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kitkathw871's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.25
This book hits hard and hits very close to home, so like many others I was tempted to put it down because it was uncomfortable and painful. However, I'm very glad I stuck it out. Chow's journalistic training is apparent as this book is matter of fact and surprisingly informative on historical contexts surrounding her family's story. She is also an insightful, talented writer depicting her life and growth as a person with grace. If anything, this book leaves you with a deeper appreciation of her and a curiosity to dive into the rest of her work. I first heard of this book when she interviewed Michelle Zauner about Crying in Hmart at an event in DC. She is meticulous to find all facets of the story, even when she herself is the subject, but she does it with real care and compassion.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
daumari's review against another edition
5.0
my apologies if it feels like a shallow take, but reading this shortly after a [b:Crying in H Mart|54814676|Crying in H Mart|Michelle Zauner|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1601937850l/54814676._SX50_.jpg|68668937] reread, Seeing Ghosts feels like a play cousin (to borrow phrasing from NPR Code Switch, where I first heard author [a:Kat Chow|17092696|Kat Chow|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1624470845p2/17092696.jpg]) because it's also a memoir about maternal grief by an East Asian diaspora author. They are distinctly different, though: Kat's mother died when she was 13, so much of Seeing Ghosts is her reflecting on the ever-present absence of her mother: how would she react to things, imagining conversations with her, and so on. Seeing Ghosts also serves as a biography of her father as he lives on, quietly yearning to resolve the generational trauma of a father he never knew who died overseas in Cuba. She also weighs the impact of her dead older baby brother on her family, and her mother's wishes to be reunited with him in death.
Chow's parents are also Cantonese/Taishanese like mine, so the romanized words really felt like I was reading from a relative (I might relisten to this as an audiobook too for the tones), with a yearning for knowing who our ancestors are.
Chow's parents are also Cantonese/Taishanese like mine, so the romanized words really felt like I was reading from a relative (I might relisten to this as an audiobook too for the tones), with a yearning for knowing who our ancestors are.
deannairisreads's review against another edition
I just could not get into this one, unfortunately. I think I just may not be in the headspace, so I do plan to revisit this at some point.
rudyyy's review against another edition
Sooo good from what I’d read so far! Just wasn’t the right time for my brain to finish it