What do you think?
Rate this book
The Morgue Keeper
In the early days of China's Cultural Revolution, Qing Yuan, the morgue keeper of a Beijing hospital, does his thankless duties without complaint, cleaning corpses night after night and counting the daily number of the dead. But when a nameless woman appears on his slab, brutalized beyond recognition, Qing Yuan becomes obsessed with what happened to the victim who becomes known to him simply as #19.
Soon Qing Yuan and other medical workers are accused and detained as counter-revolutionaries by Mao's Red Guards. Locked in a coal room with the accused, Qing Yuan witnesses and experiences unspeakable horrors in a fight to survive. When he's released on a whim, Qing Yuan must summon the inner strength to rebuild his life as a dunce-capped pariah and solve the mystery of what happened on the night #19 was murdered.
Written by Ruyan Meng, a political dissident of China residing the United States, The Morgue Keeper is based on real-life events. Meng's debut novel is both a Kafkaesque mystery and a survivor's testimony. Qing Yuan is a narrator readers will never forget, an ordinary man whose heroism is to simply insist on human kindness and dignity even in the most chaotic and catastrophic circumstances.
Soon Qing Yuan and other medical workers are accused and detained as counter-revolutionaries by Mao's Red Guards. Locked in a coal room with the accused, Qing Yuan witnesses and experiences unspeakable horrors in a fight to survive. When he's released on a whim, Qing Yuan must summon the inner strength to rebuild his life as a dunce-capped pariah and solve the mystery of what happened on the night #19 was murdered.
Written by Ruyan Meng, a political dissident of China residing the United States, The Morgue Keeper is based on real-life events. Meng's debut novel is both a Kafkaesque mystery and a survivor's testimony. Qing Yuan is a narrator readers will never forget, an ordinary man whose heroism is to simply insist on human kindness and dignity even in the most chaotic and catastrophic circumstances.
200 pages, Paperback
Published October 29, 2025
10 people are currently reading
270 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews
October 23, 2025
Qing Yuan is a main character that's all too easy to root for and his journey is skillfully written to make it almost impossible to look away from. I knew from early on that this book was going to wreck me and I was absolutely right.
I routinely read extreme horror and content that's meant to make the reader squirm, I'm not sure there's many, if any, books that made me squirm and feel sick quite like this one. Qing Yuan's restraint and constantly affirmed gentle nature contrasted with the cold brutality of his circumstances made all the more poignant by the fact that they were largely based in the lived reality of people who went through China's cultural revolution.
I'm no stranger to Scar Literature, but this one takes the cake for how tender and raw the scar tissue is.
I rarely ever feel like I'm mourning characters but here I felt like I was grieving Lao Jia right along with Qing Yuan and ouch!
Do approach this book with caution, it is unrelentingly traumatizing in a way that sinks its teeth into you.
Many thanks to Lelan Cheuk and Netgalley for prodiving me an eARC of this book,
I routinely read extreme horror and content that's meant to make the reader squirm, I'm not sure there's many, if any, books that made me squirm and feel sick quite like this one. Qing Yuan's restraint and constantly affirmed gentle nature contrasted with the cold brutality of his circumstances made all the more poignant by the fact that they were largely based in the lived reality of people who went through China's cultural revolution.
I'm no stranger to Scar Literature, but this one takes the cake for how tender and raw the scar tissue is.
I rarely ever feel like I'm mourning characters but here I felt like I was grieving Lao Jia right along with Qing Yuan and ouch!
Do approach this book with caution, it is unrelentingly traumatizing in a way that sinks its teeth into you.
Many thanks to Lelan Cheuk and Netgalley for prodiving me an eARC of this book,
August 21, 2025
Major thanks to 7.13 Books for sending me an ARC of this in exchange for my honest thoughts:
“𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴.”
“𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦?”
“𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦. 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘪𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵, 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳…𝘈 𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴. 𝘖𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘢 𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘢𝘬𝘦.”
Dark like soot. Drowned out by misery and pain. Hope is hard to find in a place like this.
Life under authoritarian rule. Communism has taken over. Little is left for survival.
An incredibly important book that mirrors the hopeless nature at which we try to work with our governments. Not much has changed in human behavior since the 60s, rights and rules and all.
Truth is distorted.
Dissent is silenced.
What does one do? Fight back?
Offers a tale about constraints and how to strive for hope in hopeless places. It’s less about the individual and more about what circumstance and community do to try and save one another.
“𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴.”
“𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦?”
“𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦. 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘪𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵, 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳…𝘈 𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴. 𝘖𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘢 𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘢𝘬𝘦.”
Dark like soot. Drowned out by misery and pain. Hope is hard to find in a place like this.
Life under authoritarian rule. Communism has taken over. Little is left for survival.
An incredibly important book that mirrors the hopeless nature at which we try to work with our governments. Not much has changed in human behavior since the 60s, rights and rules and all.
Truth is distorted.
Dissent is silenced.
What does one do? Fight back?
Offers a tale about constraints and how to strive for hope in hopeless places. It’s less about the individual and more about what circumstance and community do to try and save one another.
October 7, 2025
traumatizing but beautifully written in a similar vein as “a little life” yet based on true historical events, “the morgue keeper” tells the story of qing yuan, a morgue keeper living during china’s cultural revolution.
one day, a woman is brought into the morgue and qing yuan is unable to fathom the sight before him. the woman has been slaughtered in a way he struggles to believe humans can be capable of inflicting. after days of no one, no friends or family, coming forward to claim the body, qing yuan vows to uncover the truth.
the novel lures you in with this narrative and then turns it, along with the reader, over on their heads, exploring the true violence and horrors experienced under maoist china, and exploring the true depths of human savagery. a truly harrowing story that hypnotizes you with its gorgeous prose, even in its most visceral moments. a testament to meng’s writing, even in its depravity, the narrative still glimmers with tenderness and hope, the resolve of the human spirit. a novel that truly begs to be read within one sitting. un-put-down-able.
thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!
one day, a woman is brought into the morgue and qing yuan is unable to fathom the sight before him. the woman has been slaughtered in a way he struggles to believe humans can be capable of inflicting. after days of no one, no friends or family, coming forward to claim the body, qing yuan vows to uncover the truth.
the novel lures you in with this narrative and then turns it, along with the reader, over on their heads, exploring the true violence and horrors experienced under maoist china, and exploring the true depths of human savagery. a truly harrowing story that hypnotizes you with its gorgeous prose, even in its most visceral moments. a testament to meng’s writing, even in its depravity, the narrative still glimmers with tenderness and hope, the resolve of the human spirit. a novel that truly begs to be read within one sitting. un-put-down-able.
thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!
September 9, 2025
This book is strange in the most unsettling, quietly devastating way. It lulls you with its restraint, then blindsides you with violence so horrific, so humiliating, it feels like a gut punch.
Set during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, it follows Qing Yuan, a morgue keeper tasked with cleaning the bodies of the dead before they’re claimed or cremated. He’s seen countless corpses, but it’s #19—a grotesquely mutilated woman—that rattles him to his core and compels him to find out more about her. This quiet, unassuming man is soon pulled into a nightmare I wish didn’t exist, yet can’t pretend isn’t real: the brutal punishments inflicted on alleged counter-revolutionaries.
