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Ghost Forest: A Novel
How do you grieve, if your family doesn't talk about feelings?
This is the question the unnamed protagonist of Ghost Forest considers after her father dies. One of the many Hong Kong "astronaut" fathers, he stays there to work, while the rest of the family immigrated to Canada before the 1997 Handover, when the British returned sovereignty over Hong Kong to China.
As she revisits memories of her father through the years, she struggles with unresolved questions and misunderstandings. Turning to her mother and grandmother for answers, she discovers her own life refracted brightly in theirs.
Buoyant, heartbreaking, and unexpectedly funny, Ghost Forest is a slim novel that envelops the reader in joy and sorrow. Fung writes with a poetic and haunting voice, layering detail and abstraction, weaving memory and oral history to paint a moving portrait of a Chinese-Canadian astronaut family.
This is the question the unnamed protagonist of Ghost Forest considers after her father dies. One of the many Hong Kong "astronaut" fathers, he stays there to work, while the rest of the family immigrated to Canada before the 1997 Handover, when the British returned sovereignty over Hong Kong to China.
As she revisits memories of her father through the years, she struggles with unresolved questions and misunderstandings. Turning to her mother and grandmother for answers, she discovers her own life refracted brightly in theirs.
Buoyant, heartbreaking, and unexpectedly funny, Ghost Forest is a slim novel that envelops the reader in joy and sorrow. Fung writes with a poetic and haunting voice, layering detail and abstraction, weaving memory and oral history to paint a moving portrait of a Chinese-Canadian astronaut family.
273 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 13, 2021
139 people are currently reading
21696 people want to read
About the author
Pik-Shuen Fung
2 books127 followersPik-Shuen Fung is a Canadian writer and artist living in New York City. She is the recipient of fellowships and residencies from the Asian American Writers’ Workshop, Kundiman, the Millay Colony, and Storyknife. Ghost Forest is her first book.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,052 reviews
February 18, 2024
i love ghosts and i love short books and i love literary fiction and i love family dramas and i love this book.
this is endlessly interesting (in its depiction of mourning, of medicine, of food, of family). it's endlessly emotional (i had a lump in my throat for more than half of this book). it's original (that structure!) and readable (that writing!) and i knew i was going to love it and i did.
it's funny to use the word unforgettable moments after finishing something, but i had a feeling.
a month later and i'm still feeling it!
bottom line: picking up random books at the library is the world's greatest hobby.
4.5 or maybe 5
this is endlessly interesting (in its depiction of mourning, of medicine, of food, of family). it's endlessly emotional (i had a lump in my throat for more than half of this book). it's original (that structure!) and readable (that writing!) and i knew i was going to love it and i did.
it's funny to use the word unforgettable moments after finishing something, but i had a feeling.
a month later and i'm still feeling it!
bottom line: picking up random books at the library is the world's greatest hobby.
4.5 or maybe 5
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May 31, 2025
‘Did I ever get to know who he was becoming?’
Family is a difficult knot of people and emotions to untangle and comprehend, even more so when cultural differences enter the mix. Ghost Forest, the debut novel by Pik-Shuen Fung, seems gossamer thin told through sparse vignettes of the narrator and her families lives. The overall patchwork of stories, however, forms a rather gorgeous portrait of a Chinese ‘astronaut family’— a term invented by the Hong Kong mass media. A family with an astronaut father—flying here, flying there.’—as they attempt to process traumas, distance, cultural hurdles and other hardships. I learned a lot of cultural aspects and found much of the difficult dynamic between the sisters raised in Canada and their Chinese parents to be quite interesting. Central to the book is the strained relationship between the narrator and her father, one they both attempt to reconcile when it is nearly too late as the father is dying in the hospital. This quiet novel examines grief and the difficulties in processing it within a family that keeps their feelings hidden beneath the surface, being a rather gorgeous novel with a touching sentimentality though is perhaps a bit too weightless to ever fully land a lasting emotional impact on the reader.
‘With a single line, you can paint the ocean.’
During college, the narrator studies the traditional Chinese style of xieyi painting, a sparse style that Pik-Sheun marvelously recreates in her prose in the novel.
There is much attention to the white space on the page, keeping paragraphs short and spaced apart as well as only depicting fragments of life to capture their singular beauty. There is a weightless quality that is breathtaking, though occasionally it feels like the emotions slip away too fast as the sparse nature novel leads you to cover a lot of territory rather quickly.
The cultural rifts between the narrator and her father were quite interesting to learn about. The father worries the daughter is too Western in her actions and emotions, particularly when the narrator decides to tell her father she loves him. He, and her mother, are both taken aback and made uncomfortable by overt displays of emotions, which is a recurring theme about the difficulty in processing grief when nobody talks about it. When asking the older generation about traumas and why they never dealt with them the answer is always ‘we didn’t have time to think about those things back then.’ Generational differences towards mental health and emotional expression are very much an interesting aspect of the novel and she conveys familial complexity with the most delicate of touches.
