SPIRITS ABROAD by Zen Cho, read by Emily Woo Zeller
- Publisher: Recorded Books, August 10th 2021
- Genre: Fantasy, Short Stories
- Format: Audiobook
- Page Count: 12 hrs 49 mins (338 pages)
- My Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5)
Click on the cover for my review on Goodreads.
Because Laura loved the previous version of this book (her review), I couldn’t wait for this rerelease of Spirits Abroad. Just when I was going to preorder it, I found out that the audiobook is narrated by Emily Woo Zeller. THE Emily Woo Zeller who narrated Last Night at the Telegraph Club (my review). So I had to listen to the audiobook.
And yes, this short story collection is magnificent.
I don’t know how to review this book because there are 19 stories in it, but I’m going to talk about a few of my favorites and their hidden meanings. If you’re here for a review, I’m sorry to say this “review” would probably be more of an analysis.
“The Fish Bowl”
Okay, I admit this is not one of my faves, but it’s about Su Yin, a girl studying for entrance exams, and her three wishes granted by a magical koi. This combination is so clever. In Chinese, 鯉魚躍龍門 (lǐ-yú-yuè-lóng-mén), which directly translates to “koi jumps over the dragon gate,” is an idiom for acing imperial exams and getting job promotions. While set in modern times, Su Yin here is also preparing for exams that are like the historical imperial exams. I think it is safe to say that we can see the connection between Su Yin and the koi from the idiom.
“The Terracotta Bride”
This one is exceptionally clever. Again. At first I didn’t know why the terracotta bride and then the terracotta warriors showed up. For those who don’t know what terracotta warriors are, they are funerary sculptures designed to be buried with Qin Shi Huang (秦始皇), the first emperor of China, around 210 BC. Yes, you read that right, BC. There are thousands of these sculptures (warriors, horses, etc.) in the mausoleum that you can actually still see in Xi’an, Shangxi, China. The terracotta warriors immediately provided context to this mysterious terracotta bride. Also know that this story is originally part of a lesbian steampunk anthology. At the end of the story (I don’t think this is super spoilery), being reincarnated and reborn as a baby is described as literally falling from the sky. In Chinese, 呱呱墜地 (gū-gū-zhuì-dì), literally “waah waah falls to the ground,” is an idiom that means being born. I love how Cho took the phrase literally in this story.
“The Four Generations of Chang E” (you can read it here)
This is a story about immigrant identities in the guise of a sci-fi/fantasy story. We know that Chang E flew to the moon after consuming the elixir of life, and the fact that Chang E immigrated to the moon in this story is a play on the famous folklore. Of course, rabbits are on the moon, too. In this piece, Chang E is more like a race, a human line, than the woman Chang E. We see how the identities of the four generations of immigrants evolve from mothers to daughters.
“If at First You Don’t Succeed, Try, Try Again” (you can read it here)
I just find this story incredibly adorable. It also made me choke up a little. The main character is a murderous imugi (이무기, a lesser dragon before it becomes a dragon) and the story is sapphic. I loved this one.
“The Guest” (you can read it here)
I listed this story because it’s available online and it’s queer (all links above to the stories are found on Zen Cho’s official website). If you like cats and magic and sapphics, you might like this story.
“The House of Aunts” (you can read it here)
This story has one trans character and it’s so wholesome in an unsettling way. There are Pontianaks, if Southeast Asian vampires are your thing. Note that this was originally published in 2011.
Cho is one of the main reasons why I’m aiming to read more queer Asian literature. I hadn’t known that reading something originally written in English could still make me feel so connected to my experience and language and culture (by “my language,” I mean Mandarin and Hokkien). Like Laura mentioned in her review, the dialect Manglish (thanks to Laura for pointing that out; I didn’t know it was a thing) in the dialogues is so precious! Listening to it narrated by the wonderful Emily Woo Zeller made me feel like those sentences were uttered in Mandarin and I just love it so much! Highly recommend the audiobook so there is no chance of botching the pronunciation of the Mandarin or Hokkien or Malaysian names and phrases.
Anyway, I need this book in print.
Buddy read with lauraღ! Check out her new review here!
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