Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Small Beer Press (2021), 288 pages
Description
Fantasy. Fiction. Science Fiction. Short Stories. Nineteen sparkling stories that weave between the lands of the living and the lands of the dead. Spirits Abroad is an expanded edition of Zen Cho's Crawford Award winning debut collection with nine added stories including Hugo Award winner "If at First You Don't Succeed, Try, Try Again." A Datin recalls her romance with an orang bunian. A teenage pontianak struggles to balance homework, bossy aunties, first love, and eating people. An earth spirit gets entangled in protracted negotiations with an annoying landlord, and Chang E spins off into outer space, the ultimate metaphor for the Chinese diaspora.
User reviews
LibraryThing member Euryale
I received a copy of this collection through the LT Early Reviewers program. I had read Zen Cho's novelette "The House of Aunts" back in 2015 and greatly enjoyed it, so I had high expectations for the rest of the stories here. And I think the collection mostly met my expectations.
Overall these are
All of the stories are well-written, even if I didn't love all of them. My favorites were "Monkey King, Faerie Queen," "The Terra-Cotta Bride," "The Mystery of the Suet Swain," and "The House of Aunts."
Overall these are
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solid short stories and novelettes, mostly set in Malaysia or Malaysian immigrant communities in the UK. All of the stories draw from Malaysian or Chinese folklore and traditions, which made for a refreshing break from the sometimes overused Western fantasy tropes. (Although Western fairies show up, too, in "One-Day Travelcard for Fairyland" and the delightful "Monkey King, Faerie Queen.") That said, all of the cultural references are integrated organically into the story, rather than being explicitly detailed for those unfamiliar with the concepts or language. I appreciated this approach (no clumsy infodumps!), but don't go into the book expecting to be spoon-fed information about pontianaks or the Ghost Festival.All of the stories are well-written, even if I didn't love all of them. My favorites were "Monkey King, Faerie Queen," "The Terra-Cotta Bride," "The Mystery of the Suet Swain," and "The House of Aunts."
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LibraryThing member PhoenixTerran
The original edition of Zen Cho's award-winning short story collection Spirits Abroad has long been on my wishlist, but it is somewhat difficult to come by in the United States. And so I was absolutely thrilled to discover that Small Beer Press would be releasing an expanded edition of Spirits
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Abroad and even more delighted to receive a review copy of the volume through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program. Spirits Abroad is a treasure trove of fantastical and queer stories, a diverse array of tales drawing inspiration from Malaysian folklore, British magic, and more. After reading the collection I immediately sought out everything else written by Zen Cho, the stories were consistently that good. I absolutely loved Spirits Abroad; the volume is easily one of the best releases that I read in 2021. Show Less
LibraryThing member amanda4242
I really liked the settings and imaginative use of folklore in these tales, and Cho is very good about letting readers pick up terms and ideas from context rather than resorting to info dumps.
I don't think the short story is really Cho's best format, though: I felt the stories tended to wander and
I don't think the short story is really Cho's best format, though: I felt the stories tended to wander and
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not always come to anything. I'm interested enough by Cho's style that do I want to check out her novels. Show Less
LibraryThing member renbedell
A fantastic collection of short stories revolving around family, spirits, and death. The stories are similar in tone and ideas, which is nice as you know where the stories are going to go. They are all of high quality and I enjoyed all of them. Some of the short stories are outstanding. They are
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not connected, except for a few. They all are based on a Chinese-Malaysian culture, therefore there may be some terms used that some people may not be familiar with. If anyone is interested in short stories, I highly recommend this book. Show Less
LibraryThing member Yuki-Onna
My first book by a Malaysian author. Wow. Simply wow. Short stories of various genres - literary fiction, fantasy, ghost story, romance; all steeped in Malaysian myths.
Grouped, very cleverly, in Here (various folk groups in Malaysia), There (Malaysians emigrated to Great Britain) and Elsewhere
Grouped, very cleverly, in Here (various folk groups in Malaysia), There (Malaysians emigrated to Great Britain) and Elsewhere
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(spirit world), a compendium of very strong stories and a glimpse into strange foreign worlds. Show Less
Awards
LA Times Book Prize (Finalist — 2021)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2021-08-10
Physical description
8.5 inches
ISBN
1618731866 / 9781618731869