Pik-Sheun does an excellent job of showing other ways cultural rifts occur between first-generation immigrants and their families back home, but also takes a look at how difficult immigration is on young children. ‘When I was in preschool in Hong Kong, I always got in trouble for being too loud,’ she tells us, ‘all I remember is that, after moving to Canada, every report card said I was too quiet.’ So much of this story is heartbreaking, but it is so very human and love fills the cracks.
‘Sometimes I think about what I would do if my dad were alive today.’
Ultimately, this is a novel about living life and loving while you have the time. We watch a daughter realize it is too late to truly connect with her father, but their attempts at being at peace during the final days are truly moving as they watch how it changes each other.
Being true to who you are also turns into being true to who your family is in the novel. After her father’s death, she questions her living relatives about their lives to try and better know and understand them. These first person accounts of their lives through war, marriage, childbirth and more are scattered throughout the novel, making this a family story more than simply a story of the narrator’s life.
This is a quick and sparse read, but it is highly beautiful nonetheless. The examinations of cultural and generational divides are rather enlightening as it probes at the ways families can feel pushed apart from each other simply through their separate social norms. This seems to be a work of autofiction and I'd be curious as to how much is autobiographical and how much is fiction, particualrly with the tenderness and relatablility in which she details grief. This is a moving portrait of a family processing grief and a call to give love and live for yourself because life is fleeting. A promising debut.
3.5/5
Family is a difficult knot of people and emotions to untangle and comprehend, even more so when cultural differences enter the mix. Ghost Forest, the debut novel by Pik-Shuen Fung, seems gossamer thin told through sparse vignettes of the narrator and her families lives. The overall patchwork of stories, however, forms a rather gorgeous portrait of a Chinese ‘astronaut family’— a term invented by the Hong Kong mass media. A family with an astronaut father—flying here, flying there.’—as they attempt to process traumas, distance, cultural hurdles and other hardships. I learned a lot of cultural aspects and found much of the difficult dynamic between the sisters raised in Canada and their Chinese parents to be quite interesting. Central to the book is the strained relationship between the narrator and her father, one they both attempt to reconcile when it is nearly too late as the father is dying in the hospital. This quiet novel examines grief and the difficulties in processing it within a family that keeps their feelings hidden beneath the surface, being a rather gorgeous novel with a touching sentimentality though is perhaps a bit too weightless to ever fully land a lasting emotional impact on the reader.
‘With a single line, you can paint the ocean.’
During college, the narrator studies the traditional Chinese style of xieyi painting, a sparse style that Pik-Sheun marvelously recreates in her prose in the novel.
‘They left large areas of the paper blank because they felt empty space was as important as form, that absence was as important as presence. So what did they seek to capture instead? The artist’s spirit.’
There is much attention to the white space on the page, keeping paragraphs short and spaced apart as well as only depicting fragments of life to capture their singular beauty. There is a weightless quality that is breathtaking, though occasionally it feels like the emotions slip away too fast as the sparse nature novel leads you to cover a lot of territory rather quickly.
The cultural rifts between the narrator and her father were quite interesting to learn about. The father worries the daughter is too Western in her actions and emotions, particularly when the narrator decides to tell her father she loves him. He, and her mother, are both taken aback and made uncomfortable by overt displays of emotions, which is a recurring theme about the difficulty in processing grief when nobody talks about it. When asking the older generation about traumas and why they never dealt with them the answer is always ‘we didn’t have time to think about those things back then.’ Generational differences towards mental health and emotional expression are very much an interesting aspect of the novel and she conveys familial complexity with the most delicate of touches.
Pik-Sheun does an excellent job of showing other ways cultural rifts occur between first-generation immigrants and their families back home, but also takes a look at how difficult immigration is on young children. ‘When I was in preschool in Hong Kong, I always got in trouble for being too loud,’ she tells us, ‘all I remember is that, after moving to Canada, every report card said I was too quiet.’ So much of this story is heartbreaking, but it is so very human and love fills the cracks.
‘Sometimes I think about what I would do if my dad were alive today.’
Ultimately, this is a novel about living life and loving while you have the time. We watch a daughter realize it is too late to truly connect with her father, but their attempts at being at peace during the final days are truly moving as they watch how it changes each other.
’I learned that it is important to be true to yourself. Many people do whatever society tells them to do. They’ve lost themselves. I grew up with Confucian values, and they are limiting. I focused only on work and making a living. But I’m old now. Remember not to lose who you are.’
Being true to who you are also turns into being true to who your family is in the novel. After her father’s death, she questions her living relatives about their lives to try and better know and understand them. These first person accounts of their lives through war, marriage, childbirth and more are scattered throughout the novel, making this a family story more than simply a story of the narrator’s life.
This is a quick and sparse read, but it is highly beautiful nonetheless. The examinations of cultural and generational divides are rather enlightening as it probes at the ways families can feel pushed apart from each other simply through their separate social norms. This seems to be a work of autofiction and I'd be curious as to how much is autobiographical and how much is fiction, particualrly with the tenderness and relatablility in which she details grief. This is a moving portrait of a family processing grief and a call to give love and live for yourself because life is fleeting. A promising debut.
