The Funeral Cryer by Wenyan Lu is a sad, moving and sometimes painfully comical book. The unnamed funeral cryer is a social outcast due to her profession, which is the traditional role of leading the mourning at funerals. She is surrounded by death, which means that her fellow villagers shun her, believing she will bring them bad luck. With a useless, unemployed and critical husband, she has little option but to continue her work. She is a victim of coercive control, but the worm is about to turn…

The book is a fascinating insight into contemporary village life in rural Northeast China. Villagers find themselves caught between the old traditions and the prospect of modern reform. The funeral cryer’s generation keep to the traditional roles of men and women, meaning that they aren’t poster girls for the women’s liberation movement. The funeral cryer herself agonises over replacing her ancient underwear but burning her bra isn’t foremost in her mind while making the decision.

There’s a strong feeling of inertia in the early part of the book, where it seems that the whole idea of plot has been forgotten. It soon becomes apparent that the lack of change is the whole point. It is well worth persevering, encouraged by the funeral cryer’s waspish comments and wry humour. As the story unfolds, we witness the funeral cryer gradually overcoming her self-doubt and taking steps to change her circumstances.

Death, which is a taboo subject in most cultures, including China, is main theme. For the funeral cryer, it has become part of her daily life and she is numb to it (mostly). There’s a paradox, in that her profession is to perform grief, but she holds all her emotions in check. She is greatly concerned about appearances and her embarrassment, social awkwardness and humiliation feature a lot. For example, she feels guilty that she wasn’t born in Shanghai, which would have allowed her daughter to have residency there, which is obviously outside her control and therefore ridiculous.

Her life is a contradiction. She never tells anyone what she wants, so she doesn’t get it. She doesn’t dare to look good in case people think badly of her, because married women shouldn’t look good, and yet looking good makes her feel good.

Although it is set in rural China, western women will recognise and empathise with the funeral cryer’s situation and her feelings. Anyone who has felt lonely, isolated from their family and community will identify with her. Anyone who has been put down unjustly will weep for her and admire her silent resilience.

The Funeral Cryer is a book that is memorable for all the right reasons. It is unusual, insightful and emotionally engaging but there’s just the right amount of optimism and humour. A definite “to read”.

I absolutely loved this book. Having visited China several times, I am very aware of our cultural differences. Very few of the characters are given names which adds to the exclusion they feel. The woman, I so want to give her a name so she has an identity is a wonderful character. Powerful despite her seemingly lowly status. Set in rural China the author captures the atmosphere and ambience exactly. This book speaks volumes about a woman's role in life wherever she may be. The woman isn't a push over by any means and I loved her fighting spirit.
Superb read. A tapestry woven from the strength of a woman

The Funeral Cryer is a well-written debut novel which centres on a middle-aged woman who lives in a small village in China, and who makes her living as a funeral cryer, a role considered essential in her culture but which also leads to her being partially ostracised because of her association with death. The author paints a vivid picture of the main character's isolated, stifling life, the muddy village in which she feels trapped, her marriage to an at best disinterested and at worst abusive husband, and the seeming futility of any kind of escape to a better life, either for the main character or for any of the people she comes into contact with, be that family, friends, or people she meets through her work. The novel isn't a cheerful read, but it is a fascinating, well-written, and very worthwhile insight into the lives of the rural working class in contemporary China, a subject not often dealt with in novels in English.

It is nicely written, intense and sad book about a woman in her late 40s in China, who is a funeral cryer.
While the job is well respected and earns enough to support her and her husband, she is avoided by people in her village because of the connotations of her work.
The worldbuilding is really good, and you get sucked into the quiet life of living in a small village. Interestingly most people in the books don’t have name but just descriptions - the husband, the daughter, the butcher.
As a European women only a little younger than her, it’s odd to me how prudish and patriarchal her life is.
A big difference as well is that European culture is more individualistic, so to read about family structures there was interesting if sometimes somewhat baffling. At only 40 something, she feels old and unwanted. Her husband is emotionally abusive, although apparently in that setting, not being physically assaulted should be celebrated.
The amount of unwanted intimacy is also striking. If you’re married both partners should show enthoustic consent.
The book is slow paced and an interesting slice on Chinese small village life.

This is such a gentle book, full of quite quiet observation and private musing, it was a surprise to find myself reeled in so tightly to it. I adored it. Full of discovery amidst yearning and sorrow, possibility tied up with pragmatic acceptance of the present day, I found it has a tenderness to it that is relatable and also compelling.
There is vulnerability and honesty, but I was surprised to bump up against brashness in places. It stopped the book from having a saccharin thread in its softness. I really loved reading about Chinese ritual and learning something about that I didn’t know before, but without it ever feeling preachy or sanctimonious. Tender, affectionate, sorrowful, slightly brutal and full of hope, all at once. Like the bamboo grove. I loved it

The vivid and beautiful tale of The Funeral Cryer pulls back the curtains and opens us up to the life of a woman living with the burden of shame and stigma carried by ancient traditions. Her job is to cry for people at funerals, but she feels incomplete when she isn’t sure if anyone will cry for her. It follows her as she starts to take back control of her life, and although constrained, she battles to live the best she can in a strained relationship and with a job everyone thinks is cursed. Wenyan Lu writes with a beautiful realism in this powerful and heartfelt story of grief, marriage and luck.

⭐️ the funeral cryer by wenyan lu ⭐️

“Who would care about a woman with no name? A woman with no name hardly existed.” Me! I care! The funeral cryer’s life may not be interesting to anyone in her life but wow did I get hooked quickly! I loved the confessions from the deceased’s family and how only they spoke to her and not anyone in her village (because of superstition). The slice of her life you see in this book is so intriguing and even though it was quite slow paced in the first two thirds it picks up quickly towards the end! I felt so heart broken for her. I also really enjoyed the cultural aspects of the book, and the wee look into rural life in north eastern China.

🔆 lines i liked 🔆

“After all, it’s white, the colour of death.”

“Names were only important when people were born, when they got married and when they died.”

Interesting things:
- village committees
- Left behind children
- When you go to uni a rural residence will automatically convert to a city residence!

Thank you @atlanticbooks and #NetGalley for this proof copy. As the copy is a proof the quotes are subject to change!