A review by audjmo91
Seeing Ghosts by Kat Chow
3.0
I love hearing Kat Chow’s work on the radio and was inspired to pick this up largely for that reason.
There is a lot to like about this memoir; Chow brings readers through a complicated journey told well and with a lot of insight and depth. You can feel the desire to understand the actions and motivations of her parents as she works though research and interview to try to connect with them. A very honest book.
Still, this took me longer to get through than I was expecting, I think because it felt like each section ended with a deeper commentary on the moment just described - I wish I had been able to sit and reflect on these stories without feeling over-explained to. I think this is largely just a style mismatch between me and Chow, so I’m really calling this more of a 3.5 on my fault vs. the book, which has many great moments and is worth a read.
There is a lot to like about this memoir; Chow brings readers through a complicated journey told well and with a lot of insight and depth. You can feel the desire to understand the actions and motivations of her parents as she works though research and interview to try to connect with them. A very honest book.
Still, this took me longer to get through than I was expecting, I think because it felt like each section ended with a deeper commentary on the moment just described - I wish I had been able to sit and reflect on these stories without feeling over-explained to. I think this is largely just a style mismatch between me and Chow, so I’m really calling this more of a 3.5 on my fault vs. the book, which has many great moments and is worth a read.