As bleak as it is, the novel pulses with threads of hope and perseverance. And if it doesn’t stir something in you, if it doesn’t leave a mark, however faint, are you even alive?
Set during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, it follows Qing Yuan, a morgue keeper tasked with cleaning the bodies of the dead before they’re claimed or cremated. He’s seen countless corpses, but it’s #19—a grotesquely mutilated woman—that rattles him to his core and compels him to find out more about her. This quiet, unassuming man is soon pulled into a nightmare I wish didn’t exist, yet can’t pretend isn’t real: the brutal punishments inflicted on alleged counter-revolutionaries.
As bleak as it is, the novel pulses with threads of hope and perseverance. And if it doesn’t stir something in you, if it doesn’t leave a mark, however faint, are you even alive?
December 6, 2025
The Morgue Keeper dropped me straight into a part of history I thought I understood, only to show me how little I really knew. The setting is fascinating and relentlessly claustrophobic, and Ruyan Meng’s writing has a way of pressing in from all sides. Qing Yuan, quietly doing his grim work in a Beijing morgue, is the kind of character you can root for almost instinctively. He’s gentle in a world that keeps trying to crush gentleness out of people. I learned while reading that this falls under something called “scar literature,” and discovering that felt like watching a new door open in my understanding of historical fiction.
At the same time, this book was an emotional tug-of-war for me. The prose is beautiful but incredibly dense, and the atmosphere, while powerful, often felt overwhelmingly stifling. There were moments when the narrative looped back on itself so many times that I found myself wishing it would just breathe a little. It’s traumatizing in stretches because of what Qing Yuan endures, yet the story sometimes becomes repetitive enough that the tension slips through the cracks.
What kept me reading was Qing Yuan himself and the constellation of interesting people around him. Even when the pacing dragged, I cared about this quiet morgue keeper trying to hold on to scraps of dignity in a world determined to take it from him. Still, his emotional distance made it hard to fully lock into his inner world. I admired him, but I often felt like I was observing him from behind glass rather than walking beside him. It made the reading experience feel more intellectual than immersive.
In the end, this was a solid three-star read for me: absorbing, original, and undeniably important, but not quite the knockout I hoped for. The story’s power is real, even if the delivery isn’t always smooth. I’d still recommend it to readers who value atmosphere and historical depth over quick pacing. And honestly, there are lines in here that hit so hard I had to stop and stare. One thought kept circling my mind while I read: sometimes survival itself feels like an act of rebellion. And sometimes a book doesn’t need perfection to leave a mark.
At the same time, this book was an emotional tug-of-war for me. The prose is beautiful but incredibly dense, and the atmosphere, while powerful, often felt overwhelmingly stifling. There were moments when the narrative looped back on itself so many times that I found myself wishing it would just breathe a little. It’s traumatizing in stretches because of what Qing Yuan endures, yet the story sometimes becomes repetitive enough that the tension slips through the cracks.
What kept me reading was Qing Yuan himself and the constellation of interesting people around him. Even when the pacing dragged, I cared about this quiet morgue keeper trying to hold on to scraps of dignity in a world determined to take it from him. Still, his emotional distance made it hard to fully lock into his inner world. I admired him, but I often felt like I was observing him from behind glass rather than walking beside him. It made the reading experience feel more intellectual than immersive.
In the end, this was a solid three-star read for me: absorbing, original, and undeniably important, but not quite the knockout I hoped for. The story’s power is real, even if the delivery isn’t always smooth. I’d still recommend it to readers who value atmosphere and historical depth over quick pacing. And honestly, there are lines in here that hit so hard I had to stop and stare. One thought kept circling my mind while I read: sometimes survival itself feels like an act of rebellion. And sometimes a book doesn’t need perfection to leave a mark.
July 16, 2025
If you read just one book in 2025, make it this one!
In The Morgue Keeper, author Ruyan Meng crafts a brilliant, timeless, and perspective-shifting cultural commentary. In precisely 200 pages, Meng holds a torch to the most severe flaws of mankind and then sets them aflame with hope. Thus, The Morgue Keeper is essential reading for anyone who feels hopeless, numb, or desensitized in the face of current affairs. The book’s length and language make this story accessible to even the most casual of readers.
The Morgue Keeper follows Qing Yuan, a man who has little to his name but compassion to spare, during China’s Cultural Revolution. In many ways, he exists on the fringes of society, sleeping through his neighbors’ waking hours in order to work the night shift cleaning corpses at the local hospital. Despite the dismal circumstances of his life and the grotesque realities he is exposed to daily, Qing Yuan has not been hardened by his physical and emotional toils. His story reminds us that these are precedented times we are living in.
I don’t often read historical fiction in its purest form, but I am so glad I picked this book up. As soon as I finished reading it, I wanted to turn back to page one and begin again. This book has every element of a modern classic. I sincerely hope it gets the recognition it deserves come publishing day.
Thank you to NetGalley and 7.13 Books for the arc in exchange for an honest review :)
In The Morgue Keeper, author Ruyan Meng crafts a brilliant, timeless, and perspective-shifting cultural commentary. In precisely 200 pages, Meng holds a torch to the most severe flaws of mankind and then sets them aflame with hope. Thus, The Morgue Keeper is essential reading for anyone who feels hopeless, numb, or desensitized in the face of current affairs. The book’s length and language make this story accessible to even the most casual of readers.
The Morgue Keeper follows Qing Yuan, a man who has little to his name but compassion to spare, during China’s Cultural Revolution. In many ways, he exists on the fringes of society, sleeping through his neighbors’ waking hours in order to work the night shift cleaning corpses at the local hospital. Despite the dismal circumstances of his life and the grotesque realities he is exposed to daily, Qing Yuan has not been hardened by his physical and emotional toils. His story reminds us that these are precedented times we are living in.
I don’t often read historical fiction in its purest form, but I am so glad I picked this book up. As soon as I finished reading it, I wanted to turn back to page one and begin again. This book has every element of a modern classic. I sincerely hope it gets the recognition it deserves come publishing day.
Thank you to NetGalley and 7.13 Books for the arc in exchange for an honest review :)
Read
August 22, 2025I judge books by their covers, so it was only logical that I picked this one up. I mean, just look at it—it really is great. The novel's setting also promised an interesting perspective, and it delivered for about a dozen pages. However, at a certain point, the novel and I parted ways. The author's nostalgia for the pre-revolutionary Chinese past is that point. The narrative, set at the height of the Cultural Revolution, gives the author plenty of ammunition to criticize Mao's China. However, just because the revolution failed many and later turned into what we have now does not mean that the time before the revolution was any better. In fact, I suspect it was much worse for a lot of people. The novel's absence of critical historical consciousness drew me up the wall. But then again, I am an unrepentant anarchist, so this counter-revolutionary propaganda was certainly destined to fail in my case.
August 9, 2025
Thanks to NetGalley and publisher Leland Cheuk for providing eARC.
I just finished Han King’s masterpiece Human Acts, so my headspace was acclimated to the grisly content, but this book still hit me very hard; I felt like I was there next to Qing Yuan struggling to preserve my humanity and sanity while slowly losing (almost) everything.