3.5/5
September 28, 2022
A deeply intimate tribute to grief, love, sacrifice, and forgiveness. The power of this novel is that it truly delves into the essence of family; so often we do not truly know our parents, grandparents, guardians, until it is too late; we love, but it is so easy to take the little things, the unspoken things, for granted. We remember the fights, the disappointments, but when we miss someone, all of that falls away to reveal the beauty and strength of the tenderness, the happiness. The prose, in its delicate simplicity, has a resonating echo. I don’t think I will ever forget how this book made me feel.
October 11, 2021
s.penkevich wrote a lovely review—
If I could just copy and paste his review and put it here—-🥳
I would do that —
but since that’s not going to happen —
I suggest you read his beautiful review. 🙏
Thank you s.penkevich for opening my eyes to this very lovely quiet beautiful author - and her immigration tales to Canada.
I started the *Audiobook* a couple of weeks ago.
read by the author: Pik-Shuen Fung.
Pik’s pleasant sounding sweet - tender voice — with quiet emotions expressed … was as lovely and lovable as any reader can be!
I’m glad I returned to this book— (I got interrupted with new release books),
I listen to many overdrive library audiobooks… some
I finish — some I don’t. The libraries snatched them back before I finishing sometimes.
I enjoyed my time spent with this memoir very much!!!
Themes include family, (separation anxiety), grief, loss, Hong Kong Asian immigration realities in Canada — (trying to hold on and honor their own culture in another country)…
Beautiful and engaging as can be.
Happy Canadian Thanksgiving Day!!! 🇨🇦 🍁
If I could just copy and paste his review and put it here—-🥳
I would do that —
but since that’s not going to happen —
I suggest you read his beautiful review. 🙏
Thank you s.penkevich for opening my eyes to this very lovely quiet beautiful author - and her immigration tales to Canada.
I started the *Audiobook* a couple of weeks ago.
read by the author: Pik-Shuen Fung.
Pik’s pleasant sounding sweet - tender voice — with quiet emotions expressed … was as lovely and lovable as any reader can be!
I’m glad I returned to this book— (I got interrupted with new release books),
I listen to many overdrive library audiobooks… some
I finish — some I don’t. The libraries snatched them back before I finishing sometimes.
I enjoyed my time spent with this memoir very much!!!
Themes include family, (separation anxiety), grief, loss, Hong Kong Asian immigration realities in Canada — (trying to hold on and honor their own culture in another country)…
Beautiful and engaging as can be.
Happy Canadian Thanksgiving Day!!! 🇨🇦 🍁
September 15, 2023
Found this one a bit dry, unfortunately. In Ghost Forest Pik-Shuen Fung delves into some deep themes related to family, loss, and navigating grief. There were a few passages in the novel that touched me, like when the protagonist recognizes her previously one-dimensional view of her father and tries to make amends, even if only internally. However, the prose in this novel didn’t excite me or for the most part even move me – it all felt a bit safe and bland on the page. Weike Wang’s
Joan is Okay
comes to mind as a book with similarish themes centering a Chinese American woman, with a bit more punch and voice, as well as Elaine Hsieh Chou’s
Disorientation
, about a Taiwanese American woman though with a way more satirical and bombastic slant than this novel.
May 27, 2022
❀ blog ❀ thestorygraph ❀ letterboxd ❀ tumblr ❀ ko-fi ❀
2 ½ stars (rounded up as this is a debut)
Ghost Forest is yet another novel that I decided to read because of coverlove. While by no means a bad read I found myself bored, underwhelmed, and even slightly vexed by this novel’s contents. As unnamed narrators have become de rigueur in contemporary literature, in Ghost Forest we never learn the name of our narrator and protagonist. The novel is divided into extremely short ‘sections/chapters’, often lasting one page or two, that expand on a particular moment or conversation our mc has had. She’s a young(ish) Chinese Canadian woman who, in reaction to her father’s illness, recounts a few episodes from her childhood and teenage years. Growing up in Canada she saw her father (who worked and lived in Hong Kong) only once or twice a year. Her ‘western’ upbringing creates a chasm between her and her father, and both parties seem to feel frustrated by their inability to communicate.
My biggest issue with this novel was the way the narrative is presented. These ‘chapters’, which often amounted to very short paragraphs, did not suffice in giving us a clear glimpse into the narrator’s life, or her past, or any of the relationships she has. The narrative mentions that she has a sister but she plays no role within her story, which seemed weird to me since they supposedly grew up together (unless i missed something?). Her mother and grandmother seemed like far more interesting people but she only dedicated only a few ‘chapters’ to them (which only scratched the surface of who they were or what they lived through). The narrative was very much all flash, no substance. The author tries to use a certain type of ‘sharp’ language and or throws at us some ‘striking’ imagery but all the while I was aware of how contrived and clichéd it all was. These chapters are far too vague and ephemeral to be effective snapshots into this woman’s life.
I also disliked the self-pitying way in which she presents certain memories of her father, memories that are clearly meant to make her ‘sympathetic’ and him ‘cold’ but I, for one, did not care for it. The narrative doesn’t clearly convey the (supposed) grief this narrator feels nor is its depictions of illness and death as haunting as say the ones in Crying in H Mart or Aftershocks.
