Review: The Valley of Vengeful Ghosts, by Kim Fu

Someone at Tin House sent a new novel to me because of how much I had loved that publisher's Smothermoss by Alisa Alering, which I reviewed at Skiffy and Fanty in 2024. However, that book is poles apart from this book, and I decided to write about it on my own blog rather than Skiffy and Fanty, because it's hardly speculative fiction at all, but rather much more a journey in psychological horror and bad life choices. 

Despite its not being what I had expected, The Valley of Vengeful Ghosts, by Kim Fu, is a skillfully crafted novel. At the beginning of the book, Eleanor is fantasizing about a community she could lead, but the first sentence gives a hint of doom to come. From the first chapter, I am chilled by her self-sabotaging decisions, highlighted by her purchase of a home in a remote development where construction had stopped after just two houses. Despite her job as an online counselor, she lets herself be persuaded that a hotspot from cell coverage will be sufficient. She is desperate to fulfill the dying wish of her mother to buy herself a house to achieve financial stability, and she's underbid or been too slow on four previous offers. 

There are reasons for Eleanor to be so persuadable, as Fu slowly reveals throughout the novel, dropping clues via reflections and flashbacks. It's shown very early that she has drifted through life, sheltered and nearly smothered by her mother. Later, it's shown that she's been betrayed by some people who should have supported her, and abandoned or at least sidelined by others. She's been accepting poor options as solutions/escapes from trouble for her whole life.

Soon after she moves into her new home, more problems begin to manifest. She's visited by her dead mother, frequently, and torrential rains reveal defects in the construction. Eleanor thinks of the visits as comfort from a ghost, but I think of them (and visions of others) as hallucinations brought on by stress and emerging guilt. As for the house problems, despite her training as a psychologist (not psychiatrist), Eleanor is completely vulnerable to manipulation by the real estate agent and the repairmen who offer pricey, patchwork solutions.

I spent most of the book hoping for Eleanor to grow a spine, but kept seeing more about previous pressures and previous bad decisions as the current problems snowballed. Fairly late in the book, I was both relieved and annoyed when it looked like a new protector was going to swoop in and solve Eleanor's problems for her, but Fu avoided that trap, courtesy of some more chilling revelations. However, by the end, Eleanor is finally facing up to her problems, being honest with herself about what she has done and how she needs to change her life. The book actually terminates on a pivot point of choice for whether Eleanor will just keep drifting, but she has taken some small steps for positive action, and the irresolute ending is actually kind of hopeful. I think this is a testament to Fu's ability as a writer.

The Valley of Vengeful Ghosts is definitely not a novel for everybody. It has some very triggering elements, which I will spoil somewhat in content warnings below. But if you're actually in the mood to read a psychological horror novel with increasing discomfort and dread, watching a not very likeable character dig herself deeper and deeper into holes, and finally face facts, this may be the book for you.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Valley of Vengeful Ghosts by Kim Fu will be out in paperback on May 3.

Content warnings (SPOILERS):
Psychological horror, overpersuadability, grief, ghosts or hallucinations, parental illness and death, suicide, sexual assault with institutional indifference, natural disaster.