Linghun

“Sometimes, dead is better.” 
-Stephen King, Pet Semetary 

Linghun by Ai Jiang is a moving and highly creative haunted house story about grief. Ai was kind enough to provide me an eARC to read and review, all opinions are my own. Set in a mysterious town in Canada known as HOME, residents desperately seek to take advantage of the neighborhood's quirk: the tendency for each house to become haunted by the spirit of the departed. Unlike most conventional haunted houses stories where ghosts are entities inspiring fear, in Linghun the ghosts are vehemently desired. Wenqi's family moves in hoping to reconnect with her brother, but what may happen when a life is haunted by grief to the point of never letting go? Fundamentally, Jiang has written a profound novella exploring a deeply meaningful idea through a unique approach to the concept of a haunted house. I loved the way she revealed information throughout the book and found this work, at times, reminiscent of Shirley Jackson, Catriona Ward, and yet completely and utterly unlike anything else I had ever read. Jiang's prose is frequently excellent and incredibly readable. This is a fast read that will linger with you after the final page. With that said, I found the plot to be a little bit disjointed, especially toward the end. I kind of felt like this was a book about ideas, symbols, and characters more than plot...though the story was by no means bad. Still, overall this was a very good read that I would recommend. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