| Title | : | A Banquet for Hungry Ghosts: A Collection of Deliciously Frightening Tales |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0805082085 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780805082081 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 192 |
| Publication | : | First published October 27, 2009 |
At once a window into the history and culture of China and an ode to Chinese cuisine, this assortment of frightening tales—complete with historical notes and delectable recipes—will both scare and satiate!
A Banquet for Hungry Ghosts: A Collection of Deliciously Frightening Tales Reviews
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This was a delightful horror short story collection all focused on Chinese cultural history, Chinese legends, and Chinese cuisine. Each of the eight stories is very short, digging into the idea of the hungry ghosts -- what happens if someone dies hungry? How do they return and seek vengeance?
What makes this collection especially noteworthy are the short pieces at the end of each story explaining the legend and the history, with a bonus recipe from the story included.
Among the strongest stories and the ones I enjoyed the most were "Steamed Dumplings," "Long-Life Noodles," "Tofu with Garlic Sauce," and "Jasmine Almond Cookies."
It's worth noting this collection is from 2009, and the use of various terms for fat represent nothing more than evil or bad throughout. There's portly mean people. Fat bad people. Pudgy, slovenly folks. It's really disappointing to see, and it was impossible not to as it showed up in nearly every story. This is, I suspect, due to the time of the book's publication and to re-emphasize Chinese cultural norms around fat shaming *and* its relation to food. -
3/5 stars
The stories weren't as scary as I was expecting and some of them lacked depth but I did enjoy learning about my culture - the traditions, history, and food.
would I recommend this book?
Yes I would if you want to learn more about the Chinese culture or enjoy stories about ghosts.
Content and Age Recommendation
14+
-the topic of stories
-some of the descriptions can be gruesome -
This is a strong short story collection, featuring diverse yet related short stories, each beautifully written.
The eight short stories are organized into appetizers, main courses, and desserts. The titles are for the food being served that course, such as “Tea Eggs” or “Long-life Noodles.” The food mentioned in the title also appears somewhere in the story as a key part of the plot. It’s a gorgeous way to organize the short stories and makes them also feel like diverse parts of a whole.
The short stories are mostly set in 20th century China, but a couple feature 20th century characters investigating something from the more distant past or being haunted by more ancient ghosts. One story is set in New York City and features a Chinese-American family.
The stories, universally, quickly establish the setting and characters. They all subtly teach some aspect of Chinese culture or history. For instance, one story looks at medicine under Communism in China, while another features preying mantis fights. At the end of each story, a brief blurb gives further details about two to three aspects of Chinese culture or history featured in the story. Most surprising, and incredibly welcome, at the end of each short story, Compestine gives a recipe for the featured food! It reminded me of how cozy mysteries often feature patterns or recipes at the end of the book, only this time the recipes are found in a shorty story horror collection. Brilliant!
What about the horror aspect of the short stories? I found them simultaneously plausible and sufficiently scary. I was a bit on the edge of my seat without being scared out of my wits, which is exactly what I was looking for.
Overall, I immensely enjoyed each of these short stories, from the touch of horror to the settings to the amount I learned about Chinese culture and history to the wonderful recipes. Highly recommended to anyone with even a moderate interest in China, Chinese culture, or Chinese food. Even if horror isn’t usually your genre, give these ghosts a chance. You’ll be glad you did.
Check out my
full review. -
While I found these stories shallow and somewhat unmemorable when compared to classic Chinese ghost stories, this book redeemed itself with the historical information at the end of each tale, and the recipes scattered throughout. Having grown up during China's Cultural Revolution, a time of famine, the author has a strong connection with food and the stories are divided into appetizers, main courses, and desserts. After each comes the good bit, factual information about the Great Wall, hungry ghosts, organ harvesting, university entrance exams, economic reforms, human sacrifices, tomb sweeping, Chinese armies, and praying mantis fights. Throughout are also recipes for tea eggs, dumplings, beef stew, long-life noodles, jasmine almond cookies, and eight treasure rice pudding - all of which sound delicious and I look forward to trying to make!
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Awesome book
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Each tale is a ghost story and cautionary fable that centers around food and Chinese culture. Each tale has a short explanation of the important cultural aspect and a recipe. A very light and easy read I'd consider middle grade and up. I really enjoyed it.