Pretty cover aside, Ghost Forest struck me as a fairly insubstantial piece of writing. Apart from one or two chapters here and there I just did not ‘vibe’ with this novel. The language struck me as affected, the story, if we can call it such, emotionally manipulative, and the characters...blurry presences that barely registered. That’s all I have to say about Ghost Forest. If you are interested in reading it I recommend you check out some more positive reviews.
2 ½ stars (rounded up as this is a debut)
“Lik bat chung sam—do you know what it means? It means, what your heart wants but cannot do. It is an uncomfortable feeling. It’s the feeling of wanting to do something and not being able to.”
Ghost Forest is yet another novel that I decided to read because of coverlove. While by no means a bad read I found myself bored, underwhelmed, and even slightly vexed by this novel’s contents. As unnamed narrators have become de rigueur in contemporary literature, in Ghost Forest we never learn the name of our narrator and protagonist. The novel is divided into extremely short ‘sections/chapters’, often lasting one page or two, that expand on a particular moment or conversation our mc has had. She’s a young(ish) Chinese Canadian woman who, in reaction to her father’s illness, recounts a few episodes from her childhood and teenage years. Growing up in Canada she saw her father (who worked and lived in Hong Kong) only once or twice a year. Her ‘western’ upbringing creates a chasm between her and her father, and both parties seem to feel frustrated by their inability to communicate.
My biggest issue with this novel was the way the narrative is presented. These ‘chapters’, which often amounted to very short paragraphs, did not suffice in giving us a clear glimpse into the narrator’s life, or her past, or any of the relationships she has. The narrative mentions that she has a sister but she plays no role within her story, which seemed weird to me since they supposedly grew up together (unless i missed something?). Her mother and grandmother seemed like far more interesting people but she only dedicated only a few ‘chapters’ to them (which only scratched the surface of who they were or what they lived through). The narrative was very much all flash, no substance. The author tries to use a certain type of ‘sharp’ language and or throws at us some ‘striking’ imagery but all the while I was aware of how contrived and clichéd it all was. These chapters are far too vague and ephemeral to be effective snapshots into this woman’s life.
I also disliked the self-pitying way in which she presents certain memories of her father, memories that are clearly meant to make her ‘sympathetic’ and him ‘cold’ but I, for one, did not care for it. The narrative doesn’t clearly convey the (supposed) grief this narrator feels nor is its depictions of illness and death as haunting as say the ones in Crying in H Mart or Aftershocks.
Pretty cover aside, Ghost Forest struck me as a fairly insubstantial piece of writing. Apart from one or two chapters here and there I just did not ‘vibe’ with this novel. The language struck me as affected, the story, if we can call it such, emotionally manipulative, and the characters...blurry presences that barely registered. That’s all I have to say about Ghost Forest. If you are interested in reading it I recommend you check out some more positive reviews.
June 26, 2021
This book just appeared in front of me - I knew nothing about it, opened up the cover and I could not put it down. Lots of lessons packed in to this sparsely written novel - snippets of a family - regret, love, understanding and forgiveness - read in one sitting. So enjoyable and a full review to come.
February 10, 2021
One section in Pik-Shuen Fung's book describes how Chinese ink painting artists would leave areas of the paper blank "because they felt empty space was as important as form, that absence was as important as presence." I felt like that artistic ethos applied to this beautiful debut novel as a whole.
A portrait of grief emerges from a collection of small vignettes and perspectives from the narrator, her mother, and grandmother. The quiet stories mourning her father and musing on complicated inter-family dynamics tugged at my heart. It was a potent but sparing novel, with short phrases set across expanses of blank page and small chapters separating the narration into bite sized packages. This form shaped the story in the reader's mind as we reflected on the spaces in the narration. The absence of her father was felt through the language itself and underscored the narrator's grief in a way much more effective than any words she might have been able to write down. The lack of words itself caught my empathy - how many times do we think there are just no words to express how we feel?
Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group/One World for providing me the ARC through NetGalley.
A portrait of grief emerges from a collection of small vignettes and perspectives from the narrator, her mother, and grandmother. The quiet stories mourning her father and musing on complicated inter-family dynamics tugged at my heart. It was a potent but sparing novel, with short phrases set across expanses of blank page and small chapters separating the narration into bite sized packages. This form shaped the story in the reader's mind as we reflected on the spaces in the narration. The absence of her father was felt through the language itself and underscored the narrator's grief in a way much more effective than any words she might have been able to write down. The lack of words itself caught my empathy - how many times do we think there are just no words to express how we feel?
Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group/One World for providing me the ARC through NetGalley.
February 29, 2024
when hannah montana said “you get the best of both worlds”, this is the novel she was talking about. to me. and the both worlds were the world of literary fiction and the world of asian literature.
ghost forest made my heart ache and soar and my eyes tear up—and it made a younger version of myself feel so very seen.
ghost forest made my heart ache and soar and my eyes tear up—and it made a younger version of myself feel so very seen.
August 12, 2021
I cried for the beauty, tradition, guilt, regret, longing and love.
