Review: The Hungry Ghosts

A young girl, brutally murdered, who can’t accept her death and rest. A premise that is reminiscent of Alice Sebold’s 2002 novel The Lovely Bones — but there the comparison ends.

Whereas the vision of an afterlife in Sebold’s book gave a sense of death as an opportunity for loving reunions and the chance to watch over those still alive, the ghosts in Anne Berry’s novel are introduced as frantic, angry, and resentful of all that has been missed in life by nature of their untimely passing.

The Hungry Ghosts is the first book from Blue Door, a new imprint from HarperCollins. Blue Door’s ethos is to publish books that are accessible, moving and compelling. The Hungry Ghosts certainly meets these criteria. Anne Berry’s debut novel — and it is surprising that it is a debut — is engrossing.

In 1942, while Japan battles with Britain for the occupation of Hong Kong, a young girl called Lin Shui is raped and murdered by a Japanese soldier. She is unable to reconcile her demise and floats in a ‘half-death’, waiting in a hospital morgue for a host in which to reside.

When the morgue is transformed many years later into a school, Lin Shui finally finds her receptacle — a young girl called Alice Safford, the youngest daughter of Ralph Safford, a prominent governmental figure during the last years of British governance in Hong Kong.

As Hong Kong nears its return to China, instability, rioting and a change in attitude towards the British test the Safford’s position in society — just as deception, feuds and ‘skeletons’ test their familial bonds. Told from the perspectives of various Safford family members across several decades, The Hungry Ghosts traces the impact of the political tensions of the period on a family whose ties are tenuous at the best of times.

Lin Shui intermittingly enters the narrative, showing herself to be as powerful a force as any of the human characters. Parasitic, merciless, and desperate, it is fascinating to watch the ‘relationship’ between Alice and her ghost develop over the years.

As if one ghost isn’t enough for anyone, a series of personal tragedies and unfortunate events increases Alice’s entourage. Her ‘Hungry Ghosts’ follow her around the world as she battles to break away from their influence.

The Hungry Ghost Festival (Yue Lan) is held every year in Hong Kong to appease the spirits of people who have died without funerals or the rituals associated with deference for the dead, such as spirit money and food offerings. Anne Berry posits that not all such ghosts are to be feared — though respected, certainly, and not forgotten.

Berry’s language is lyrical, luscious, and evocative. Anyone who has ever visited Hong Kong will immediately be transported back to its sights, smells and sounds. Anyone who has not been will be provided the next best thing.

My yardstick for measuring the pleasure of any novel is the extent to which I suffer ‘book grief’ when finished. Like the ghost that wasn’t ready to let go of life, I grieved the loss of the beautifully crafted worlds of these characters.

In the media release from Blue Door, publisher Patrick Janson-Smith states that the words that most make his heart sing are “It’s a bloody good read”. So sing away, Patrick ... The Hungry Ghosts is, indeed, a bloody good read.