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This was fun!
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𝘼 𝘽𝘼𝙣𝙌𝙐𝙀𝙏 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙃𝙐𝙣𝙂𝙍𝙔 𝙂𝙃𝙊𝙎𝙩𝙎 by Ying Chang Compestine, illustrated by Coleman Polhemus, is a wonderful book. Part ghost story collection, part cookbook, and part culturally educational, I enjoyed it immensely.
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𝙒𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙚 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙪𝙥 𝙙𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝘾𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙖'𝙨 𝘾𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙡 𝙍𝙚𝙫𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙄 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙝𝙪𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙛𝙤𝙤𝙙 - 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙙, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙨 - 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙗𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙙 ... 𝘾𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙖 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙛𝙤𝙤𝙙, 𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙢𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙪𝙣𝙜𝙧𝙮 𝙜𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙩𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙪𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜.
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A Banquet for Hungry Ghosts is made up of eight hungry ghost stories, laid out as eight courses of a banquet. Eight for prosperity.
The dishes that act as titles for each story are themselves included in the stories in some way, and are split into two appetizers, four main courses, and two desserts.
And following each of these dishes is an actual recipe of how to make it, meaning you can really immerse yourself in the story as you eat the cuisine and learn about the culture.
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𝙇𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙜𝙤, 𝙞𝙣 200 𝘽.𝘾.𝙀, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙨𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙫𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝘽𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙨 𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙣 𝙢𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝘾𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙖, 𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙙𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙂𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙒𝙖𝙡𝙡. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙨𝙝 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙 ... 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧, 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙢𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙞���𝙪𝙨𝙡𝙮 𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙙.
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The stories span from 200 BCE right through to modern day, but all have a gruesome element that is inspired by China's history and culture.
There are some key themes running through these stories, including: family, inheritance and expectations; corruption and greed; what it means to be a hungry ghost, and to be haunted; culture and honouring the dead, and; perhaps most importantly, food and the myriad of roles it plays.
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"𝙋𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙤𝙙."
𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙛𝙛 𝙤𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙣𝙤 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮, 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙪𝙣𝙜𝙧𝙮 𝙜𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙖𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙡.
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Accompanying each ghost story-cum-cautionary tale is a history lesson of sorts. Compestine doesn't simply draw on fantastical and imagined horrors for her stories, but has instead taken inspiration from some of China's less reputable history and modern practices, including organ harvesting, a belief that Eastern medicine is superior to Western medical practices, and the ingestion of certain unpleasant 'delicacies' as a display of prowess.
Throughout the book I especially liked some of the interwoven details between the story, the history lesson, and the recipe.
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𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙝 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙖 𝙨𝙖𝙫𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙢𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖 𝙨𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙡; 𝙄𝙩'𝙨 𝙛𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙩𝙤𝙤 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙮. 𝙄𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙣𝙪𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙠𝙞𝙙𝙣𝙚𝙮𝙨, 𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙢 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧.
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I do think most readers can find something to enjoy in A Banquet for Hungry Ghosts, and it is probably suitable for readers 14+. I wouldn't really recommend it for much younger readers because, while it undoubtedly covers some important lessons, some elements of the stories are especially gruesome.
It certainly isn't a horror book, but there are some spooky elements to it, along with some delicious elements!
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𝙈𝙪𝙨𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙢𝙨 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙬 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙮, 𝙡𝙚𝙜𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬 𝙚𝙮𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙩𝙨. 𝙏𝙬𝙤 𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙢𝙨 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙬 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨.
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Overall I would highly recommend A Banquet for Hungry Ghosts. I will be trying out some more recipes from the book, and do intend to reread the stories in the future.
I would absolutely read more by Ying Chang Compestine. -
An entertaining collection of ghostly tales, each followed by a bit of history and a recipe related to the story. My favorite was the first story of the book, "Steamed Dumplings," which was actually very creepy. "Egg Stir-Fried Rice" was another favorite.
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I didn't realize fully this is a YA horror short story collection. The stories are all pretty PG but I can definitely see a younger audience enjoying this and finding it a little spooky. It's a Chinese
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. I liked at the end of each story there's a little bit of historical reference / explanation why certain things are mentioned or focused on based on Chinese history or tradition. There's also a recipe at the end of each story. This could be a fun book to read with your kid and then make the recipe after you read the story!
