Mr. McCane
This book takes us back to the beginning of when COVID hit. There was a ton of hatred in America directed at people of Asian descent, specifically Chinese Americans. In this story, we follow Cora Zeng. After being called a bat-eater, she witnesses the murder of her sister. While trying to process this trauma, she takes a job cleaning gruesome crime scenes in Chinatown. Several months pass without an arrest, and Cora finds it difficult to keep herself together. She’s also seeing what she believes are ghosts. While working these crime scenes, she notices that the victims are all Asian women and that bat carcasses are present.
This was a great read. I wasn’t sure what to expect going in, but it was certainly unexpected. For me, the real horror wasn’t the ghosts, it was everyday Americans. The book made me reflect on how we currently live alongside individuals who would treat others in such a cruel manner. For many Americans, this country itself can feel like a horror story. I’ll never forget the treatment of Muslims after 9/11, the treatment of Chinese Americans after COVID-19 hit, the current treatment of Hispanic people, the treatment of Haitians last year, the treatment of Indigenous Americans in their own country, and the historical treatment of Black people since the dawn of time.
The only thing I disliked was that the book dragged a little in places; however, I absolutely loved the author’s note.
This book takes us back to the beginning of when COVID hit. There was a ton of hatred in America directed at people of Asian descent, specifically Chinese Americans. In this story, we follow Cora Zeng. After being called a bat-eater, she witnesses the murder of her sister. While trying to process this trauma, she takes a job cleaning gruesome crime scenes in Chinatown. Several months pass without an arrest, and Cora finds it difficult to keep herself together. She’s also seeing what she believes are ghosts. While working these crime scenes, she notices that the victims are all Asian women and that bat carcasses are present.
This was a great read. I wasn’t sure what to expect going in, but it was certainly unexpected. For me, the real horror wasn’t the ghosts, it was everyday Americans. The book made me reflect on how we currently live alongside individuals who would treat others in such a cruel manner. For many Americans, this country itself can feel like a horror story. I’ll never forget the treatment of Muslims after 9/11, the treatment of Chinese Americans after COVID-19 hit, the current treatment of Hispanic people, the treatment of Haitians last year, the treatment of Indigenous Americans in their own country, and the historical treatment of Black people since the dawn of time.
The only thing I disliked was that the book dragged a little in places; however, I absolutely loved the author’s note.