The Ghost Bride

I first read this book when I was ill in bed, on strong painkillers, so the setting had a heightened quality in my mind that can never be replicated. But I’ve now read it several times (and watched the Netflix TV series), and it remains a wonderful book with great settings and characters, romance, and danger. 

Before I read this book, I knew very little about Chinese Malaysian society in the late nineteenth century, and it was fascinating to learn. I also loved the Plains of the Dead, where ghosts live in houses and eat food that corresponds to the… show more.

This unique setting (Malaysia in the late 1800s) was highlighted by the addition of fantastical elements—a spirit world layered over the “real” world, which is as real and corrupt as the one where our heroine, Li Lan, finds herself. Her struggles to find and fall in love, as well as her desire to save her home, created an unputdownable book. The romance is subtle, but sweet, and a perfect juxtaposition to some of the horrors Li Lan must endure on her spiritual journey.

This historical fantasy has some serious Spirited Away vibes working in its favor. I especially love Li Lan: her charming naivety, her compassion towards others, her stalwart convictions, and her daring to uncover secrets kept by both the living and the dead. Her would-be in-laws are all kinds of shady and her own family has skeletons in its closet, but as these truths unfold, she remains her considerate, hardworking self.

In its careful treatment of the afterlife, this story helps me contemplate my own ancestry, what honor I give to those who came before me, and what they might expect… show more.