Some images that will stay with me: morgues as gateways to cosmos, mosquitoes in the coal room, the beautiful and evil Red Guard lieutenant, the wonderful Lio Jia singing “The Internationale” while dressing corpses in circus costumes and “entertaining the cosmos with his slapdash song”, hallucinating ghosts….
This book is especially timely being published in 2025 as the US becomes ever more authoritarian with each day. History shows us how this experiment works out: people turning on each other, the “struggle sessions” and “dazibao” (big character signs, see China in Ten Words for an excellent summary), reminiscent of the vitriol spewed on social media, cable news, and from Trump’s mouth.
As a cat mom, I was holding my breath rooting for little Xi’er.
Favorite quotes:
“He thought at times he could hear the earthworms crying”
I just finished Han King’s masterpiece Human Acts, so my headspace was acclimated to the grisly content, but this book still hit me very hard; I felt like I was there next to Qing Yuan struggling to preserve my humanity and sanity while slowly losing (almost) everything.
Some images that will stay with me: morgues as gateways to cosmos, mosquitoes in the coal room, the beautiful and evil Red Guard lieutenant, the wonderful Lio Jia singing “The Internationale” while dressing corpses in circus costumes and “entertaining the cosmos with his slapdash song”, hallucinating ghosts….
This book is especially timely being published in 2025 as the US becomes ever more authoritarian with each day. History shows us how this experiment works out: people turning on each other, the “struggle sessions” and “dazibao” (big character signs, see China in Ten Words for an excellent summary), reminiscent of the vitriol spewed on social media, cable news, and from Trump’s mouth.
As a cat mom, I was holding my breath rooting for little Xi’er.
Favorite quotes:
“He thought at times he could hear the earthworms crying”
July 16, 2025
The mob roared. Qing Yuan reminded himself that this behavior wasn't innate in people. It had been loosened by force - the authorities goaded the people every day, all day, through the inescapable blaring speakers, appealing to the worst of their natures, threatening their livelihoods and their lives themselves - to track down and harass any so-called traitor in their midst.
Not an easy read, but a gripping one of life under authoritarian rule.
October 14, 2025
The Morgue Keeper by Ruyan Meng is one of the most stunning debuts I’ve read in a long time. From the very first page, Meng’s prose is both beautifully peculiar and deeply unsettling which is a rare combination that feels essential to the story’s emotional and historical weight. The horror’s described, reflecting the trauma, grief, and resilience of those who lived through the Chinese Revolution were heavy but essential to the story, and I appreciated the educational aspects of this novel. Ruyan Meng’s writing painted a vivid setting, and showed us what humanity and empathy can look like in times like these. I often found myself pausing to absorb the gravity of what I’d just read, there were so many wonderful, eloquent quotes that I found myself reflecting on throughout my day after. The morgue setting becomes a metaphorical and literal space for reckoning, and the characters who are all flawed, but all very much human. This book is informative in the most visceral way. It doesn’t lecture; it immerses. I learned so much about the Revolution and its impact, not through dry facts, but through the lived experiences of those caught in its wake. Her ability to balance historical insight with lyrical storytelling is nothing short of extraordinary. I’m truly in awe of this debut. It’s the kind of book that changes you for the better, that makes you think differently about history, the horror’s, and the quiet ways people survive. This book is one I will recommend for a while! Thank you Ruyan Meng, 7.13 Books, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
July 26, 2025
THE MORGUE KEEPER REVIEW
RATING: 5
GENRE: Literary fiction, Historical fiction
The Morgue Keeper is a hauntingly beautiful book written by Ruyan Meng. Though the synopsis hints at a mystery that our protagonist tries to solve, this book is much more than that. It takes place in China during the Cultural Revolution where communism has begun to take over. The shift in how the country is run is apparent as we follow Qing Yuan through his daily live as a morgue keeper and someone who is considered a member of the proletariat.
I believe everyone should read this book - this is eye-opening on the commentary of the treatment of human kind. What makes us human and how do humans quickly turn on each other? The book delves into the mindset of a broken man who continues to live through many atrocities while attempting to maintain a shred of human empathy.
Though it is a relatively short read, the topic is heavy and at times, there are events that occur that can be considered grotesque. However, I highly urge everyone to take a chance and read this book. It was eye-opening and made me curious to spend some time researching into more details about those who were considered counterrevolutionary during this period.
Thank you 7.13 Books, Leland Chuck, and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book. For those who enjoyed the focus on the human experience during historical periods, such as Han Kang’s Human Acts, please pick up this book on 10/15/25.
RATING: 5
GENRE: Literary fiction, Historical fiction
The Morgue Keeper is a hauntingly beautiful book written by Ruyan Meng. Though the synopsis hints at a mystery that our protagonist tries to solve, this book is much more than that. It takes place in China during the Cultural Revolution where communism has begun to take over. The shift in how the country is run is apparent as we follow Qing Yuan through his daily live as a morgue keeper and someone who is considered a member of the proletariat.
I believe everyone should read this book - this is eye-opening on the commentary of the treatment of human kind. What makes us human and how do humans quickly turn on each other? The book delves into the mindset of a broken man who continues to live through many atrocities while attempting to maintain a shred of human empathy.
Though it is a relatively short read, the topic is heavy and at times, there are events that occur that can be considered grotesque. However, I highly urge everyone to take a chance and read this book. It was eye-opening and made me curious to spend some time researching into more details about those who were considered counterrevolutionary during this period.
Thank you 7.13 Books, Leland Chuck, and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book. For those who enjoyed the focus on the human experience during historical periods, such as Han Kang’s Human Acts, please pick up this book on 10/15/25.
August 7, 2025
It’s the 1960’s in China, Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution. Qing Yuan is a morgue keeper, spending the nights preparing the dead, cleaning them. Everyday for sixteen years, he routinely does his job when one day his monotoneous and silent life comes to an end when a dead woman lies before him, completely mutilated, utterly destroyed and then discarded at the morgue as if it was toxic waste.
This breaks something in him and starts a chain of events that shows the cruelty and violence during the Cultural Revolution. When despair filled the hearts of the civilization. When your dear neighbours could become your greatest threat. When the goverment which claimes to work in your best interest would strip you of your dignity and your very being.
In all his hardships Qing Yuan never gives in to cruelty. He is a silent hero clinging on to his humanity and sympathy towards others.
This was a hard read. Not because it is a bad book - quite the opposite - but because it covers heavy themes. It is a fictional book, but it depicts very real circumstances which took place during the Cultural Revolution in China.
You will not find happiness here, but you will still be rooting for Qing Yuan. He is not a hero and he shouldn’t be. He is just a man who, surrounded by misery and despondency, never let go of his compassion. Never broke and never hardened up, even after the torture and humiliation he endured.
This book was really well written and a unique perspective on the Cultural Revolution in China. It is really accessible, even for people who know little about this time. It definetely motivated me to learn more about it.
This breaks something in him and starts a chain of events that shows the cruelty and violence during the Cultural Revolution. When despair filled the hearts of the civilization. When your dear neighbours could become your greatest threat. When the goverment which claimes to work in your best interest would strip you of your dignity and your very being.
In all his hardships Qing Yuan never gives in to cruelty. He is a silent hero clinging on to his humanity and sympathy towards others.
“One evil man, he thought, a single evil man, had reduced him and his millions of fellows to creatures who existed to be crushed.”
