I first read The Ghost Bride by Yangszee Choo a few years ago, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Recently I stumbled upon the fact that it was a series on Netflix. I gladly binged it.
The story takes place in Malacca, Malaysia in 1893. Li Lan is a young woman whose family has fallen on hard economic times. Her father announces that he’s received an offer from a wealthy associate for Li Lan to become a Ghost Bride for their recently deceased son, Tiang Ching: to enter into a symbolic marriage to ensure companionship in the afterlife. He’s reluctant to allow his daughter to spend her entire life as a widow, and Li Lan hadn’t put much thought into her future. That is until the ghost of Tian Ching starts stalking her.
He tries to convince her that the marriage would be a good thing, but Li Lan knows it won’t be. She tries everything she can to keep him at bay, even if she’s not quite sure that she really believes in ghosts. Along the way she meets a mysterious stranger named Er Lang who isn’t quite human. Li Lan can’t be sure whether to trust him or not, but she can’t help being drawn to him.
Li Lan’s soul gets separated from her body, and she finds herself wandering the Plains of the Dead. Er Lang needs her to find out who is causing problems there. When things get bad in the afterlife, it can overflow into the living world and cause disaster. Li Lan knows that Tian Ching has been bribing border officials to haunt her and that his family might be behind the problems. Li Lan and Er Lang search for the evidence to stop them.
The book’s world is so immersive. The images in both the worlds of the living and especially of the dead are so well conjured. On the Plains of the Dead, everything seems a little bit off, all composed of burned offerings from family. The food, the furniture, and animals all have a creepy artificial appearance. Even the servants are mindless puppets. It’s a very easy world to sink into.
I thought the Netflix adaptation was good for the most part. It was originally in Chinese and is dubbed in English. I probably would have preferred subtitles and hearing the tone of the dialogue even if I don’t understand it.
As usual, some things are cut or changed. Li Lan thinks that the Tian Ching in the book is a “buffoon,” but the series makes him a swaggering rock star type. It makes him more interesting especially since he becomes the main villain in the story and not a pawn in others’ schemes. Er Lang’s more acerbic edges are toned down and he and Li Lan get into some classic rom-com arguments.
The best part of the series is the costumes. They’re beautiful. They didn’t stick exactly to period, as some appear more modern than the historical setting but it works.
As usual in adaptations, I missed some of the things in the books. Li Lan’s time on the Plains of the Dead and the ghosts that she meets there could be a series in themselves.
Well, maybe that’s season two!
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