Zen Cho‘s Black Water Sister (2021) does three things exceptionally well.
First, it captures a contemporary young, female protagonist with care, detail, and empathy. Born in Malaysia, but raised in the United States, she has now returned to Malaysia with her parents, and is a bit lost, both in ways somewhat generic to people in their early 20’s facing the overwhelming challenge of answering the question what will I do with my life? and in ways related to returning to a culture that is familiar and foreign at the same time.
Second, there is Malaysia itself. This is not a novel where you’ll learn about the country’s history or the complicated weave of its current politics. But it is full of small details–language, landscapes, lingo, and the like–that thoroughly ground the narrative in a thickly realized setting.
Finally, it does all this in the context of a good old-fashioned possession/ ghost story spanning multiple generations of a family. The first two points impact this as well–the protagonist is skeptical in a nicely modern way, and the “ghost” is decidedly Malaysian.
The 21st century is a particularly challenging setting for novels: incorporating the ubiquitous nature of technology while maintaining narrative momentum and interest is difficult, and Cho does an excellent job at navigating this: there is a long-distance relationship mediated over Facetime, the constant use of Google to answer questions about what is really happening, etc., all done without allowing the writing to slip into a series of text exchanges or search results.
Overall, the novel is engaging and entertaining. Recommended, especially if you are interested in a small dose of insight into what contemporary Malaysia might be like.