This was a hard read. Not because it is a bad book - quite the opposite - but because it covers heavy themes. It is a fictional book, but it depicts very real circumstances which took place during the Cultural Revolution in China.
You will not find happiness here, but you will still be rooting for Qing Yuan. He is not a hero and he shouldn’t be. He is just a man who, surrounded by misery and despondency, never let go of his compassion. Never broke and never hardened up, even after the torture and humiliation he endured.
“How could he not pity the world itself, despite his conflicted misanthropy, his disgust at a frailty so profoundly embedded in human beings, as if without it we wouldn't be humans at all; how could he not lament that despite all its accomplishments humanity was still doomed to fall by its own devices?”
This book was really well written and a unique perspective on the Cultural Revolution in China. It is really accessible, even for people who know little about this time. It definetely motivated me to learn more about it.
October 17, 2025
3.5
A big thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC.
The Morgue Keeper is a strange, devastating, bitter-sweet (debut!) novel that will haunt you for a while and set up huge grounds for philosophical conversations.
This story is set in 1966, the early days of China's Cultural Revolution –the country under the rule of Mao Zedong–, communism having taken over. The blurb suggests more of a mystery, with the protagonist -a morgue keeper- trying to figure out the identity and circumstances of a nameless corpse sent to him, but I must say that that element fell quite short. This story is much more about following the protagonist through the events upending the country. The atmosphere the author creates is jarring, and the hopelessness in the people quite palpable.
This novel provides a stark commentary on human behavior, the treatment of one another and perseverance under dire circumstances. Covertly dealing with questions like ‘What does it mean to be human?’, this book is as deeply psychological and philosophical, as it is political. Propaganda is a huge theme here as well, as it obviously serves authoritarianism in essential ways. It truly succeeds in showcasing the extremes of China’s Cultural Revolution and the lived realities of communism in the country.
Marked at about 200 pages, it is a very accessible read that I recommend (if you're in the right headspace), especially if you’re unfamiliar with the historical events dealt with here and want to dip your toes in. Keep in mind that the book does feature some grotesque elements (some content warnings: death, suicide, violence/torture, animal abuse).
On a critical note I must say that I think the writing could be improved at points, as for instance I was put off in the beginning by hom many times characters (especially the main character) were named in the text. It does get better with time however, so just try to hang on if you feel bothered by it like i did.
I truly thank the author for having made me more aware of the historical events dealt with here, I definitely want to dive deeper and educate myself further on the topic. A very successful debut novel, and I can’t wait to see what the author has in store next. I genuinely hope that this book gets some recognition and doesn’t stay a hidden gem. Seeing an author not socialmedia-fy their books and stay unknown is something I respect.
I highly recommend this to all lovers of George Orwell’s 1984 (as I was reading, I couldn’t help but draw parallels to it), as well as Han Kang’s The Vegetarian for its weird elements (for lack of a better word).
A big thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC.
The Morgue Keeper is a strange, devastating, bitter-sweet (debut!) novel that will haunt you for a while and set up huge grounds for philosophical conversations.
This story is set in 1966, the early days of China's Cultural Revolution –the country under the rule of Mao Zedong–, communism having taken over. The blurb suggests more of a mystery, with the protagonist -a morgue keeper- trying to figure out the identity and circumstances of a nameless corpse sent to him, but I must say that that element fell quite short. This story is much more about following the protagonist through the events upending the country. The atmosphere the author creates is jarring, and the hopelessness in the people quite palpable.
This novel provides a stark commentary on human behavior, the treatment of one another and perseverance under dire circumstances. Covertly dealing with questions like ‘What does it mean to be human?’, this book is as deeply psychological and philosophical, as it is political. Propaganda is a huge theme here as well, as it obviously serves authoritarianism in essential ways. It truly succeeds in showcasing the extremes of China’s Cultural Revolution and the lived realities of communism in the country.
Marked at about 200 pages, it is a very accessible read that I recommend (if you're in the right headspace), especially if you’re unfamiliar with the historical events dealt with here and want to dip your toes in. Keep in mind that the book does feature some grotesque elements (some content warnings: death, suicide, violence/torture, animal abuse).
On a critical note I must say that I think the writing could be improved at points, as for instance I was put off in the beginning by hom many times characters (especially the main character) were named in the text. It does get better with time however, so just try to hang on if you feel bothered by it like i did.
I truly thank the author for having made me more aware of the historical events dealt with here, I definitely want to dive deeper and educate myself further on the topic. A very successful debut novel, and I can’t wait to see what the author has in store next. I genuinely hope that this book gets some recognition and doesn’t stay a hidden gem. Seeing an author not socialmedia-fy their books and stay unknown is something I respect.
I highly recommend this to all lovers of George Orwell’s 1984 (as I was reading, I couldn’t help but draw parallels to it), as well as Han Kang’s The Vegetarian for its weird elements (for lack of a better word).
September 25, 2025
thank you to netgalley and 7.13 books for a copy.
this book is not an easy read at all, but ruyan meng holds your hand through it and the early days of mao ze dong‘s cultural revolution with warm candlelight, a dash of hope, and flowy writing. this book made me want to look away because of how terrible and depressing everything is in qing yuan‘s life—from the endless corpses being rolled to the morgue to the people in his surrounding environment to the character himself—but i can‘t help but feel hope for everyone and everything so i stayed. also, with how short this book is (at 200 pages) it packed a disgustingly devastating punch and i felt so many emotions throughout my reading experience, mostly anger and plain sadness. if you were a fan of “human acts” by han kang, give this book a go. the historical weight of it is important as well.
the mystery mentioned in the blurb, however, takes a bit of a back seat in the story, so i would say that this book is more about life in the early years of the cultural revolution working a job that you were forced into with the mystery of #19 lodging itself into qing yuan‘s heart and not wanting to go away.
overall I really enjoyed this book. the plot kept me going—there was never a dull moment—the side characters were fleshed out and not just “there” for the sake of it (they all had well-written lives and backstories that explain why they are where they are today) and I appreciated the fact that with all the death he had to see, qing yuan never really lost his sense of humanity, rather the other way around.
this book is not an easy read at all, but ruyan meng holds your hand through it and the early days of mao ze dong‘s cultural revolution with warm candlelight, a dash of hope, and flowy writing. this book made me want to look away because of how terrible and depressing everything is in qing yuan‘s life—from the endless corpses being rolled to the morgue to the people in his surrounding environment to the character himself—but i can‘t help but feel hope for everyone and everything so i stayed. also, with how short this book is (at 200 pages) it packed a disgustingly devastating punch and i felt so many emotions throughout my reading experience, mostly anger and plain sadness. if you were a fan of “human acts” by han kang, give this book a go. the historical weight of it is important as well.
the mystery mentioned in the blurb, however, takes a bit of a back seat in the story, so i would say that this book is more about life in the early years of the cultural revolution working a job that you were forced into with the mystery of #19 lodging itself into qing yuan‘s heart and not wanting to go away.
overall I really enjoyed this book. the plot kept me going—there was never a dull moment—the side characters were fleshed out and not just “there” for the sake of it (they all had well-written lives and backstories that explain why they are where they are today) and I appreciated the fact that with all the death he had to see, qing yuan never really lost his sense of humanity, rather the other way around.
