"Set in the Chinese community of 1890s colonial Malacca, this novel takes advantage of the entire gamut of superstitions, mythologies, spirits and demons that arose from such a cultural exchange. Our protagonist, Li Lan, is a young woman from a genteel family in financial straits who is pressured to marry the dead son of a wealthier family. Most of the story involves Li Lan's navigation of the Chinese afterlife, whose denizens engage in parallel labyrinthine bureaucracy, corruption and political intrigue as the living. This book is extraordinarily visual and the closest I've ever gotten to reading a Miyazaki film."
Publisher William Morrow
Publication Date 2013-08-06
Section New Hardcover - Fiction / All Staff Suggestions / Fiction Suggestions
Format Hardcover
ISBN 9780062227324
Oprah.com Book of the Week
Indie Next List pick
Good Housekeeping August Book Pick
Glamour Magazine Beach Read
The Bookseller Editor's Pick
Library Journal Barbara's Pick
"Choo's clear and charming style creates an alternate reality where the stakes are just as high as in the real world, combining grounded period storytelling with the supernatural." Publishers Weekly
"What makes all this work is the sumptuous world of Chinese émigré culture and the love story that flows under it all--the kind so full of longing, the pages practically sigh as you turn each one." Oprah.com - Book of the Week
"'The Ghost Bride', an impressive first novel, takes readers on one of the wildest rides since Alice fell down the rabbit hole." San Jose Mercury News
"Choo's remarkably strong and arresting first novel explores the concept of Chinese "spirit marriages" in late-nineteenth-century Malaya through the eyes of the highly relatable Li Lan...With its gripping tangles of plot and engaging characters, this truly compelling read is sure to garner much well deserved attention." Booklist
Yangsze Choo's stunning debut, The Ghost Bride, is a startlingly original historical fantasy infused with Chinese folklore, romantic intrigue, and unexpected supernatural twists.
"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.
Reminiscent of Lisa See's Peony in Love and Amy Tan's The Bonesetter's Daughter, The Ghost Bride is a wondrous coming-of-age story from a remarkable new voice in fiction.
