She Is a Haunting

LoveReading Says

From its killer open line (“This house eats and is eaten”), Trang Thanh Tran’s She is a Haunting is a gripping, gothic ghost story. Tingling with mystery and romance, it’s set in a French colonial house in Vietnam, and sees bisexual, Vietnamese American teenager Jade become entwined in the secrets of the house, and its connections to her ancestors.

Jade and her little sister are spending the summer with their estranged dad in Vietnam, where he’s doing up the crumbling property to open as “Flower House” B&B. Jade has been tasked to create the website for his business with “hot girl” Florence, the daughter of his business partner. Given that affording college hinges on convincing her dad to contribute to the costs, Jade has decided to do what he wants, putting aside the fact he left her mother to bring up three kids.

So far, so tricky, and that’s just the half of it. From the outset, the house gives Jade disturbing vibes. Dead bugs amass on the windowsills, she experiences sleep paralysis, then one night she sees a young woman smashing maggots on her skin, a haunting presence with “the graceful showmanship of someone who knew my deepest secrets”. Was it a dream? A ghost? With Florence’s support, Jade is drawn into the mystery of the beautiful Vietnamese bride and the Lady of the Many Tongues, the house’s former owner, uncovering connections to her great-grandmother and racist colonialism as she does so.

After delivering such an inventive debut, Trang Thanh Tran is an author to watch — their writing is compellingly sharp, deliciously rich, and decidedly refreshing.

Joanne Owen

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