Horror Book Spotlight--Linghun by Ai Jiang
Grief takes a terrifying turn in this week’s Horror Book Recommendation, LINGHUN by Ai Jiang.
Published in October 2024, the novella is the winner of the Nebula and Bram Stoker Award. The novel has garnered positive reviews for its creative take on grief and the supernatural. However, there is some criticism regarding the brevity of the book and how it isn’t really a ghost story or scary.
LINGHUN Plot Summary
The story is about Wenqi, Liam, and MRS who all reside in a town called HOME where the dead live on as spirits, summoned by the grief-stricken living who refuse to let go.
LINGHUN My Take on the Preview
Considering this is a novella, the sample pages of the actual story are few. But we do get to read the Foreword by YI IZZY YU, the Translator of The Shadow Book of Ji Yun.
The first chapter is about our protagonist, Wenqi. Through her perspective, we learn that she is carsick, and that probably means that she has just endured a long car ride.
Her mother is unpacking, but it is clear she is looking for something rather than setting up the house. Through Wenqi’s thoughts, we learn that her mother used to work at a travel agency but quit after a new coworker appeared to resemble her deceased son if he had been allowed to grow up. Their names were also similar.
Wenqi’s mother frantically searches for the box containing all of her son’s photos and things and begins to place it around the house. The real estate agent had advised doing this as it would help.
As the chapter ends, we learn that the reason they moved into this house was that it was supposed to summon Wenqi’s brother’s spirit.
The next chapter briefly shows us Mrs's perspective. She has noticed the new neighbors and wonders how people are weird enough to want their houses to be haunted. She wonders if they will end up being unhaunted like her.
In the next chapter, Wenqi is observing her new neighborhood and notices people on the lawns. They are known as lingerers, those who are waiting to move into the house once it is vacant.
As the preview comes to an end, Wenqi notices a woman watching her from a window, holding an urn.
Could it be Mrs?
READ OR SKIP?
Losing someone can be hard, and grief manifests in different ways. What we wouldn’t give to see someone we love just one last time? But theoretically, would we actually want to? Allow ourselves to be haunted by those who are gone rather than never having to see them again?
The author has a promising premise on her hands. Wenqi and her family are not the only ones who wish to see their loved one again. The lingerers, watching keenly for any house that vacates soon, show just how many people are literally unable to move on after someone’s passing.
The story is a metaphor of how grief works in the real world. In Wenqi’s case, it is obvious that the mother is so eager to see her dead son again that she barely pays attention to her husband or daughter. She is holding onto her son’s memory and placing his things all around her, unable to let go and move on.
The story is a powerful take on grief and perhaps relatable to a lot of us who have lost someone.
This is a READ for sure.
Comments
Post a Comment