Songs for Ghosts

It was an amazing book, I loved the way each part of the story linked together at the right time so it wasn’t too overwhelming, and was consistently exciting throughout the story and plot. The way the characters were linked together through their likeness and their life experiences and the constant mystery kept me thinking on my own theories, and I learnt a lot about Japanese culture, especially the ‘Biwa’ instrument, which i didn’t even know about! The book stayed on track with the story with minimal drifting off of topic which i thought was great. I’d say my favourite thing was the ghosts i really liked how they had been made to appear and the separate stories told of different ones. It was overall a genuinely good book and I’d totally recommend reading it.

Myles

FAB(C)

Songs for Ghosts by Clara Kumagai is a romantic fiction novel that explores gay love, reconnecting with the past, and the search for identity. The story weaves together Adam’s contemporary life with the diary entries of Kiku, a woman living in early 20th century Japan. As Adam travels to Japan to stay with a host family, he is navigating the aftermath of his mother’s death, a strained relationship with his father, and the pain of a recent breakup. He connects with a friend from his Japanese group and explores a relationship with him. Through this journey, the novel reflects on grief, love, and self discovery. I would rate it 3.5 while it wasn’t something I would normally go for, I still found it well written and deeply moving.

Georgina

Epsomians

Songs for ghosts was a very captivating book. It is filled with very unexpected twists and the storylines of the characters are all very emotional. In some way the book felt like I could relate to it and for me the storyline was beautiful. Although it took me a while to get stuck in to the book I am now very sad that it is over. I love how the author slowly reveals information as it makes you want to keep reading to see what happens next. Overall I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend.

Poppy

Ms Dodd’s Carnegie Team

Honestly, the book was good. I won't say it was jaw dropping, astonishingly amazing, but I really did like it. The message sent by the book itself appealed more to me than the plot. The way the ancestral love problems were tied up in the end was amazing. I honestly didn't expect the blood relations between the characters and the ones from the diary. Adam's cultural relationship to Japan is something I reckon everyone can relate to, regardless of ethnicity and where you live now. But my favourite part was the ending. I'm glad some things were left unresolved, that everything had a final resolution. It's a book I don't regret reading, and has helped to shape my views on certain topics. Pretty excellent, if you ask me :>

rida

HGS Book Club

I really enjoyed this book. It took me through many emotions such as sadness at the woman's story, anger at Ethan whose motives I did not understand and happiness at the satisfying ending. The book was written well as though the first hundred pages were slightly slow the latter end of the book was extremely engaging. I also liked the actual topic of the story being focused on a boy who feels split from his heritage and the ancestral connections that were heavily present in the book. A second book coming out would totally be on my to be read and my favorite character was Jo.

Lakshake

HGS Book Club