October 12, 2025
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC. Truly.
Qing Yuan is a morgue attendant during the 1960s in China. The environment is harsh, people are often suspicious of each other, and the loneliness is expansive. One day a Jane Doe is wheeled into the morgue, murdered and unrecognizable. Qing Yuan begins to spiral, feeling the injustice, and he decides he needs to find out more. But before that can happen, he is taken away and everything gets worse.
Ok that was a pretty crappy summary of this book. I can kind of understand people who either DNFed or gave it a low rating. In a sense, you’re kind of looking in on a man’s day to day life. Like reading a journal from third persons POV. There’s no super clear thesis or plot, at least on the surface. My interpretation is exactly that, the life of a man living under oppression from the communist party. Taking each incident by itself may not seem like much, but bringing it all together just creates such a heavy atmosphere.
The thing about books like these is that I absolutely believe and know that this was the life for many people during the early years of Mao’s communism. It’s not just fiction; it’s like a collection of things that probably happened to several different families. It’s gritty, it’s difficult, it’s harsh, and it’s full of despair, sadness, and pain. This definitely hit me different because of my own cultural connection.
I have never felt this type of weight with a book. I am devastated, but I am so glad I read it.
Pub date: Oct 15, 2025
Publisher: 7.13 Books
Qing Yuan is a morgue attendant during the 1960s in China. The environment is harsh, people are often suspicious of each other, and the loneliness is expansive. One day a Jane Doe is wheeled into the morgue, murdered and unrecognizable. Qing Yuan begins to spiral, feeling the injustice, and he decides he needs to find out more. But before that can happen, he is taken away and everything gets worse.
Ok that was a pretty crappy summary of this book. I can kind of understand people who either DNFed or gave it a low rating. In a sense, you’re kind of looking in on a man’s day to day life. Like reading a journal from third persons POV. There’s no super clear thesis or plot, at least on the surface. My interpretation is exactly that, the life of a man living under oppression from the communist party. Taking each incident by itself may not seem like much, but bringing it all together just creates such a heavy atmosphere.
The thing about books like these is that I absolutely believe and know that this was the life for many people during the early years of Mao’s communism. It’s not just fiction; it’s like a collection of things that probably happened to several different families. It’s gritty, it’s difficult, it’s harsh, and it’s full of despair, sadness, and pain. This definitely hit me different because of my own cultural connection.
I have never felt this type of weight with a book. I am devastated, but I am so glad I read it.
Pub date: Oct 15, 2025
Publisher: 7.13 Books
September 29, 2025
ARC review; thanks to NetGalley, Leland Cheuk, and 7.13 Books for the access to this ebook. Pub date: Oct 15, 2025.
My first thought when I finished this was: THIS IS A DEBUT???
Set during the early days of China's Cultural Revolution and based on real-life events, this novel follows Qing Yuan, a man who was conscripted to work as a morgue keeper and one day is accused of being a counter-revolutionary. This marks a complete decline in his life, which was already not his own. He's released after he's held prisoner and tortured for a few weeks, but his torture doesn't end there; the community continues carrying it out, making his life a living hell. And we don't only see him suffer, we see how everyone around him suffers.
This was really difficult to read. This reality that people lived in for so long was truly horrific. The way that a completely deranged and inhumane leader can infect society and make people act as heinously as possible and have that be socially acceptable because they're afraid they will become the victims is truly mind-blowing.
The way weaponized fear prompts people to act in the most horrible ways is thought-provoking, to say the least. It doesn't excuse their actions, but I imagine that when Mao Zedong's time in power was over, a lot of people had to reckon with being an active part in someone else's suffering. The amount of collective trauma that this time in history created must have been astounding. What an incredibly fucked up legacy to leave behind...
This made me think about so many things, and I felt for our main character (and a lot of the other characters we meet). I'm not sure I would've endured as much pain and trauma as he did, and it's truly admirable that he maintains his ability for kindness and empathy throughout this book. That his humanity survives, when we see so many people give into fear and sacrifice it, makes for an incredibly compelling read, and it's the greatest victory one could ever claim in a situation like this.
This was an amazing book. Often hopeless and bleak, but so rich in its themes and hard-hitting in less than 200 pages.
My first thought when I finished this was: THIS IS A DEBUT???
Set during the early days of China's Cultural Revolution and based on real-life events, this novel follows Qing Yuan, a man who was conscripted to work as a morgue keeper and one day is accused of being a counter-revolutionary. This marks a complete decline in his life, which was already not his own. He's released after he's held prisoner and tortured for a few weeks, but his torture doesn't end there; the community continues carrying it out, making his life a living hell. And we don't only see him suffer, we see how everyone around him suffers.
This was really difficult to read. This reality that people lived in for so long was truly horrific. The way that a completely deranged and inhumane leader can infect society and make people act as heinously as possible and have that be socially acceptable because they're afraid they will become the victims is truly mind-blowing.
The way weaponized fear prompts people to act in the most horrible ways is thought-provoking, to say the least. It doesn't excuse their actions, but I imagine that when Mao Zedong's time in power was over, a lot of people had to reckon with being an active part in someone else's suffering. The amount of collective trauma that this time in history created must have been astounding. What an incredibly fucked up legacy to leave behind...
This made me think about so many things, and I felt for our main character (and a lot of the other characters we meet). I'm not sure I would've endured as much pain and trauma as he did, and it's truly admirable that he maintains his ability for kindness and empathy throughout this book. That his humanity survives, when we see so many people give into fear and sacrifice it, makes for an incredibly compelling read, and it's the greatest victory one could ever claim in a situation like this.
This was an amazing book. Often hopeless and bleak, but so rich in its themes and hard-hitting in less than 200 pages.
July 13, 2025
I just finished this book in one sitting omg and I honestly don’t think I’ll forget it anytime soon.
Set in 1966 during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, the story follows Qing Yuan, a morgue keeper who spends his nights cleaning bodies in silence; until the arrival of one particularly brutal case, a woman known only as “#19.” From there, the book unravels into something much deeper than a murder mystery. It becomes a journey into truth, memory, and what it means to survive in a world that wants to erase both.
This book was very chilling but not just because of the violence, but because of how quiet that violence becomes and that was what got to me. Especially the way cruelty blends into the daily routine and how people turn away from it because they’re scared or helpless or just trying to survive. It’s heartbreaking.
What really stuck with me is how relevant the book feels right now. Even though it’s set in the 1960's, I couldn’t stop thinking about how much of what’s described is happening again, RIGHT NOW. The rise of authoritarianism, the distortion of truth, the silencing of dissent; it’s not just history, it’s current reality in so many places, including here in America. That’s what made it hit so hard. It felt less like reading fiction and more like staring into a warning we keep ignoring.
The protagonist Qing Yuan isn’t some revolutionary hero. He doesn’t fight back with fire. He just refuses to let the system take his humanity. He chooses kindness. He chooses to see people as people, even when the world tells him not to. And honestly, that quiet resistance hit me harder than any dramatic rebellion ever could.
This book was so painful to read but necessary. It’s a reminder of what happens when fear rules, when truth is buried, when we look away and stay silent. And it’s also a reminder that even in the darkest systems, human decency can survive. Sometimes barely, but it survives.