I would definitely pick up a copy of this for a younger kid looking for some horror. Feels more like an early teen audience would consume this most. -
A Banquet for Hungry Ghosts crossed my radar thanks to a book blogger who noted that she was excited it had been optioned for TV. I can see how it could be adapted as either cutesy fun or total-gore gruesome. While the publisher pitches these as “chilling” tales, I did not find them particularly scary. Gorey, yes; a bit spine-tingling, yes. But “chilling”? Nope. I did not lose sleep reading these “scary stories” but I did learn a good deal about Chinese food and culture. The stories were good but it was the contextual essays that followed each short tale that made this a better than normal short story volume. I was intrigued to be getting a bit of background on the history, culture, or tradition that had been referenced in the previous story—and yes, my mouth watered just thinking of the smells of each yummy dish wafting through the air.
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Somehow I missed that this was a YA book. No doubt it would have been more effectively creepy if I were in middle school, but it was still a fun afternoon read. Not being overly familiar with Chinese culture and tradition stories, they were all new in some way and usually kept me guessing.
The best part is how each story is followed by a brief explanation of the history, beliefs, and cultural significance of the plot points, and the recipe for the authentic Chinese dish the story is named after. Some of which are things I would totally eat if someone were willing to help shop and prepare them.
Dogmonster Caution for the story Tofu With Garlic-Chili Sauce, in which -
Good riffs off of known Chinese folk tales of ghouls and ghosts. Many of these revolve around the myth of the "Hungry Ghosts" of Buddhist faith (see
Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things for more info and other stories) and the author really does not add anything new save for a few recipes that end the individual stories. Fans of the genre will find little new here, but if this is your first take on Asian horror, then it is a good place to start. There is little gore, a few small frights, and a bit of Chinese cultural history to learn from this.
3.25 out of 5.0 Chairman Mao's -
This is a collection of ghost stories out of China but, frankly, it could also be called a diet aid cuz there were a few stories that made me lose my appetite! In all seriousness, I appreciated this more for the history than for the ghost stories. Although much of the history that was passed along broke my heart, it was interesting to hear it from someone in the know. There are also actually a couple of recipes that I intend to try if I can get their attached stories out of my head. This would make for an interesting accompaniment to something heavy like Red Scarf Girl, as it gives a sense of the pain of the Cultural Revolution from a more modern perspective years after the fact. I found it quite intriguing.
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If you like history, horror, and learning about Chinese culture, I encourage A Banquet for Hungry Ghosts. In Chinese legend, people who die hungry become particularly vicious spirits. Each story is named after a Chinese dish, and tells a story involving it (dumplings, beef stew, etc.) There's also a recipe following each story. This is a creepy series of stories. Some stories are better than others, which is to be expected, but I really like books that illuminate the history of gruesome horror legends.
-Amanda
link
http://librarycatalog.pwcgov.org/pola... -
I enjoyed the outline of this collection of stories being set up like an elaborate meal. It fit well with the title and the theme that carried throughout the stories of ghosts being hungry. The contextual and historical information at the end of each story was very interesting and I would have loved to have had more than just a paragraph or two. The stories were varied and only a little bit scary. This edition definitely needs some editing as there are typographical errors and some issues with the way the stories flow.
Overall I enjoyed this read and am excited to try out the recipes listed in the book. I hope to share a couple of these stories with the 7th graders that I work with. -
You can read my full, illustrated review here:
http://diversityhorror.blogspot.com/2...
There are many types of Chinese ghosts, including the spirits of deceased loved ones who may bring blessing and good fortune if properly honored, vengeful specters searching for those who wronged them in life, playful and troublesome spooks, and Hungry Ghosts, unhappy spirits with insatiable appetites. During the seventh month of the Chinese calendar, known as Ghost Month, the gates to hell are open and these spirits are able to cross over to the realm of the living. To avoid hauntings and misfortune, people will leave offerings of food in the hopes of appeasing the Hungry Ghosts who wander the streets at night. If these spirits are pleased with the food offered to them, they may leave the household in peace. But what if the Hungry Ghosts aren't placated?
