Book Review: Feeding Ghosts

I recently read Feeding Ghosts: A Graphic Memoir written and illustrated by Tessa Hulls and published by Macmillan Publishers in 2024. Hulls expertly crafted a cohesive four-hundred page work that follows three story lines: three generations of family trauma and mental illness, the history and linguistics of the Chinese diaspora, and the relationship between the author and her mother as they attempt to reconcile. I am not alone in admiring this book, as it was named one of the best books in its year by Time magazine, a 2025 Libby Award for Best Comic/Graphic Novel, and the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Memoir or Autobiography to name only three of a multitude.

The graphic novel is divided into a prologue, nine parts, and an epilogue. Each section spans a specific period of time, from 1927 when when the author’s grandmother, Sun Yi was born in Suzhou, China in 1927 to “The Present”, a few months before the book was published in 2024. Hulls details how her grandmother was born into a scholarly family worked as a journalist and author throughout her career. A timeline at the front of the book highlights important events in the family’s history as they align to events in Chinese history: Sun Yi meeting the Swiss diplomat who became the father of her daughter, Rose Kuo, in 1950; mother and daughter fleeing Communist China to Hong Kong as political refugees in 1957; Sun’s publication of her bestselling memoir Eight Years in Shanghai the next year and her subsequent mental breakdown; the family’s incremental migration to the United States during the 1970s; and the author’s birth as the second child of her mother and English father in 1984; and the author’s career leading to the creation of the book.

As an award-winning book, the memoir clearly has multiple strengths. Hulls successfully and succinctly explains events in modern Chinese history, from well-known names like Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong to political groups and movements including the Kuomingtang (KMT) Party, the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Great Leap Forward, and the Cultural Revolution. She balances the commentary of scholars, neatly cited in a "Notes" section at the back of the book, with the perspectives of family members who survived these events. She also includes her own opinion on reliability of sources and perspectives, creating a well-rounded overview of complex topics. The linear narrative allows for the introduction of multiple characters speaking multiple languages without causing confusion. I have rarely seen books combine psychological and political analysis, organization of facts, and the creative components of abstract illustrations and a poetic writing style. Hulls is fully deserving of her multiple awards.

Weaknesses are hard to come by in this work and lean more on personal preferences. The stylized writing of some phrases make them difficult to read. Since I read the book in a digital format, I could zoom in to study the forms of individual letters, while a magnifying glass may help readers with a physical book. A few touchstone events or relationships in the book, such as Kuo projecting mental illness onto Hulls in childhood or Sun and Kuo escaping China in a boat, reappear frequently throughout the book. I am undecided if the cadence introduces a steady theme or becomes redundant. The frequency is likely better suited for readers who prefer to consume books over multiple sittings rather than one marathon session.

This book would be an excellent assignment for modern history or Chinese studies students at the upper high school and college levels. The book contains adult language, graphic imagery, references to sexual violence and may not be appropriate for all audiences. If you are interested in modern Chinese history, third culture kids, or multigenerational family epics, or you are looking to try out the graphic novel format, this is a compelling and satisfying read.

Feeding Ghosts: A Graphic Memoir by Tessa Hulls
My rating: 5 of 5 stars