Read
June 16, 2023Reviewed in the June 2023 edition of Quick Lit on Modern Mrs Darcy:
I was eager to read this after Amy Jo Burns recommended it in WSIRN Ep 383: Juicy, big-hearted family novels. Amy Jo called it "the perfect book to read in an afternoon" and she was so right—that's exactly what I did! (She also advised that I read a physical copy, and I'm glad I did that as well: the use of white space is so interesting and we could talk about it at book club for hours!) This is the story of a Chinese "astronaut family," so called because the father is often absent, leaving his family behind as he flies off to a distant country for work. For much of the story the adult daughter is seated at her ailing father's bedside, longing to hear him say "I love you" while he's still alive to do so. As the story goes back and forth in time, we learn all about the family history that has led to this precise moment in time. Fung's portrayal of the intricate family dynamics is touching and tender, and I especially appreciated the touch of humor that graces these pages.
I was eager to read this after Amy Jo Burns recommended it in WSIRN Ep 383: Juicy, big-hearted family novels. Amy Jo called it "the perfect book to read in an afternoon" and she was so right—that's exactly what I did! (She also advised that I read a physical copy, and I'm glad I did that as well: the use of white space is so interesting and we could talk about it at book club for hours!) This is the story of a Chinese "astronaut family," so called because the father is often absent, leaving his family behind as he flies off to a distant country for work. For much of the story the adult daughter is seated at her ailing father's bedside, longing to hear him say "I love you" while he's still alive to do so. As the story goes back and forth in time, we learn all about the family history that has led to this precise moment in time. Fung's portrayal of the intricate family dynamics is touching and tender, and I especially appreciated the touch of humor that graces these pages.
February 20, 2024
“In your love, at last I found my home.”
🖼🎍🌺
This was devastatingly beautiful. Having lost my own father last year, this reopened a lot of my wounds, leading me to a much needed catharsis. A more full review is to come after I've sat with this for a while.
🖼🎍🌺
This was devastatingly beautiful. Having lost my own father last year, this reopened a lot of my wounds, leading me to a much needed catharsis. A more full review is to come after I've sat with this for a while.
April 10, 2021
Have you ever felt like a book was written just for you and almost completely matched your experiences? That's exactly how I felt about Ghost Forest by Pik-Shuen Fung.
A beautiful and heartbreaking story on the immigrant experience and the loss of a father. Pik-Shuen Fung writes in short essays/vignettes that effectively portray the raw emotion of her story on the page.
Can't wait for this book to be published so I can get a print copy for my bookcase!
Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this mesmerizing story in advance!
A beautiful and heartbreaking story on the immigrant experience and the loss of a father. Pik-Shuen Fung writes in short essays/vignettes that effectively portray the raw emotion of her story on the page.
Can't wait for this book to be published so I can get a print copy for my bookcase!
Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this mesmerizing story in advance!
August 2, 2025
A quick read, but one that is not meant to be rushed through. Written entirely in short paragraphs and brief passages, it’s more like snapshots of a story. Some chapters are only one page long, for example. It's fiction that reads like nonfiction, and I found it very believable. But also because it's so short and kind of abstract, I feel like it's tough to review in detail.
The narrator discusses her family and her family's history, including memories both nostalgic and painful. Her father is a very cold, insensitive person for much of her life. I liked the grandmother quite a bit, though. The story is ultimately about the strength to choose grace and kindness in difficult times, like when the end of life is approaching for someone who wasn’t always kind to you. It’s about appreciating what you have, when you still have it. I didn’t know going into this that a fairly large portion of the book was about the sickness/hospitalization/decline and death of a family member. It gets pretty dark and incredibly sad. I think it’s important to be aware of these things.
I couldn't avoid noticing parallels in my own life. Mostly involving the complicated relationship between the main character and her father. Though I will say that my own experience has not been as redeeming as hers.
Overall, I'm glad that I read it. There were some amazing descriptions of food, also. (I want to try DongPo Pork SO BADLY.)
3.5 stars.
I got this book from my local library.
Biggest TW: Racism, Chronic Illness
The narrator discusses her family and her family's history, including memories both nostalgic and painful. Her father is a very cold, insensitive person for much of her life. I liked the grandmother quite a bit, though. The story is ultimately about the strength to choose grace and kindness in difficult times, like when the end of life is approaching for someone who wasn’t always kind to you. It’s about appreciating what you have, when you still have it. I didn’t know going into this that a fairly large portion of the book was about the sickness/hospitalization/decline and death of a family member. It gets pretty dark and incredibly sad. I think it’s important to be aware of these things.
I couldn't avoid noticing parallels in my own life. Mostly involving the complicated relationship between the main character and her father. Though I will say that my own experience has not been as redeeming as hers.
Overall, I'm glad that I read it. There were some amazing descriptions of food, also. (I want to try DongPo Pork SO BADLY.)
3.5 stars.
I got this book from my local library.
Biggest TW: Racism, Chronic Illness
May 9, 2025
Ghost Forest is a book that's hard to rate for me. I didn't enjoy this, yet I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to certain readers where the content might resonate with them more. I can appreciate that taking such a stylistic risk in a debut can be polarizing, so kudos for that. Fung models the narrative after traditional ink paintings, using negative space intentionally and deliberately to construct the final image. It leads to a story expressed in fragments, with the actual book experimenting with form and presentation.
