A New Historical Fiction Author to Love and a MOOC !!
The Ghost Bride by Yangsze ChooMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
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| MOOC CLASS -- Plagues, Witches and War: |
I loved the book and the lecture (and the course), and I will definitely read more books by Ms. Choo. And if you are looking for a book for an avid reader on your Christmas list, based upon the response of the class, your reader will enjoy this book.
The Ghost Bride is different from many contemporary Asian historical books, but if you like Lisa See or Amy Tan, or Diana Gabaldon you'll enjoy this. I include Gabaldon, because although I agree that this is historical fiction, due to the historical element of ghost marriages and where that takes us, the story is also fantasy, like Outlander.
Did you know that in the Far West, along with the tradition of continuing to look after the dead in the afterlife, sometimes marriages are held between dead persons? I really didn't either, but after reading this well written page turner, I do now.
So I'm a fan, and I was even more wowed by the author's reading in the audio version. Here is a link to her blog about that, where she reads the first Chapter of the book. Check it out!
http://yschoo.com/2013/08/12/recordin...
Also, as to the class, besides the literary discussions and readings, here are the books that we read. You can click the books to learn more about them, but basically, in addition to The Ghost Bride, we traveled to Ancient Rome with Ovid, Salem and Current Day American with a "witch", New York in the early 20th Century with Typhoid Mary, and a Plage ridden English village with the characters created by the estimable Geraldine Brooks. I enjoyed all the books and interviews/ lectures that went with them. So remember, if you are interested you can see the class archives with the link above.
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| The Love Artist |
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| Year of Wonders |
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| Fever |
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| The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane |
Finally, note that Class Instructor Bruce Holsinger will soon have a new historical fiction published sometime in 2014. I'm looking forward to it.
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