The Seventh Day: A Novel by Yu Hua

The first time I picked up this book, I read the first chapter and put it back down because it creeped me out. A story narrated by a dead guy? Not for me.

But eventually, I was drawn back into it, curious to find out what happens. The story as told by Yang Fei was compelling enough to keep me reading through until the end. It is a slow-moving book, following Yang Fei as he travels through the Land of the Unburied after his untimely death in a restaurant fire. Those who do not have enough money for a proper burial or cremation are destined to stay in the Land of the Unburied, where they roam around aimlessly.

Yang Fei had a strange beginning. His birth mother popped him out in a railway car toilet which dumped the baby straight onto the railroad tracks as the train kept moving, and he was raised by a station attendant who became his adoptive father. The two lived together for the rest of their lives.

Without giving away too much of the story, Yang Fei (the deceased) meets up with many interesting people he had known or had some connection with on the other side as he moves through the Land of the Unburied. Each person has a story, and the stories are woven together through Yang Fei, while also telling the larger story of the extreme social class system in China and the sorrowful lives led by those in the poor class.

I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review - thank you!