I tried reading this on audio and physically, and despite the heartfelt passages, I didn't feel a meaningful connection with the narrator. This teeters the line between fiction and memoir (I hesitate to label it auto-fiction because it's not clear this mirrors Fung's upbringing), but the storytelling approach withholds a lot of context. I felt this lacked a foundation to underpin the vignettes - there's an oscillating focus on various aspects of Chinese culture, including cuisine, herbal medicine, language, history, and symbols - but they come and go. Of course, all of these holistically define culture and the narrator's upbringing, but in such a sparse novel, I think focusing on some key aspects would have improved the cohesion.
Not a bad novel by any means, but a book that failed to capture my interest despite leveraging many of my favourite themes and tropes. Beautiful cover, though!
I tried reading this on audio and physically, and despite the heartfelt passages, I didn't feel a meaningful connection with the narrator. This teeters the line between fiction and memoir (I hesitate to label it auto-fiction because it's not clear this mirrors Fung's upbringing), but the storytelling approach withholds a lot of context. I felt this lacked a foundation to underpin the vignettes - there's an oscillating focus on various aspects of Chinese culture, including cuisine, herbal medicine, language, history, and symbols - but they come and go. Of course, all of these holistically define culture and the narrator's upbringing, but in such a sparse novel, I think focusing on some key aspects would have improved the cohesion.
Not a bad novel by any means, but a book that failed to capture my interest despite leveraging many of my favourite themes and tropes. Beautiful cover, though!
August 6, 2022
New All Time Fav! ❤️
"How do you grieve, if your family doesn't talk about feelings?"
What makes a family? Is it love or duties?
How do you love your father, when he is nothing but disappointed in who you have become?
Ghost Forest is in search of the answers to these questions. We see the nuances of dysfunctionality in a first-generation Chinese-Canadian immigrant and her father who stayed behind.
Unnamed to us and unfamiliar to each other, the father and his daughter navigate a life of differences, expectations, and regrets.
"You're getting a lot of western education, my dad said. We're Chinese. It's not important for us to express our feelings."
"You'd look better if your face were thinner, he said. And if you were two inches taller."
"Why did I remember only his disappointment in me? Did I ever get to know who he was becoming? Did I try?"
Through a writing so quite and lyrical, Ghost Forest becomes a chronicle of retrospection and remorse where I saw parts of myself reflected in a flawed father-daughter dynamics.
"How do you grieve, if your family doesn't talk about feelings?"
What makes a family? Is it love or duties?
How do you love your father, when he is nothing but disappointed in who you have become?
Ghost Forest is in search of the answers to these questions. We see the nuances of dysfunctionality in a first-generation Chinese-Canadian immigrant and her father who stayed behind.
Unnamed to us and unfamiliar to each other, the father and his daughter navigate a life of differences, expectations, and regrets.
"You're getting a lot of western education, my dad said. We're Chinese. It's not important for us to express our feelings."
"You'd look better if your face were thinner, he said. And if you were two inches taller."
"Why did I remember only his disappointment in me? Did I ever get to know who he was becoming? Did I try?"
Through a writing so quite and lyrical, Ghost Forest becomes a chronicle of retrospection and remorse where I saw parts of myself reflected in a flawed father-daughter dynamics.
February 6, 2022
This book is deceptive. It has the shortest chapters and is written in plain, simple language. I completed this within 2.5 hours.
It is poignant and very affecting. The emotional tone has layers of textures. The nuanced approach is very subtle but as a whole reflects intricate plotting and a depth of expression and reflection.
I'm simply blown away at this reading experience. I'm awed by the simplicity which tells a profound story of love, the will to survive, and of course, the tough choices parents must make for the family (this is especially true of immigrant parents).
Wow just wow. The reverberations from reading this book continue as I reflect on the stories and various elements that color this title. I enthusiastically recommend this book!
P.S. This is the review that compelled me to read this book. https://ricepapermagazine.ca/2022/02/...
P.P.S. This book is still rolling around in my head. The book starts with the concept of being a "good" child. The word is tantamount to being "obedient." This springboards the arc of the story till its conclusion. I spent the last 20% teary-eyed. It's a powerful resolution.
It is poignant and very affecting. The emotional tone has layers of textures. The nuanced approach is very subtle but as a whole reflects intricate plotting and a depth of expression and reflection.
I'm simply blown away at this reading experience. I'm awed by the simplicity which tells a profound story of love, the will to survive, and of course, the tough choices parents must make for the family (this is especially true of immigrant parents).
Wow just wow. The reverberations from reading this book continue as I reflect on the stories and various elements that color this title. I enthusiastically recommend this book!
P.S. This is the review that compelled me to read this book. https://ricepapermagazine.ca/2022/02/...
P.P.S. This book is still rolling around in my head. The book starts with the concept of being a "good" child. The word is tantamount to being "obedient." This springboards the arc of the story till its conclusion. I spent the last 20% teary-eyed. It's a powerful resolution.
