Read: July, 2011
Recommended To: Chinese and/or Historical Fiction fans, people who like ghost stories with a cultural emphasis
Categories: Fiction, Chinese Fiction, Ghost Stories, Family-Relations
Jiao Mei, a young Chinese woman living in London while attending school, is transported back to her childhood in China by the powerful fragrance of flowers and the ghostly whisper of her childhood name one evening. Accompanying the fragrance is a vision of a woman claiming to be her deceased grandmother, Tie Mei. At first, she thinks the visions are simply dreams, but when Barbara, the woman she lives with, also begins to experience some strange things, Jiao Mei realizes that the ghost of her grandmother is real.
With Tie Mei's visits, Jiao Mei is forced to confront the reality of her pregnancy and her relationship with her British boyfriend, and learns the tragic stories of her ancestors, and the curse that is destined to follow her. Told from the perspective of both women, through flashbacks of Tie Mei's life and Jiao Mei's childhood mixed with the present tense, the relationship between grandmother and granddaughter unfolds, as Jiao Mei is forced to reflect on the past, and come to terms with the present.
Personal Thoughts
While I enjoyed the book overall, there was nothing especially outstanding about it. I just didn't find myself particularly engaged in the storyline, or drawn to the characters.
I loved the idea of the Magpie Bridge, for which the book took it's name, and I really enjoyed the ghostly aspect of it, and the flashbacks that told the story about her ancestor's lives. Aside from that, I just did not connect to any of the characters, or find them either loveable or detestable; they were somewhat bland and one-dimensional. They didn't feel undeveloped as much as unexplored.
I feel like the strongest aspect of the book was the flashback storyline as it overlapped with the present, rather than what was actually occurring present-tense in the book. I feel as though the present-tense storyline could have been stronger, and given some of the characters a bit more exploration, which would have made the book better overall.
Pros
* The flashbacks are very interesting, especially the ones involving Jiao Mei's ancestors, and really carry the book.
* The ghostly aspect, the flashbacks, and the present tense are woven in so that story flows well.
* It's a pretty quick read.
Cons
* The storyline is interesting and the pacing is good, but not particularly engaging.
* The characters feel unexplored, and come off as bland at times.
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