Word Out 2013

The book A Banquet for Hungry Ghosts was more or less a collection of short folktales about murders which if you are into that then you would really like this novel. I had no idea what I was getting myself into because quite frankly I had no idea what to expect from a novel with such a unique title and blurb. Although I have to admit I would never in a thousand years think about picking this book up on my own I found it to be strangely entertaining. I enjoyed how each story was completely different; the era and characters where all diverse and that made me intrigued on what the next story would be. I was also pleasantly surprised with the quality of the writing because I felt satisfied with the ending and plot of each story which I was not expecting because each story is pretty short. I found it quite interesting how there was a recipe right after each story because if you were interesting in making the dumplings that were featured in the story for example, you would be able to. I have to admit some of the stories really did spook me out but it is nothing that I can imagine anyone being unable to handle. However, one thing that I particularly did not like about this novel was the illustrations because those really did give me nightmares. Overall I feel as if I would not recommend this novel to anyone but if you happen to stumble upon it then I suggest giving it a try.