Read
April 20, 2021This is quiet and immersive story, following a young woman's grief in the loss of her astronaut father (astronaut being a description of parents who work in Hong Kong, while their family lives elsewhere). The story is poetic and reflective. Like many stories of grief, it's soft and quiet, sparing few words, allowing the reader to feel the grief of the main character in the empty spaces of the story. I thought this story was quite reflective of the experience of many Hong Kong immigrants in Vancouver, many who also have astronaut fathers, making a living to support their families abroad. The setting of the story resonated with me as a local Chinese Vancouverite, who also had an astronaut father living abroad for the few years I lived in Vancouver when I was younger. The places that they visit in Vancouver/Richmond are places that I recognize and have been to growing up, so the story felt extra special in that way.
Thank you to NetGalley for letting me read and review this book.
Thank you to NetGalley for letting me read and review this book.
May 4, 2022
Ghost Forest is a slim little tome and consequently doesn't leave the biggest impression on the reader, but I did find the time I spent with it to be worthwhile. In a style reminiscent of Kim Thúy, Pik-Shuen Fung writes lyrically about her experience as a Hong Kong immigrant growing up in Canada.
January 13, 2022
This is a beautiful story—a bit of a cautionary tale, I would say—and so full of love, understanding, and forgiveness.
A few thoughts:
Our female narrator (there are no names in this story) reminisces about growing up with an astronaut father who was virtually a stranger to his daughters. ("Astronaut father" was a term for dads who stayed in Hong Kong to work while the rest of the family immigrated to Canada.) They visit him perhaps once each year. He expects her to address him with respect. He is highly critical of her and she begins to resent him. Feelings just aren't discussed in Chinese-Canadian families, though, so she keeps it inside, and avoids him when she can.
Years later, she's become a wife, herself, and starts to understand just how much her parents mean to her, and how many more questions she wishes she'd asked them about their life, where and how they met, and so on.
Father becomes ill and is hospitalized. While there, she asks if she can read to him from The Pocket Thich Nhat Hanh, translating it to Chinese for him. She stumbles through and worries she disappointed him with her terrible Chinese. But a few days later he tells her he learned something new from what she'd read:
Not long after, he was dead.
This wonderful debut is the first of hopefully more to come from Canadian author Pik-Shuen Fung.
5 "Be true to yourself" stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A few thoughts:
Our female narrator (there are no names in this story) reminisces about growing up with an astronaut father who was virtually a stranger to his daughters. ("Astronaut father" was a term for dads who stayed in Hong Kong to work while the rest of the family immigrated to Canada.) They visit him perhaps once each year. He expects her to address him with respect. He is highly critical of her and she begins to resent him. Feelings just aren't discussed in Chinese-Canadian families, though, so she keeps it inside, and avoids him when she can.
Years later, she's become a wife, herself, and starts to understand just how much her parents mean to her, and how many more questions she wishes she'd asked them about their life, where and how they met, and so on.
Father becomes ill and is hospitalized. While there, she asks if she can read to him from The Pocket Thich Nhat Hanh, translating it to Chinese for him. She stumbles through and worries she disappointed him with her terrible Chinese. But a few days later he tells her he learned something new from what she'd read:
I learned that it is important to be true to yourself. Many people do whatever society tells them to do. They’ve lost themselves. I grew up with Confucian values, and they are limiting. I focused only on work and making a living. But I’m old now. Remember not to lose who you are.So daughter isn't the only one with regrets. With abundant time to think, father reflects back over his life and the mistakes he made. One day—as he lay dying—for the first time ever, he turns to his wife and daughters, and says to each of them in turn, "I love you".
Not long after, he was dead.
This wonderful debut is the first of hopefully more to come from Canadian author Pik-Shuen Fung.
5 "Be true to yourself" stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
March 26, 2022
I'm frankly baffled at all the fawning reviews...and even that such a book got published! The story of a Hong Kong "astronaut family"~divided by continents because of the 1997 Handover, could have been interesting, and a few of the foods, customs (such as at funerals & weddings) were worthwhile. The rest felt like an extremely self-involved and self-pitying story about her relationship with her father and family, with the addition of a contrived literary approach that apparently captivated her supporters (agent, then publisher, many reviewers, people she thanked) as unique and innovative. But it just did not do it for me. I understand that its sparseness was meant to mirror the author's style of art~the simple lines of Chinese ink painting. As well as, perhaps, the terse lack of emotional fluency and communication in her family. But her words within that structure~oh my gosh. I hate to be so negative but honestly it was like reading the words of a 5 year old who also was utterly bereft of poetic imagination.
June 20, 2024
“Why did I remember only his disappointment in me? Did I ever get to know who he was becoming? Did I try?”
March 11, 2022
Thoughts to come!
Loved this one.
Loved this one.
February 21, 2024
Literally beautiful... 💛🖤
August 16, 2021
All my reviews live at https://deedispeaking.com/reads/.
TL;DR REVIEW:
Ghost Forest is a beautiful, reflective little book on the immigrant experience and the loss of a parent. I thought it was really beautiful.
For you if: You like novels told in vignettes.
FULL REVIEW:
First, thank you One World for the review copy of this book on NetGalley. One World’s books never let me down, and Ghost Forest was no exception.
