Pricing
Paperback $15.95
Description
August is Ghost Month in Taiwan—a time to pay respects to the dead and avoid unlucky omens. Jing-nan, who runs a food stand in a bustling Taipei night market, isn’t superstitious, but this August will haunt him nonetheless. He learns that his high school sweetheart has been murdered—found scantily clad near a highway where she was s...
August is Ghost Month in Taiwan—a time to pay respects to the dead and avoid unlucky omens. Jing-nan, who runs a food stand in a bustling Taipei night market, isn’t superstitious, but this August will haunt him nonetheless. He learns that his high school sweetheart has been murdered—found scantily clad near a highway where she was selling betel nuts. Beyond his harrowing grief, Jing-nan is confused. “Betel nut beauties” are typically women in desperate circumstances, but Julia Huang was high school valedictorian, and the last time Jing-nan spoke to her, she was far away, happily enrolled in NYU’s honor program. The facts don’t add up. Julia’s parents don’t think so, either, but the police seem to have closed the case without asking any questions. The Huangs beg Jing-nan to do some investigating—reconnect with old classmates, see if he can learn anything more about Julia’s last years. Reluctantly, he agrees, for Julia’s sake. But nothing can prepare him for what he is about to learn, or how it will change his life.
Media
“BookRiot 100 Must-Read Novels of Noir. ”
“Lin is an astonishing talent. ”
—Junot Diaz
“Lin's unsentimental, purely realist--not naturalist, not socialist, not postmodernist--novel raises hopes that American fiction may yet grow up. ”
—Booklist (Starred Review for Waylaid)
“Hold on for a breathtaking, multi-cultural ride. With some good luck and a few well-placed joss sticks, you just might survive.”
—Martin Limón, author of Nightmare Range
“A unique blend of tension, charm, tragedy and optimism, with characters you'll love, and a setting so real you'll think you've been there. Highly recommended. ”
—Lee Child
“For a guy who scoffs at the ghosts revered by so many of his fellow Taiwanese, droll everyman Jing-nan, a night-market food stall manager, ironically finds himself spending much of his time chasing one as he investigates the murder of his childhood sweetheart, Julia Huang, in this darkly comic thriller from Lin. ”
—Publishers Weekly, STARRED Review, on Ghost Month
“The teeming Taipei setting and the tormented hero combine to create a furious energy that transcends a whodunit plot. ”
—Kirkus Reviews on Ghost Month
“Offers full-sensory descriptions of Taipei’s night market that are perfect for armchair travelers, especially if they like their vacations spiced up with odd companions and exotic Mob violence. ”
—Booklist on Ghost Month
“Taiwan’s traditions play a major role in Lin’s category-defying thriller that manages to be both funny and profound. Lin writes with strong literary overtones and delivers a bang-up finale sure to keep readers engaged well past lights out. ”
–Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW on Ghost Month
“For a guy who scoffs at the ghosts revered by so many of his fellow Taiwanese, droll everyman Jing-nan, a night-market food stall manager, ironically finds himself spending much of his time chasing one as he investigates the murder of his childhood sweetheart, Julia Huang, in this darkly comic thriller from Lin. ”
—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review on Ghost Month
“Lin vividly describes the open-air night market where Jing-nan works. He also explains the knotty relationship between business, cops and gangsters without passing judgment.”
–San Antonio Express-News on Ghost Month
“A sidewalk noodle shop in Taipei’s Shilin Night Market during summer’s Ghost Month is the vivid backdrop for Ed Lin’s Ghost Month... The plot twists come fast and furious as the story reaches its climax. Come for the exotic food and fascinating setting; stay for the characters. ”
–The Boston Globe on Ghost Month
“Depicts the prevailing culture of this vibrant international city, and hones in on key elements of social behavior, language and mores. Ghost Month is superbly written and provides plenty of conversational fodder making it an ideal selection for book clubs. ”