1 of 1 copy available
Debut novelist Wenyan Lu brings us this witty yet profound story about one woman's midlife reawakening in contemporary rural China, for fans of Yiyun Li and Julie Otsuka.
The Funeral Cryer long ago accepted the mundane realities of her life: avoided by fellow villagers because of the stigma attached to her job and underappreciated by her husband, whose fecklessness has pushed the couple close to the brink of breakup. But just when things couldn't be bleaker, she 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.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
April 30, 2024 -
Formats
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9780369748317
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9780369748317
- File size: 666 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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Starred review from November 1, 2023
Lu makes her debut with this novel that won the SI Leeds Literary Prize for best unpublished novel in the UK. Taking place in contemporary rural China, it depicts a woman stigmatized by her job as a funeral cryer--until she takes a leap of faith that turns her life around. With a 75K-copy first printing. Prepub Alert.
Copyright 2023 Library Journal
Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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February 15, 2024
Stuck in an unsatisfying marriage, the unnamed narrator of this spare novel makes a living as a funeral cryer, someone who cries, makes a speech, and sings at a funeral in an effort to unleash the grief of the attendees. Though it's a stigmatized role among the villagers, it pays well, and the grieving often confide in the narrator, providing her with a sense of purpose. Referring to others only through nicknames or their relationship to her (the Husband, the Daughter, HotPot, etc.), she seems emotionally distant from all those around her, wryly observing the mundanities of life, until a newcomer to the village piques her interest and she starts questioning her marriage, her attraction to this new man, and her own happiness and mortality. This is not an action-packed novel; instead it is a meditation on family, love, loyalty, and women's roles in Chinese society. Recommended for readers who enjoy quiet novels about women questioning their life circumstances, such as Fault Lines (2021), by Emily Itami.COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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