For context, this is copied almost verbatim from a string of tweets I made right after finishing the book. I'm also not Malaysian - I'm from neighbouring Singapore. ;)

I thoroughly enjoyed this collection of short stories, it was an entertaining read and provided genuinely moving experiences at many junctures. It's probably fair to say that only Malaysian/Singaporean readers will be able to get the most out of them because the stories are VERY indulgent, very unapologetic.

Where else can our multilingual, multicultural heritage come in handy? Who else could instinctively fall into the cadences of Manglish (close enough to Singlish), with the smattering of Malay, Chinese, Hokkien, Cantonese? Who else would be able to recognise all the different hantu by description and hints, even before they are named? The specific forms of stress (academic, intergenerational, cultural) that string the characters and their narratives together? The myths and legends, too.

It takes a specific geographical location, time period, upbringing, and openness to create the magical confluence of contexts required to bring these stories to life in your soul, in the pit of your heart, and feel them very non-judgmentally, and intimately.

Then again, it is possible that I'm biased. I simply don't have the outsider's perspective this time. And it's refreshing.

other things which I think deserve a special mention
- casual references to the presence of queer characters! YES PLEASE, THEY'RE JUST.. THERE
- the stories engaged with (and called out) toxic aspects of life in SG/MY, e.g. sexism in Chinese diaspora culture
- CONTENT NOTES/WARNINGS!!!! I was grateful for these, especially for the story 'The Fish Bowl'. Having the mental preparation was immensely helpful.

One of the best books on spirits and ghosts in Malaysia I have read! And the quality is so consistently good. There were so many beautiful, sad , lovely stories, and I enjoyed them so much. Who would have thought Wukong would land in Faerieland, and what he would do there? The pontianak story was also hands-down the best one of its genre I've read yet (maybe I've just been reading really mid and cringey Singlit all these years...), as was the story about the hungry ghost going home with her demon. It's taken me a while but so glad I've discovered Zen Cho!

Meh. I seem to be terrible at writing anything insightful about books these days, but I loved Spirits Abroad and being of Asian descent meant that I could truly appreciate some of the joys/woes of having a loving extended family that often berate you for your your failings whilst stuffing you full of food.