Another one that was light on history, heavier on the supernatural
"The Ghost Bride" is the story of Li Lan, who is asked to be a ghost bride for a dead man she's never met. Set in British Malaya (more on that in a moment), the book is a little bit historical fiction and a whole lot of supernatural fantasy.
As Li Lan tries to navigate her desire to marry Tian Bai, the cousin of the deceased man whom Li Lan's impoverished father has agreed for her to marry, and all of the cultural things that go with being a Chinese daughter, we get a look at some of the religious beliefs of the period.
Unfortunately, what constitutes "the period" is pretty vague. British rule over Malaya began in 1771 and didn't really end until 1957. I was able to narrow it down a little bit because the text refers to the establishment of Penang and Singapore (1791 and 1815, respectively), but could not figure out what year (or years) the text covered.
We also see Li Lan in the ghost world, trying to resolve some problems that are affecting her family's day to day life. The majority of the book was spent in the ghost world, so while it was entertaining to read, I was a little disappointed that we didn't get to see much history in the tale.
