Friday, May 13, 2011

The Hungry Ghosts - Anne Berry









The Hungry Ghosts - Anne Berry (2009)

I started off really liking this book, and I certainly think that Anne Berry is a talented first time author.  It is the story of Alice, who is growing up in Hong Kong in the 1960s with her family, who don't seem to understand or even like her.   Surrounding her is the ghost of a girl murdered on the island, and eventually by other creatures that come into her life. 

It seemed to come unstuck a bit in the middle, but rallied around at the end when I began to like it again.  We can all understand and sympathise for the teenage girl whose mother seems threatened by her and seems jealous of the protection offered to her by her father.  Neglected by her mother, Alice runs away, but does try and retain contact by writing letters, which her mother destroys and tells the family that she has not heard from her daughter.  Eventually Alice returns to find out what has happened to her parents, finding it all changed.

3/5 - it kept me up in the evenings reading about this dysfunctional family.

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