Author Ying Chang Compestine explores both Chinese cuisine and angry spirits in her book, A Banquet for Hungry Ghosts. Ah, delicious food and gruesome horror, two of my favorite things! Admittedly, not things you'd usually think of combining, but hey, I'm not complaining. Each ghost story is dedicated to a food you might typically find in a traditional Chinese eight course banquet, and includes a recipe at the end. Okay, so maybe those with weaker stomachs may not want to try whipping up a batch of Tea Eggs right after reading about some poor guy getting disemboweled. But I'm the kind of person who can watch surgery videos while eating breakfast, so I wasn't put off my appetite. If anything, the book made me crave cha siu bao the entire time. Oh, and by the way, the steamed dumpling recipe? Sooooooo good. I've got to try making the Jasmine Almond cookies next.
In addition to recipes, each chapter also includes an afterword that expands on aspects of Chinese culture and history discussed in the story. There's information on the rules of Mahjong, Mantis fighting, Qingming (Tomb Sweeping Day), the Cultural Revolution, and even anecdotes from Compestine's own life growing up in China. Also ablation surgery, arsenic poisoning, and ancient Chinese tombs containing the victims of human sacrifice. Fun, right? Hey, it's a book of scary stories after all, it's to be expected. Every country has its share of atrocities from the past and present, and Compestine adds even more horror to her already spooky ghost stories by including some of China's darker practices, such as illegal organ harvesting from prisoners and corruption at Buddhist monasteries. It's actually quite clever how Compestine addresses certain Chinese social issues by turning them into ghost stories. At least in fiction, we get the satisfaction of seeing justice done, albeit by Hungry Ghost who enact terrible, and often gruesome vengeance.
As horrific as I've made the book sound, it is actually intended for children. Like a more educational, Chinese, epicurean version of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, complete with its own gorgeous, creepy, black and white illustrations. I know the blood and guts may be too much for some children (though it's not much worse than your standard German fairy tale or Roald Dahl story) but the gore is definitely going to appeal to others. Hey, whatever gets them to read, right? Plus, it's educational, so that's always good. Even adults will find the stories informative; while reading Banquet for Hungry Ghosts I frequently found myself running off to Google the construction of the Great Wall or Chinese medical practices.
Although the overall stories were rich and interesting, the writing could be a little simplistic, which, unfortunately, I felt detracted from the horror and kept me from giving this book the four stars it otherwise would have earned. But, again, it is a kid's book, and it's difficult to write something that's elegant, interesting, and easy to read. Children reading A Banquet for Hungry Ghosts are already going to have enough trouble trying to sound out "Hemorrhagic shock", no need to make the writing too flowery and complex. So let's just say I'd give the writing three stars and three skulls for adults, four stars and four skulls for kids.
My only other complaint is that the author also tended to rely heavily on gore to create scares. Being gross and being scary are two different things, and you can't just add blood to a story and expect it to be frightening. If that were true, I could just read a medical textbook to give myself nightmares.
Like any horror anthology, some stories are much better than others. "Tofu with Chili-Garlic Sauce", "Steamed Dumplings", and "Beef Stew" were all excellent. "Long-Life Noodles" and "Jasmine Almond Cookies"? Not so much. But overall this is still a great book, and the combination of ghost stories, history, and cuisine make a fun and unique combination. A must read for both young horror fans and foodies. -
I was really excited for this book - the synopsis and cover looked really interesting. However, the book felt very poorly and awkwardly written and the tales weren't that scary. It was very disappointing, although I did appreciate the recipes and cultural/historical explanations that closed out every chapter.
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The way the content page was set was very creative and I loved how the chapters were named after Chinese dishes.My favourite story was the Egg stirred fried rice because I thought that was the most creepiest.The others weren't exactly scary,just a bit about murder and death.
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Bring out my memories about some of those folktales about the Chinese cultures. Some of them are based on facts and are very sad. Some of them just to 'scare' the children so they won't do anything 'bad'.
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U
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This was the perfect book to put me into the Halloween spirit. The mix of Recipes, illustrations, fun stories, and Chinese culture made for such a nice read.
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This book needs more attention. A great collection of ghost stories set during the cultural revolution in China and juxtaposed with recipes! I'm a sucker for recipes in books!
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The recipes were interesting...
