- Paperback: 400 pages
- Publisher: Harper Perennial Canada (Dec 13 2010)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1554684544
- ISBN-13: 978-1554684540
- Product Dimensions: 20.1 x 13.5 x 2.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 318 g
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #391,689 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
Review
"A stunning debut . . . an intriguing combination of the supernatural, domestic drama and colonial politics, bringing to mind both the work of both E.M. Forster and Sarah Waters. 'Deft' is often an overused word in reviews, but alas, it is perfect to describe the skill with which Berry writes." —Globe and Mail
"Berry's prose is as lush, beautiful and tropical as the most humid day in Hong Kong . . . A dazzling and assured debut." —Bookbag
--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.Product Description
Raped and then murdered in Japanese-occupied Hong Kong in 1942, Lin Shui -- now a 'hungry ghost' -- clings tenaciously to life. Holding up in a hospital morgue that is destined to become a school, she finds a host off whom to feed. It is twelve-year-old Alice Safford, the deeply troubled daughter of a leading figure in government. The parasitic ghost follows Alice to her home on the Peak. There, the lethal mix of the two, embroiled in the family's web of dark secrets and desperate lies, unleashes chaos. All this unfolds against a background of political unrest, riots, extremes of weather and the countdown to the colony's return to China.
As successive tragedies engulf Alice, her ghostly entourage swells. She flees to England, then to France, in a bid to escape the past, only to find that her unwanted 'hungry ghosts' have accompanied her. It seems the peace she longs for is to prove far more elusive than she could have even imagined.
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Customer Reviews
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.2 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
5.0 out of 5 stars
Engrossing, Mar 11 2012
By M. N. - Published on Amazon.com
The novel is set mostly in Hong Kong, where a young girl - an outsider in her family - lives with her distant parents, older sisters, and younger brother. Alice is clearly a disappointment to her family. Her father is caring but unable to articulate his feelings. Her mother is distant and emotionally abusive. She blames Alice for having to be subjected to another pregnancy in order to produce her precious only son.There is also the problem of Alice's behaviour. While others might see her as a bit odd but merely inquisitive child, her family sees her as a troublemaker with emotional and mental issues that make their lives difficult. It certainly does not help mattes when Alice becomes haunted by the angry spirit of a young Chinese girl who was raped and murdered by a Japanese soldier about 20 years earlier.
The novel follows Alice and her ghost from her early teens till middle-age. The story is told in small chapters which all have different voices. This allows the reader to see all of the different facets of the events. Alice has a very different view, for example, of a medal ceremony they attended for her father than her mother does. There strong contrasts between the voices makes for a particularly engaging read.
I also found Alice's character to be fascinating. She was bright and interesting, but at the same time terribly insecure - likely due to her family. Her ghost was well-fleshed out as well, and I enjoyed the chapters told from the ghosts perspective. The other characters are hugely flawed, which make them rather interesting, and they place this family beside a less dysfunctional family to further demonstrate the abuses which are heaped on Alice.
There are several important twists in the story which I will not reveal, however I was satisfied with the conclusion. Some got what they deserved, others didn't. This is of course much like real life.
2.0 out of 5 stars
Bad book, but author has some skill, Nov 12 2011
By Japan Reader - Published on Amazon.com
This is a pretty bad book. The multiple point-of-view is confusing, the characters are unbelievable, and not one of them is likable. Also, there's way too much telling and not enough showing. Probably less than 10 percent of the text is conversation, and the rest is just narration. This results in a really flat book; it could have been a lot more active. Oh, and there's some really bad sections where the author has the characters 'tell' you necessary historical background. Very clumsy.That said, the author isn't completely talentless. Her descriptions of places are often vivid and she has some good use of words. (She has a few really miserable ones, too, where her metaphors are tortured and in some cases laughable.) If she'd had either a good editor or a really good writing workshop, she might have come up with a better book. As it is, this one seems to have been hurried into print while still in first draft or second draft stage.
This book is inspiring to aspiring writers. Why? Because if a book this bad can make it into print, maybe yours can too.
1.0 out of 5 stars
What was the point?, Jun 8 2011
By Sharon in France - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Hungry Ghosts (Paperback)
I'm confused about what was the point of this novel. I read it because I've lived in London, Paris and Hong Kong. It was fun to read about familiar places but that was where the enjoyment ended.Why did this ghost latch on to this girl? Was there some lesson on life after death or what was it going on?
The writing style was very annoying, written in the first person by multiple characters but all sounding the same. The only one who didn't write was the main character, which was a disappointment. I would have kind of liked to have had her explain some things.
Most of the players are really unsympathetic, especially the mother. She seems to have no logic or soul and the only "explanation" was that her brother was favored as a child. There is also a very thinly explained suicide and it's odd that someone gets pregnant at 16 and then without explanation, never gets pregnant again. Certainly that wasn't the reason? Not medically accurate. Sorry!
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