Yangsze Choo - Szellemara (2021)

Malaya, 1893. Li-lan, the daughter of a once wealthy but now downtrodden family, cannot have much hope. However, fate turns, and Li-lan receives a special offer from the rich and powerful Lim family: to be the ghost wife of their only son, who died under mysterious circumstances. They used to appease the returning souls with a ceremony that goes back to ancient times, but is very rarely used. The angry spirit of the dead boy is more and more insistent, and his family demands the wedding more and more violently. Such a marriage would provide Li-lan with a carefree life, but she would have to pay a terrible price for it. Every night he is transferred to the parallel world of Chinese purgatory, where vengeful ghosts live in ghost towns, among funeral gifts folded out of paper. Li-lan is reluctant to leave the spirit world not only because her future husband nags at her, but also because she could imagine a happy life with the new heir of the family, Tien-pai. Until he meets the mysterious Er Lang, a delightful but capricious guardian spirit who saves his life and helps him return to the living. The biggest challenge, however, is Li-lan
"Combining established period painting with the supernatural in a clean and graceful style, Choo creates an alternative reality where the game is just as messy as it is in the real world." Publishers Weekly
"What makes this book striking is the colorful tableau of the culture of the Chinese communities living abroad and the love that permeates every line of the novel." Book of the Week
"The first-time author's impressively written Spirited Away takes the reader on such amazing adventures as the last time Alice took part in the rabbit hole." San Jose Mercury News
Choo's fantasy-rich novel is both ethnography and moral drawing, exciting and instructive. Brilliant start to a writing career!" Kirkus Review
"A great development novel rich in Chinese folk traditions, romantic intrigue and dreamlike twists." Goodreads