Linghun by Ai Jiang

Book Review by Violet James McMaster (she/they)

To say horror is having a bit of a comeback in publishing would be a smidge of an understatement. In the last five years there has been a healthily growing community of legendary authors joined by incredible new talent, pushing the boundaries of the genre to expansive places.

Amongst horror’s contemporary voices is Ai Jiang (@ai.jian.g), who released her debut novella, Linghun, earlier this April. The young writer hails from Canada, where she immigrated to from Fujian, and has several accolades, including a Nebula award nomination for her short story, “Give Me English.”

Told from alternating perspectives, Linghun is a contemplative horror based in a housing community called HOME (Homecoming Of Missing Entities), where families can inhabit in hopes of resurrecting their deceased loved ones. Newly moved in is Wenqi, whose parents seek renewed contact with her brother who passed when she was young. Amongst her complex emotions of grief, guilt, and even jealousy, Wenqi forms a friendship with Liam, a “lingerer” whose family—and other families—inhabit the front yards of HOME residents, ready to move in as soon as a previous family vacates their home.

Also present is the voice of “Mrs”, a mysterious old woman who is said to have lived in the development even before the land was seized for HOME. She presents a separate story and context, leading readers deeper into the myriad ways the past can inform the present and future. At the heart of this story is not only conversations in how grief can morph and distort us, but also pointed critiques of class, the current housing crisis, and what it means to inhabit/hoard space and land.

Jiang approaches each of these characters with a breathtaking grace, reminding me so much of the characters of Hiromi Goto’s (@hiromigotowrites) breathtaking novel, A Chorus of Mushrooms, which told its own magical tale of generational trauma and grief. From the three focal voices of Linghun, readers find similar themes, as well as the effects of systemic manipulation of folks who would give anything—and I do mean ANYTHING—to glimpse the merest shadow of their lost loved ones.

What unfolds is a heartbreaking, terrifying, yet meditative and hopeful horror tale in the vein of Shirley Jackson’s darkest work. However, Jiang takes these themes and horrors even further, setting the stage for a new generation of haunted house stories. Her work is the beginning of a complete restructuring of how readers define what it means, and how it feels, to be haunted.

A positively stunning masterpiece, Linghun will grasp you tight, only to gently let you drift away at its ethereal closing. You can purchase the novella through all book retailers, or directly from the Dark Matter website.

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Violet is a librarian, writer, and bookslinger at The Lahaska Bookshop in Peddler’s Village. Located in Bucks County, PA, her focus is primarily horror, comics/graphic novels, and queer/trans literature. You can find more of her reviews/book musings on Instagram @violetjamesmcmaster, and Twitter @vithelibrarian.