I loved Yangsze Choo’s novel, The Ghost Bride, so I was happy when I discovered that this novel had been released, and immediately bought it. It is set in 1930s Malaysia and has three different characters whose lives end up interweaving in odd ways.
There is Ji Lin, a young woman, who is working in the city as a dress maker and moon lighting as a dancer. Though she had higher ambitions, her family would not let her go into a profession, and only eventually agreed to let her work in a more traditional job. They certainly wouldn’t approve of the dancing but Ji Lin is trying to help her mother pay off a gambling debt, because she is afraid of her husband’s reaction if he finds out about her bad habit. While in the dance hall one night, one of her dance partners leaves behind a gruesome souvenir – a dried, severed finger in a glass container. He may have used it as a good luck token given some of his other comments, but the man dies before she can find out more, and someone else is trying to find the finger.
Ren is about 10 years old, and his master, a doctor, has died, leaving him one final task to be completed upon his death. Find his finger, and make sure it ends up in the grave with him so his spirit can rest. This brings Ren to the city, away from everything he knows, as the servant boy to another English doctor.
William had some type of scandal in England, and works at the hospital in Malaysia. He is the one that was friendly with Ren’s former master and takes him on. While he prefers to isolate himself, and takes advantage of his position to get too friendly with the local girls, he also recognizes Ren’s skills and treats the boy fairly.
This novel had a lot going on. There were some weird dreams occurring and myths about tigers, but unfortunately too much of this novel was set in the real world. I loved the ghost world of The Ghost Bride so I would have loved more of a supernatural/myth inspired setting while this was more of a mystery with touches of magical realism and the mystical. There was a lot going on in the novel as well with the various subplots and characters though I liked how she ended up resolving everything. If I had read this novel first, I am not sure I would have felt compelled to read another Choo novel. I don’t think she would have made my “don’t read” list, she just wouldn’t have been added to my “must read” list, and I would have forgotten about her. So I recommend Choo but start with The Ghost Bride.