Yet her life is not her own- from birth, her life is her father’s and through marriage, her life is her husband’s. One who is experiencing her first love, full of hope and ambition for her own life. Of all the possible protagonists, such as the passionate communist or the wayward rich son or an influential figure, the novel chooses a rich, rebellious, and reckless teenager: Leiyin. For me, this novel explored womanhood in China back in the days. A really strong debut, I would definitely read her next book. It may seem like a slow paced story, but it was so gripping, I was kept at the edge of my side the whole time and finished the book in two sittings. I loved the writing, the setting, the descriptions of the manors, the characters, the character dynamic, and the family. Leiyin is from a rich patriarchal family who has firm Nationalist roots. The book is set China during the chaotic clash between the Nationalist and the Communist. Too long in the mortal world as a ghost, and she might become a hungry ghost, stripped of her humanity and cursed to wander aimlessly in the mortal world. She learns that she has to atone for something she had done in her lifetime in order to enter afterlife. When Leiyin dies, her ghost and her three souls, yin, yang, hun were unable to proceed to afterlife.
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