Helpful Score: 1
This book deserves a lot more than just five stars! I saw it on the shelf in Barnes and Noble and literally COULD NOT walk away from it! I picked up, put it down, tried to leave, only to pick it up again and again. Finally I decided to go ahead and buy it, and I do not regret it at all. It was impossible for me to put it down, so I finished reading it in a record amount of time. Very good characters, and the amount of detail is impressive! The dream/ghost world was incredibly well-described and haunting in more ways than one. The ending is wonderful and was unexpected (at least to me). A personal favorite I recommend wholeheartedly and will definitely read again!
Overall the story of Li Lan, the ghost bride, was interesting. The problem I had with the story was that Li Lan was very shallow. She had no personality, was childish and although supposedly educated by her opium addicted father, made bad decisions. I also had trouble reading more than a few pages at a time, feeling overwhelmed by description. I enjoyed the secondary characters more and wanted to know more about them. I also would have like another chapter, she had made a decision and I would have like to have seen if she stuck by it and what happened.
Li Lan is a young woman from a family that was once prestigious but is in decline in Malaya, 1893. Unbeknownst to her, she had been betrothed to the second heir of the very rich Lin Family, Tian Bai. But when the first heir dies, the family wants Tian Bai to marry for status and they ask Li Lan's father if she will marry their dead son and become his ghost bride. This is a seldom used custom where a living person is married to a dead person and assumes the role of their widow for the rest of their lives. After refusing, the spirit of the Dead son starts to haunt Li Lan, setting her on a journey she might not recover from.
This book was very interesting. I was unaware of all of these customs and traditions and beliefs. At times I was a little confused because I didn't have any previous knowledge, but Choo does a fantastic job of explaining most things in a way that anyone could understand. My only complaint was that the book ended too soon. I wanted to know what happened next! A great read and I learned a lot about other's culture.
This book was very interesting. I was unaware of all of these customs and traditions and beliefs. At times I was a little confused because I didn't have any previous knowledge, but Choo does a fantastic job of explaining most things in a way that anyone could understand. My only complaint was that the book ended too soon. I wanted to know what happened next! A great read and I learned a lot about other's culture.