Sparsely written and told entirely in vignettes, Ghost Forest almost doesn’t even feel like a novel. It’s written as a reflection on the narrator’s experiences as the daughter of an “astronaut father” (one who lived and worked in Hong Kong while his family emigrated elsewhere) and his later death by cancer. It’s also an homage to the women in her family — most particularly, her mother and grandmother, whose stories she became truly curious about only after her father died.
This is a book that would be easy to inhale but begs to be savored. I did read it in one sitting, but I had to force myself to read the words slowly and give each vignette a moment to sit with me before moving to the next one. It’s worth it — if you rush through this book, you’ll get little from it. Its power is in the quiet moments, the in-between unsaid things.
I was particularly struck by the portion of the novel where she describes her father’s funeral. She and her sister experienced their family’s funeral traditions for the first time, trying so desperately to get them right while also processing the loss they’d just endured. It is hard to hold both of those things in your mind at the same time.
There is no plot here, but it doesn’t need it. If you’re a fan of literary fiction or memoir, pick this one up. What an impressive debut.
CONTENT WARNINGS:
Cancer; Death of a parent
TL;DR REVIEW:
Ghost Forest is a beautiful, reflective little book on the immigrant experience and the loss of a parent. I thought it was really beautiful.
For you if: You like novels told in vignettes.
FULL REVIEW:
First, thank you One World for the review copy of this book on NetGalley. One World’s books never let me down, and Ghost Forest was no exception.
Sparsely written and told entirely in vignettes, Ghost Forest almost doesn’t even feel like a novel. It’s written as a reflection on the narrator’s experiences as the daughter of an “astronaut father” (one who lived and worked in Hong Kong while his family emigrated elsewhere) and his later death by cancer. It’s also an homage to the women in her family — most particularly, her mother and grandmother, whose stories she became truly curious about only after her father died.
This is a book that would be easy to inhale but begs to be savored. I did read it in one sitting, but I had to force myself to read the words slowly and give each vignette a moment to sit with me before moving to the next one. It’s worth it — if you rush through this book, you’ll get little from it. Its power is in the quiet moments, the in-between unsaid things.
I was particularly struck by the portion of the novel where she describes her father’s funeral. She and her sister experienced their family’s funeral traditions for the first time, trying so desperately to get them right while also processing the loss they’d just endured. It is hard to hold both of those things in your mind at the same time.
There is no plot here, but it doesn’t need it. If you’re a fan of literary fiction or memoir, pick this one up. What an impressive debut.
CONTENT WARNINGS:
Cancer; Death of a parent
July 22, 2021
I read this in one sitting. The narrator's parents are from Hong Kong. Her father is referred to as an astronaut father because he stays in Hong Kong to work and her mother, sister and grandmother immigrate to the Canada. She only sees her dad a couple times a year and their relationship isn't close. The chapters are super short, almost like a snapshot of her life as she is westernized by living in Vancouver but trying to maintain her heritage. I found the writing interesting and even though it was choppy it just worked.
I would like to thank Netgallley and Random House for providing me with a copy of this little gem.
I would like to thank Netgallley and Random House for providing me with a copy of this little gem.
July 31, 2021
Ghost Forest is quietly beautiful. The story dealing with the sickness and eventual death of her father was mostly sad and melancholy, but not depressing. I listened to the audiobook narrated by the author. I feel like it was more intimate hearing the author's voice and emotion or lack of emotion. She has a very gentle voice and sounds like she is always under control which fits with her story. Listening to the audiobook felt like such a personal experience so I feel like I know the author-soft spoken, thoughtful, and always phlegmatic and calm. There is the soul of a poet underneath the steady exterior.
August 10, 2021
This quiet novel is all about the things not said, the feelings not expressed, in a story of a family that emigrates from Hong Kong prior to the Handover in 1997. The main character's father remains in Hong Kong, travelling back and forth to Vancouver for visits. The unnamed narrator's younger sister, her mother, and grandmother live together in Vancouver, and the main character discovers that she has changed sufficiently from her childhood self that her father does not always understand who she is, and why she needs things expressed between them.
The writing is spare, deceptively simple, and deeply emotional.
The writing is spare, deceptively simple, and deeply emotional.
May 2, 2024
The unnamed protagonist of Ghost Forest ponders life and grief after her father dies. She grew up with an "astronaut" dad. The family migrated from Hong Kong to Canada, but the dad stayed in Hong Kong to work and support his family. The family never talks about emotions or feelings, so the protagonist finds coping with grief challenging. I found this beautifully written novel about a woman struggling with grief and trying to connect with her family as they all find their way through ordinary circumstances.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
December 25, 2021
GHOST FOREST by Pik-Shuen Fung is an interesting novel! It’s told from the point of view of an unnamed protagonist who immigrated from Hong Kong to Canada and deals with her father’s death. I liked the writing structure as each short chapter is a tiny vignette of her life. The story seemed very autobiographical and if this wasn’t categorized as a novel I would think this book was a memoir. I loved the Vancouver setting as that’s my city. Great quick read! I’d be interested to read more from this author in the future.
Thank you to One World Books via NetGalley for my advance review copy!
Thank you to One World Books via NetGalley for my advance review copy!
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