I’m still sitting with this one. If you’re looking for something beautifully written, emotionally devastating, and deeply relevant to our time, this absolutely worth reading.
Thank you 713Books for my personal copy.
Set in 1966 during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, the story follows Qing Yuan, a morgue keeper who spends his nights cleaning bodies in silence; until the arrival of one particularly brutal case, a woman known only as “#19.” From there, the book unravels into something much deeper than a murder mystery. It becomes a journey into truth, memory, and what it means to survive in a world that wants to erase both.
This book was very chilling but not just because of the violence, but because of how quiet that violence becomes and that was what got to me. Especially the way cruelty blends into the daily routine and how people turn away from it because they’re scared or helpless or just trying to survive. It’s heartbreaking.
What really stuck with me is how relevant the book feels right now. Even though it’s set in the 1960's, I couldn’t stop thinking about how much of what’s described is happening again, RIGHT NOW. The rise of authoritarianism, the distortion of truth, the silencing of dissent; it’s not just history, it’s current reality in so many places, including here in America. That’s what made it hit so hard. It felt less like reading fiction and more like staring into a warning we keep ignoring.
The protagonist Qing Yuan isn’t some revolutionary hero. He doesn’t fight back with fire. He just refuses to let the system take his humanity. He chooses kindness. He chooses to see people as people, even when the world tells him not to. And honestly, that quiet resistance hit me harder than any dramatic rebellion ever could.
This book was so painful to read but necessary. It’s a reminder of what happens when fear rules, when truth is buried, when we look away and stay silent. And it’s also a reminder that even in the darkest systems, human decency can survive. Sometimes barely, but it survives.
I’m still sitting with this one. If you’re looking for something beautifully written, emotionally devastating, and deeply relevant to our time, this absolutely worth reading.
Thank you 713Books for my personal copy.
October 6, 2025
4.5 stars
This is a story that is quietly disturbing until all at once it smacks you in the face where you can’t shy away from the violence any longer. I was immediately engaged and intrigued by our main character, Qing Yuan, as he works as the city’s morgue keeper.
Set in 1960s China after the rise of Mao Zedong, The Morgue Keeper explores grief, political violence, and the human cost of suffering under authoritarianism. It felt especially poignant in the second half where it showed how neighbor is pitted against neighbor, and the government using fear/shame to control everyone into blindly obeying the laws.
While it was a difficult read, it was well told and reminded me a lot of Human Acts by Han Kang! There were occasions where the writing felt stilted or telling over showing but overall I think it’s an important story and one that’ll stay with me. This was Meng’s debut novel so I’ll be following her to read whatever she comes out with next!
Thank you NetGalley and 7.13 books for the earc.
TW/CW: death, stillbirth, death of parent, murder, body horror, rape (brief mention), child death (brief mention), war, starvation, torture, suicide, imprisonment, cannibalism (brief mention), blood, suicide attempt (brief mention), animal cruelty (brief mentions), grief
This is a story that is quietly disturbing until all at once it smacks you in the face where you can’t shy away from the violence any longer. I was immediately engaged and intrigued by our main character, Qing Yuan, as he works as the city’s morgue keeper.
Set in 1960s China after the rise of Mao Zedong, The Morgue Keeper explores grief, political violence, and the human cost of suffering under authoritarianism. It felt especially poignant in the second half where it showed how neighbor is pitted against neighbor, and the government using fear/shame to control everyone into blindly obeying the laws.
While it was a difficult read, it was well told and reminded me a lot of Human Acts by Han Kang! There were occasions where the writing felt stilted or telling over showing but overall I think it’s an important story and one that’ll stay with me. This was Meng’s debut novel so I’ll be following her to read whatever she comes out with next!
Thank you NetGalley and 7.13 books for the earc.
TW/CW: death, stillbirth, death of parent, murder, body horror, rape (brief mention), child death (brief mention), war, starvation, torture, suicide, imprisonment, cannibalism (brief mention), blood, suicide attempt (brief mention), animal cruelty (brief mentions), grief
September 8, 2025
Upon requesting this book on NetGalley, I thought I was in for a mystery novel. Instead, I was rewarded with a devastatingly raw and unflinching commentary on what it means to be human in China during the Cultural Revolution, where communism has started to take over. Qing Yuan works as a morgue keeper, cleaning corpses and preparing them for the afterlife. Grisly as the job may be, it's a sacred ritual for the families. One day, Qing Yuan is presented with a mutilated body, #19. It is this body that takes him aback and Qing Yuan soon becomes obsessed with uncovering who the deceased was.
Soon Qing Yuan and his fellow medical workers are accused and detained as counter-revolutionaries by Chairman Mao's Red Guards. Locked in a coal room, he witnesses even further atrocities and is tortured himself, fighting to survive. Through extraordinary prose and poetic dialogue, Ruyan Meng delivers a clever, eye-opening commentary on how humans act and behave and survive through authoritarianism, using Qing Yuan's psyche to take us through human empathy, revolution, survival and hope.
Soon Qing Yuan and his fellow medical workers are accused and detained as counter-revolutionaries by Chairman Mao's Red Guards. Locked in a coal room, he witnesses even further atrocities and is tortured himself, fighting to survive. Through extraordinary prose and poetic dialogue, Ruyan Meng delivers a clever, eye-opening commentary on how humans act and behave and survive through authoritarianism, using Qing Yuan's psyche to take us through human empathy, revolution, survival and hope.
September 17, 2025
Wow, I literally have no words. This is such a stunning and remarkable debut novel. It was truly an amazing read. Once I started I couldn't put down the book. The story was so gripping, transportive, haunting, and poignant, especially in light of the current state of the U.S. So much of this can be reflected in the U.S. today, especially with our government/media weaponizing the public's fears of the other to create fanaticism, racism, and violence.
Qing Yuan's instinct to be kind/compassionate to others reminds us to find hope in times we might not think it's possible. His quiet strength and care really impacted me. I was crying towards the end of the book!
This is hands down one of my favorite reads of 2025, I won't be forgetting this story anytime soon. I will definitely be buying this once it comes out.
Thank you NetGalley and 7.13 Books for the arc.
Qing Yuan's instinct to be kind/compassionate to others reminds us to find hope in times we might not think it's possible. His quiet strength and care really impacted me. I was crying towards the end of the book!
This is hands down one of my favorite reads of 2025, I won't be forgetting this story anytime soon. I will definitely be buying this once it comes out.
Thank you NetGalley and 7.13 Books for the arc.
November 8, 2025
The Morgue Keeper is set during the Cultural Revolution in Beijing, China. The protagonist, Qing Yuan, is at the bottom rung of society as he was forced into the role of a morgue keeper due to his family’s transgressions. After over a decade of this punishing role, he lives in hopeless routine with no family and no hope as the world becomes more chaotic and politically tense outside of the mortuary walls. The corpses he tends to are simply numbers to him— until he comes across a mysterious body that starts to shifts his worldview.
The Morgue Keeper is dark, raw, and doesn’t shy away from the brutality of the cultural revolution. Qing Yuan is constantly surrounded by death, violence and shame. When he is accused of dissent, is forced to endure the brutality of struggle sessions and living as a social pariah. This is a powerful story of a political system and people who attempt to strip you of your dignity, and of others who seek to find an ounce of hope and humanity in spite of the catastrophic world.
