit to the opulent Lim mansion, Li Lan finds herself haunted not only by her ghostly would-be suitor, but also by her desire for the Lim's handsome new heir, Tian Bai. Night after night, she is drawn into the shadowy parallel world of the Chinese afterlife, with its ghost cities, paper funeral offerings, vengeful spirits and monstrous bureaucracy--including the mysterious Er Lang, a charming but unpredictable guardian spirit. Li Lan must uncover the Lim family's darkest secrets--and the truth about her own family--before she is trapped in this ghostly world forever.
byayoi - Sour Kitty reviewed The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo
Review of 'The Ghost Bride' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
A very pleasent surprise. For a romace book it's quite good.
TimMason reviewed The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo
Review of 'The Ghost Bride' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
This is the second of the recommended fantasy novels that I picked up the other day. It's a lot better than the first one was - though that's not a difficult achievement. It's mainly set in a Malay Chinese version of the afterlife. The heroine, naturally making all the wrong choices, finds herself wandering about the underworld, leaving her body uninhabited. Wong, the cook, tells her it's foolish, but does she take notice? Of course not.
As someone brought up to English ideas of hell and monstrosity, it was interesting to see another imaginary from the inside, as it were. The story is ok, the beasties suitaby beastly - though none of them ever do much other than hang around looking scary.
Often when I finish a book, I immediately go back to the beginning and read it again. This time I found I couldn't do it - so DNFSR
Victor Hugo Kebbe reviewed The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo
Review of 'The ghost bride' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
One of the best books I read in 2016. It has everything, and it was an amazing coincidence with my latest post doctoral research on the Japanese ancestor worship. It's a beautiful tale, beautiful.
Victor Hugo Kebbe reviewed The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo
Review of 'The Ghost Bride' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
One of the best books I read in 2016. It has everything, and it was an amazing coincidence with my latest post doctoral research on the Japanese ancestor worship. It's a beautiful tale, beautiful.
Subjects
- Roman
- Malaysian fiction (Chinese)
- Future life
- Young women
- Marriage
- Amerikanisches Englisch
- Fiction
Places
- Malaysia