Welcome to Litsy!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

#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👇🏼

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. 😍

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Pub date is 7/13/2021