Thank you Ruyan Meng for this incredibly poignant story, and to NetGalley for this ARC.
The Morgue Keeper is dark, raw, and doesn’t shy away from the brutality of the cultural revolution. Qing Yuan is constantly surrounded by death, violence and shame. When he is accused of dissent, is forced to endure the brutality of struggle sessions and living as a social pariah. This is a powerful story of a political system and people who attempt to strip you of your dignity, and of others who seek to find an ounce of hope and humanity in spite of the catastrophic world.
Thank you Ruyan Meng for this incredibly poignant story, and to NetGalley for this ARC.
August 1, 2025
I'm really glad NetGalley allowed me to read the ARC of this debut novel, thus discovering a new author and her voice, which I've found very appealing.
Based on real-life events, the story shows the political, social, human changes brought to China throughout Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution. Ryan Meng does so with raw honesty, delivered through a straightforward prose that doesn't hold back on the description of abuse, suffering, and emotional, psychological and physical distress typical of a regime. Yet, Meng's protagonist endures everything without losing his kindness towards others, and even tries to solve a political and social injustice despite the possible consequences. Having the protagonist being a morgue keeper serves this portrayal well: in a society that masks structural abuse by the government as the ultimate way of taking care of its people by enforcing the law and order, he cares for the dead and their dignity, of which they are deprived by the same government that's allegedly working for their best interest.
I'll absolutely recommend this book and hope this story will be read by many.
Based on real-life events, the story shows the political, social, human changes brought to China throughout Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution. Ryan Meng does so with raw honesty, delivered through a straightforward prose that doesn't hold back on the description of abuse, suffering, and emotional, psychological and physical distress typical of a regime. Yet, Meng's protagonist endures everything without losing his kindness towards others, and even tries to solve a political and social injustice despite the possible consequences. Having the protagonist being a morgue keeper serves this portrayal well: in a society that masks structural abuse by the government as the ultimate way of taking care of its people by enforcing the law and order, he cares for the dead and their dignity, of which they are deprived by the same government that's allegedly working for their best interest.
I'll absolutely recommend this book and hope this story will be read by many.
September 10, 2025
This book has many ways of getting under your skin, sending shivers down your spine, and marking you forever. It's full of horrendous torture, both mental and physical, and full of despair. But undeniably this is the best book I have read this year. 6 stars.
September 30, 2025
this book is a gut punch, a sickness, a headache. reading it wasn't pleasant, but the topics it has, and the main character make it all worth it in the end. it physically hurt to read what the characters were going through, and chapter 14 was the best, in my opinion. seeing so many people's POVs and circumstances was very memorable.
the last pages made me cry like a baby, but finishing on such a bittersweet note felt so right for our main character, who always tried to move ahead and see even the smallest bright moments in the cruel, cruel world.
thank you netgalley and 7.13 books for this arc.
the last pages made me cry like a baby, but finishing on such a bittersweet note felt so right for our main character, who always tried to move ahead and see even the smallest bright moments in the cruel, cruel world.
thank you netgalley and 7.13 books for this arc.
July 26, 2025
This is one of those books where I'm glad I read it because I learned about events I didn't know happened, but also the imagery in this book will never leave me and it was pretty difficult to read at times. Extremely sad and tragic but by the end you're somehow left with hope.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.
July 25, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book!
I breezed through it, utterly intrigued just as much by the mystery of #19 as the circumstances that Qing Yuan found himself within throughout the narrative. Don't let me saying I breezed through it take away how difficult of a read this turned out to be. I was intrigued by #19 as the narrator, but I was more intrigued by the circumstances, the events playing out, and it drove me into research.
Like most of this type of literature, it has both an ethereal and haunting narrative to it of a time and a place that most people are unfamiliar with. If you would have told me this book was written in the 1960s, I whole heartedly would have believed you. It had the old feel of writing, something that is not found in modern literature as it leaves much sort of up for interpretation. I will say though, that aspect of it did make certain parts a bit confusing (or possibly it had to do with the formatting of the earc, as I couldn't decipher when one scene ended and another began)
I breezed through it, utterly intrigued just as much by the mystery of #19 as the circumstances that Qing Yuan found himself within throughout the narrative. Don't let me saying I breezed through it take away how difficult of a read this turned out to be. I was intrigued by #19 as the narrator, but I was more intrigued by the circumstances, the events playing out, and it drove me into research.
Like most of this type of literature, it has both an ethereal and haunting narrative to it of a time and a place that most people are unfamiliar with. If you would have told me this book was written in the 1960s, I whole heartedly would have believed you. It had the old feel of writing, something that is not found in modern literature as it leaves much sort of up for interpretation. I will say though, that aspect of it did make certain parts a bit confusing (or possibly it had to do with the formatting of the earc, as I couldn't decipher when one scene ended and another began)
September 21, 2025
The Morgue Keeper is definitely unlike any other book I have read. From the first pages of the novel, Meng sets forth to create a clammy, unsettling, and oftentimes overwhelmingly stifling story as readers follow the main character, a morgue keeper named Qing Yuan. Despite my limited knowledge of China's Cultural Revolution, I found that Meng was able to provide a good balance of historical insight while maintaining the plot's momentum throughout the story.
Above all, I think this story felt like a very unique character study as readers become immersed in Qing Yuan's thoughts and feelings as the novel progresses. The solitary nature of this book was well-executed in my opinion, constructing a mundanity of violence that readers are subjected to without respite, revealing the brutality and aggression that underlie state control. However, I don't think this is a story about hope. I think it is a novel about finding what it takes to survive. When hope is seemingly gone and you have lost everything, how do you move forward? I think Meng provides a (sometimes gruesome) testimony to enduring humanity and where to find the will to live.
While I did really enjoy the themes and messages within The Morgue Keeper, my main critique was that the prose often felt very dense. There were multiple times that I had to reread sections, as I felt like I was losing the narrative within the writing. Although I will say that historical fiction is not my typical genre of choice, which may have impacted my ability to completely enjoy the writing style of the novel.
Despite this critique, I found the ending of the story to be quite impactful, wrapping up the conclusion of the novel in a meaningful and purposeful way. I think this book should be on everyone's radar, providing a raw and lasting account of human perseverance in the face of corrupt power, which is more than necessary in our current times.
Thank you to NetGalley and 7.13 Books for the arc.
Above all, I think this story felt like a very unique character study as readers become immersed in Qing Yuan's thoughts and feelings as the novel progresses. The solitary nature of this book was well-executed in my opinion, constructing a mundanity of violence that readers are subjected to without respite, revealing the brutality and aggression that underlie state control. However, I don't think this is a story about hope. I think it is a novel about finding what it takes to survive. When hope is seemingly gone and you have lost everything, how do you move forward? I think Meng provides a (sometimes gruesome) testimony to enduring humanity and where to find the will to live.
While I did really enjoy the themes and messages within The Morgue Keeper, my main critique was that the prose often felt very dense. There were multiple times that I had to reread sections, as I felt like I was losing the narrative within the writing. Although I will say that historical fiction is not my typical genre of choice, which may have impacted my ability to completely enjoy the writing style of the novel.
