Name: The Funeral Cryer
ISBN: 9781838957575

Wenyan Lu

The Funeral Cryer long ago accepted the mundane realities of her life: avoided by fellow villagers because of the stigma attached to her job as a professional mourner and under-appreciated by The Husband, whose fecklessness has pushed the couple close to the brink of break-up. But just when things couldn't be bleaker, The Funeral Cryer takes a leap of faith - and in so doing things start to take a surprising turn for the better . . . Dark, moving and wry, The Funeral Cryer is both an illuminating depiction of a 'left behind' society - and proof that it's never too late to change your life.

The Funeral Cryer

It is nicely written, intense and sad book about a woman in her late 40s in China, who is a funeral cryer.

While the job is well respected and earns enough to support her and her husband, she is avoided by people in her village because of the connotations of her work.

The worldbuilding is really good, and you get sucked into the quiet life of living in a small village. Interestingly most people in the books don’t have name but just descriptions - the husband, the daughter, the butcher.

As a European women only a little younger than her, it’s odd to me how prudish and patriarchal her life is.

A big difference as well is that European culture is more individualistic, so to read about family structures there was interesting if sometimes somewhat baffling. At only 40 something, she feels old and unwanted. Her husband is emotionally abusive, although apparently in that setting, not being physically assaulted should be celebrated.

The amount of unwanted intimacy is also striking. If you’re married both partners should show enthoustic consent.

The book is slow paced and an interesting slice on Chinese small village life.

Suzanne

It is nicely written, intense and sad book about a woman in her late 40s in China, who is a funeral cryer.

While the job is well respected and earns enough to support her and her husband, she is avoided by people in her village because of the connotations of her work.

The worldbuilding is really good, and you get sucked into the quiet life of living in a small village. Interestingly most people in the books don’t have name but just descriptions - the husband, the daughter, the butcher.

As a European women only a little younger than her, it’s odd to me how prudish and patriarchal her life is.

A big difference as well is that European culture is more individualistic, so to read about family structures there was interesting if sometimes somewhat baffling. At only 40 something, she feels old and unwanted. Her husband is emotionally abusive, although apparently in that setting, not being physically assaulted should be celebrated.

The amount of unwanted intimacy is also striking. If you’re married both partners should show enthoustic consent.

The book is slow paced and an interesting slice on Chinese small village life.

The Funeral Cryer

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