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Ghost Forest
Ghost Forest: A Novel | Pik-Shuen Fung
11 posts | 15 read | 17 to read
A graceful and indelible debut about love, grief, and family welcomes you into its pages and invites you to linger, staying with you long after you've closed its covers. How do you grieve, if your family doesn't talk about feelings? This is the question the unnamed protagonist of Ghost Forest considers after her father dies. One of the many Hong Kong "astronaut" fathers, he stayed in Hong Kong to work, while the rest of the family immigrated to Vancouver before the 1997 Handover, when the British returned sovereignty over Hong Kong to China. As she revisits memories of her father throughout the years, she struggles with unresolved questions and misunderstandings. Turning to her mother and grandmother for answers, she discovers her own life refracted brightly in theirs. Buoyant, heartbreaking, and unexpectedly funny, Ghost Forest is a slim novel that envelops the reader in joy and sorrow. Fung writes with a poetic and haunting voice, layering detail and abstraction, weaving memory and oral history to paint a moving portrait of a Chinese-Canadian astronaut family.
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Sydneypaige
Ghost Forest: A Novel | Pik-Shuen Fung
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Pickpick

This is debut novel that reads like a memoir on grief within a family and the perspective of a hurting child reflecting as an adult. There is a lot of medical components to this book and the descriptions made my stomach turn (an absolute personal problem and nothing against the author or writing, just a warning for anyone similar). The chapters are short and quick and it‘s a very fast read. A beautiful meditation on heavy and painful subjects.

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RealLifeReading
Ghost Forest: A Novel | Pik-Shuen Fung
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Pickpick

Good things come in small packages. Like dim sum. Siu Mai and Har Gow are perfect one or two bite dumplings, any bigger and they just seem a bit too much. And in Ghost Forest, the scenes and vignettes, are often just a few paragraphs long. But they convey so much. Ghost Forest is a quiet and soft read but it managed to wring out all these emotions from me via its spare prose and blank space.

LeahBergen Mmm…dim sum! 2y
73 likes3 stack adds1 comment
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Hooked_on_books
Ghost Forest: A Novel | Pik-Shuen Fung
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Pickpick

Ghost Forest follows a family fractured when the mom and kids immigrate to Canada but dad stays in Hong Kong. The voice is a bit detached, so it took me a while to connect to the book, but I ultimately did. It‘s a good exploration of loss and how life decisions reverberate and impact everyone.

Cinfhen I didn‘t love this one but I haven‘t forgotten it either, so I think that says something about the writing 💕🙌🏻 2y
Hooked_on_books @Cinfhen Isn‘t it funny when you don‘t love a book at the time, but it really sticks? When that happens to me, I feel like I should go back and update my review. 2y
51 likes1 stack add2 comments
blurb
RebL
Ghost Forest: A Novel | Pik-Shuen Fung
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I struggle with domestic arts because I come from generations of career women who just needed to get stuff done. And I‘m also not so good with multitasking, because I had to turn off the vacuum and reflect.

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Well-ReadNeck
Ghost Forest: A Novel | Pik-Shuen Fung
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Pickpick

Listened to this haunting novel on #audiobook. This short novel has the poetic feeling of a short story and speaks to grief, family and belonging.

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Bookalong
Ghost Forest: A Novel | Pik-Shuen Fung
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Pickpick

A beautifully written story about grieving, love and family, fathers and daughters, cultural traditions and the affects immigration has on families. This is fiction that reads like a memoir. I was so emotionally invested in this book. Highly recommend, especially if you, like me have been reading a lot of grief driven narratives this year. #bookreview #canlit

18 likes1 stack add
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Jolynne
Ghost Forest: A Novel | Pik-Shuen Fung
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Pickpick

A beautiful tribute to generations, family, memories, and grief.

6 likes1 stack add
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KarenUK
Ghost Forest: A Novel | Pik-Shuen Fung
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Pickpick

Very sparsely written…. All show, no tell, in the best way. At first I wasn‘t sure about the simple prose, but as I slowed my reading a little, and thought more about each small memory, the magnitude of this story of grief, miscommunication and family hit me in the gut. It definitely feels like a memoir, where every uncomfortable interaction or sweet story told through memories, felt truthful and real. Melancholy and moving.

Lindy Sounds like my kind of book. 😊 3y
rockpools Lovely review. 3y
Tamra Stacked! 3y
Cathythoughts Sounds good ❤️ 3y
47 likes4 stack adds4 comments
blurb
Penny_LiteraryHoarders
Ghost Forest: A Novel | Pik-Shuen Fung
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Oh! The joy of being able to walk freely into the library, browse for books and grab as many as you want instead of only getting the book requested and passed through a semi-opened door!

Thrilled to return to the library! Staff was Super Happy to chat and show me around! I chose books that were in for me and others for my book club happening next week.

BookishMarginalia Yes! Oh my goodness yes! 3y
rachelk I feel the same way! 3y
23 likes4 comments
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Cinfhen
Ghost Forest: A Novel | Pik-Shuen Fung
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Mehso-so

#ARC #NetGalley #CoverCrush
Told in simplistic, sparse prose, a daughter‘s memories of the strained relationship she has with her father, whom is known as an “Astronaut Father” because he lives in a different country than she does. The unnamed narrator immigrates to Canada at a young age, while her father stays behind in Hong Kong for economic reasons making their times spent together brief. Reads like a memoir/ an exploration on grief👇🏼

Cinfhen Potential was there, but for me it was a little too detached stylistically. Most reviews are very positive. I think if you‘re a fan of Jenny Offill you will find this book to your liking. 3y
TrishB Great review 👍🏻 3y
Megabooks Hmmmm...on the fence about this...🤔 3y
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Cinfhen Just given the father/ daughter dynamics it might be hard for you @Megabooks although your dad has not been an absent presence in your life ( and I don‘t believe he‘s been critical of your achievements) it‘s a hard call because there is illness and death. That‘s not a spoiler/ it happens in the first paragraph 3y
Cinfhen Thanks @TrishB it‘s a very short book/ I‘d wait for a #KindleDeal but that‘s me 😜if im gonna pay full price I want a full book 😂 3y
TrishB Me too! 3y
71 likes6 comments
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vlwelser
Ghost Forest: A Novel | Pik-Shuen Fung
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Pickpick

I devoured this. I have no idea how much of this is autobiographical but the narrator feels like a real person. She grows up in Canada while her father still lives in Hong Kong. It's about saying goodbye and trying to express yourself in a family that doesn't talk about feelings. And trying to be the best daughter when the feedback is less than stunning. And the cover. 😍

#BookSpinBingo square 20
@TheAromaofBooks

Pub date is 7/13/2021

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 3y
44 likes3 stack adds1 comment