Ghost Town

Kevin Chen2022
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FROM THE BEST-SELLING AUTHOR & WINNER OF THE TAIWAN LITERATURE AWARD Chen Tien-Hong, the only and desperately yearned for son of a traditional Taiwanese family with seven daughters, runs away from the oppression of his village to Berlin in the hope of finding acceptance as a young gay man. The novel begins a decade later, when Chen has just been released from prison for killing his boyfriend. He is about to return to his family's village, a poor and desolate place. With his parents gone, his sisters married, mad, or dead, there is nothing left for him there. As the story unfurls, we learn what tore this family apart and, more importantly, the truth behind the murder of Chen's boyfriend. Told in a myriad of voices, both living and dead, and moving through time with deceptive ease, Ghost Town weaves a mesmerizing web of family secrets and countryside superstitions, the search for identity and clash of cultures.

Reviews

Photo of Ani Velasquez
Ani VelasquezJun 20, 2023
4 stars
Bold
Complex
Contemplative
Clever
Thought provoking
Controversial
Intense
Original
Unpredictable
Photo of Mitto D
Mitto DJan 31, 2025
5 stars
Addictive
Deep
Heartbreaking
Insightful
Meaningful
Surprising
Unpredictable

Highlights