Despite this critique, I found the ending of the story to be quite impactful, wrapping up the conclusion of the novel in a meaningful and purposeful way. I think this book should be on everyone's radar, providing a raw and lasting account of human perseverance in the face of corrupt power, which is more than necessary in our current times.
Thank you to NetGalley and 7.13 Books for the arc.
November 20, 2025
i’m flabbergasted to meet such a book that leaves a bitter taste from the historical event itself. looking into the life of Qing Yuan, a morgue keeper who probably hoped for a normal & steady life: got a job, built a family, nothing surprising. however, dreams were thrown away when the Cultural Revolution landed in his city.
before things go south, Qing Yuan was quietly involved in investigating an unnamed woman who was brutally murdered, labelled as #19 temporarily. his mind boggles with this murder, but when the revolution strikes, the checking abruptly stops for a while. the world around him flips, and so does his entire life.
i was actually struck by the brutality and horrors conducted by the Red Guards under Maoist China. they don’t deal with criminals, but they prefer the innocents who happen to hail from the “unmatched” background. tortures & humiliation conducted for so many times, have stripped away humanity. this also proves how human savagery can be committed in the name of an ideology. it’s honestly shocking, and i was gasping because it’s too bleak, cruel, inhumane but unfortunately it’s all real. that’s what makes it worse when thinking about it.
even so, Meng manages to create a small glimpse of tenderness, of hope, resilience, and the human spirit that refuses to bend. another thing that makes this story unforgettable. Qing Yuan isn’t born to be a loud hero; he just happens to be able to resist and survive. tbh, it sounds like a miracle to read this.
to me, it stuns me, gorgeous when i see the hope core, the writings but feels terrifying when it twists and turns cruel. and yet, it shows that even in depravity, the narrative somehow still remains. honestly, it’s so powerful and hard to stop.
before things go south, Qing Yuan was quietly involved in investigating an unnamed woman who was brutally murdered, labelled as #19 temporarily. his mind boggles with this murder, but when the revolution strikes, the checking abruptly stops for a while. the world around him flips, and so does his entire life.
i was actually struck by the brutality and horrors conducted by the Red Guards under Maoist China. they don’t deal with criminals, but they prefer the innocents who happen to hail from the “unmatched” background. tortures & humiliation conducted for so many times, have stripped away humanity. this also proves how human savagery can be committed in the name of an ideology. it’s honestly shocking, and i was gasping because it’s too bleak, cruel, inhumane but unfortunately it’s all real. that’s what makes it worse when thinking about it.
even so, Meng manages to create a small glimpse of tenderness, of hope, resilience, and the human spirit that refuses to bend. another thing that makes this story unforgettable. Qing Yuan isn’t born to be a loud hero; he just happens to be able to resist and survive. tbh, it sounds like a miracle to read this.
to me, it stuns me, gorgeous when i see the hope core, the writings but feels terrifying when it twists and turns cruel. and yet, it shows that even in depravity, the narrative somehow still remains. honestly, it’s so powerful and hard to stop.
November 10, 2025
During the chaos of China’s Cultural Revolution, morgue keeper Qing Yuan dutifully tends to the dead until a nameless, brutalised woman known only as #19, appears on his slab. Her death consumes him, but before he can uncover the truth, Qing Yuan is accused of being a counter-revolutionary and imprisoned by the Red Guards, enduring unimaginable cruelty. When he’s unexpectedly released, he must rebuild his shattered life and confront the haunting mystery of #19’s murder.
This literary horror is both fascinating and deeply unsettling - reading almost like a dystopian novel, yet made all the more haunting by the fact that it’s rooted in real events set in 1966 during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. We follow Qing Yuan, a morgue keeper whose quiet existence unravels after the arrival of an unidentified woman, #19. Though the mystery surrounding her death drives the story, I saw it as it ultimately becoming a reflection on life after loss and Qing Yuan’s search for truth and light amid overwhelming darkness.
What begins as a murder mystery transforms into something far more harrowing, descending into the brutal realities of Maoist China, where survival itself becomes a desperate act. I found despite the bleakness, the characters are vividly drawn, each revealing different ways people either submit to or resist oppression. The inclusion of the kitten adds a surprisingly tender touch, a small reminder that love endures even when humanity seems lost and resistance can be achieved through a quiet rebellion.
A brilliantly written and haunting novel, reminiscent of The Handmaid’s Tale and 1984, exposing the devastating cost of authoritarian control. 5/5
Thank you to 7.13 Books and the author for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
This literary horror is both fascinating and deeply unsettling - reading almost like a dystopian novel, yet made all the more haunting by the fact that it’s rooted in real events set in 1966 during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. We follow Qing Yuan, a morgue keeper whose quiet existence unravels after the arrival of an unidentified woman, #19. Though the mystery surrounding her death drives the story, I saw it as it ultimately becoming a reflection on life after loss and Qing Yuan’s search for truth and light amid overwhelming darkness.
What begins as a murder mystery transforms into something far more harrowing, descending into the brutal realities of Maoist China, where survival itself becomes a desperate act. I found despite the bleakness, the characters are vividly drawn, each revealing different ways people either submit to or resist oppression. The inclusion of the kitten adds a surprisingly tender touch, a small reminder that love endures even when humanity seems lost and resistance can be achieved through a quiet rebellion.
A brilliantly written and haunting novel, reminiscent of The Handmaid’s Tale and 1984, exposing the devastating cost of authoritarian control. 5/5
Thank you to 7.13 Books and the author for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
October 5, 2025
The book was an incredible, yet harrowing, read which is very well-written. There were many passages where I felt rather sickened by what I was reading, yet I couldn’t tear myself away. The historical basis of this story makes it all the more emotive.
Qing Yuan was such a compelling main character. His persistence in treating those around him with grace, despite the circumstances and how other people were acting was inspiring and kept me thoroughly invested in following him. There were also, somehow, moments of joy that Qing Yuan is able to find when in the company of those he loves. As with the writing style, this doesn’t feel overdone wherein “good” characters can feel saccharine and false. And I suppose that is just the thing, it is not so much that Qing Yuan is “good” (although I do think he is), it is that he is principled and fair. These characteristics are made all the more stark due to the lack of them in many of the people around him, and the difficulty in keeping to principles in circumstances which are all but forcing you to turn against others and fend only for yourself.
While Qing Yuan is the driving force behind the book, but there are also numerous side characters who are well-rendered and you become easily invested in.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC. I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to read this book before its publication.
Qing Yuan was such a compelling main character. His persistence in treating those around him with grace, despite the circumstances and how other people were acting was inspiring and kept me thoroughly invested in following him. There were also, somehow, moments of joy that Qing Yuan is able to find when in the company of those he loves. As with the writing style, this doesn’t feel overdone wherein “good” characters can feel saccharine and false. And I suppose that is just the thing, it is not so much that Qing Yuan is “good” (although I do think he is), it is that he is principled and fair. These characteristics are made all the more stark due to the lack of them in many of the people around him, and the difficulty in keeping to principles in circumstances which are all but forcing you to turn against others and fend only for yourself.
While Qing Yuan is the driving force behind the book, but there are also numerous side characters who are well-rendered and you become easily invested in.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC. I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to read this book before its publication.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews