Book Club Night Kit

The Valley of Vengeful Ghosts

Kim Fu

Cozy night

Kim Fu writes with a quiet, unnerving tenderness, finding the ache and the humor inside strange premises, which makes this a perfect pick for a club that likes to talk about feelings as much as plot. It is the rare book that can be eerie and comforting in the same breath.

Bring a Blanket, We Are Reading Ghosts

Come for porridge, dumplings, custard tarts, and endless tea while we talk about Kim Fu's The Valley of Vengeful Ghosts. No prep, no pressure, and no judgment if you are only halfway through.

Reading level: Moderate

Best for: A club that likes books with a little chill in the air and a lot of heart, and that would rather share stories than argue theses.

Discussion

Warm-up

1.Where did you do most of your reading for this one, and did you find yourself wanting a blanket, a light on, or company nearby?
2.Before we get into it: was there a moment where you had to put the book down for a second, not because it was scary, but because it got you somewhere soft?

Digging in

1.Kim Fu tends to make the uncanny feel domestic, like something odd happening in a kitchen. Which small, ordinary detail in here stuck with you more than the strange parts did?
2.The title promises vengeance, but so much of Fu's writing is really about longing. Did this book feel angry to you, or sad, or somehow comforting? What made it land that way?
3.This book spends time with people who cannot quite let something go. Without going too deep unless you want to, is there a place, a season, or a house that still has a bit of a hold on you?
4.Fu often writes bodies and physical sensation very closely. Was there a passage where you felt it in your own body, a shiver or a held breath, and did that feel intrusive or strangely intimate?

Going deep

1.By the time you got near the end, had your feelings about who deserved sympathy shifted at all? You do not have to say what happens, just whether your heart moved and when you noticed.
2.If you could sit down with one figure from this book and offer them tea and an hour of being listened to, who would you pick, and what would you want them to know?

On the table & to sip

To eat

Rice porridge (congee) bar with toppings

The ultimate comfort bowl, warm and forgiving, and it nods to the Chinese Canadian family tables that run through Fu's work. Set out scallions, soy, chili oil, soft eggs, and fried shallots and let people build their own.

Steamed buns and dumplings, store-bought and warmed

Low effort, high comfort, and easy to pass around mid-conversation. Soft, pillowy food keeps a gathering gentle when the book turns eerie.

Baked custard tarts with a jar of honey

Sweet, pale, and a little old-fashioned, the kind of dessert that feels like it has been in the family a long time. A good landing spot for the end of the night.

To sip

Big pot of jasmine or roasted barley tea, refilled all night (no alcohol)

The quiet anchor of the evening. Keep it on a trivet in the middle of the table so people reach for it while they talk.

Hot ginger and honey milk (no alcohol)

Soothing, slightly spicy, and warming for anyone who got a chill from the reading. Oat milk works beautifully.

Warm plum wine with a strip of orange peel

Gently sweet and served in small cups, indulgent without becoming a cocktail project. Fitting for a book that keeps one hand on the past.