3.5 stars

This collection of interconnected short stories veers back and forth from literary fiction into speculative territory. Some of the stories were brilliant, some I liked less, but it is a solid collection about identity & loss.

[What I liked:]

•I really liked the story about the 140-year-old Japanese guy & the journalist he befriends. That one was weird but in a way that was mostly sweet & made sense to me. I also liked the one about the murdered woman trying to alert her family to evidence that would solve the crime.

•These stories are definitely creative. None of them are predictable or boring. They made me think about identity, memory, loss, death, & grief.

•I do like the writing style. Even when the story wasn’t to my taste I could still enjoy the prose.


[What I didn’t like as much:]

•Some of the stories weren’t my thing. Some of them rambled & seemed to have a hard time finding a coherent ending. Some of them were so focused on speculation & describing the sci-fi-esque technology of the future that I didn’t get a good sense for the characters.

CW: murder, terminal illness, death, racism, sexism, ableism, domestic violence, substance abuse, infidelity

[I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for the book!]

The stories in this small collection are beautifully written and, as they progress, deeply touching. I felt the domestic violence aspects (consider that a trigger warning) were authentically conveyed, which is something I greatly appreciated.

My only complaint is that the stories aren’t immediately engaging. There is a superfluous amount of academic speak, as well as some overly detailed scenes, that may persuade readers to set this one aside. However, I think each conclusion’s payout made the rocky journey worth enduring.


The Thesis ~ 4 stars

Ghostfy ~ 4.5 stars

Ryukuan ~ 4 stars

E Redux ~ 3.5 stars

I am immensely grateful to Bespeak Audio Editions and NetGalley for my copy. All opinions are my own.

Ezra's Ghost is an absolute triumph. In three (or three and a half) stories narrated by ghosts and those living with ghosts, Tamayose delves deep into love, grief, memories, AAPI experience and racism, with quirky digressions on academic research and graphic design. The stories are a perfect mix of character driven and plot driven, and I really enjoyed the supernatural or magical realist aspects of the narrative. Tamayose's writing is poignant, suspenseful, absolutely unputdownable once I started listening. Thank you so much for this audio ARC and I am already looking forward to the author's next book!

The book is a compilation of multiple short stories, some a bit too short 😆. All revolving around the people of Ezra. Sometravelling to a different location, while others are stuck there in their dead form.

The interconnection of these stories comes into preview when you move towards the end of the book. The first story I feel was the most impactful for me as it immediately pulled me in! The others were little passersby. It is not like your usual book reads and I was actually to have tried this.

Genre: #fiction #shortstories
Rating: 3.5/5 ⭐️

Thankyou @netgalley @ecwpress for the Digital ARC

I've read more short story collections lately than I usually do, and I was really happy with the surreal quality of Ezra's Ghosts! I think the focus on Japanese immigrants in Canada is really unique — at least, I can't personally recall ever reading something through this particular cultural lens. My favorite story was definitely Ghostfly, though I enjoyed them all! There is grief woven throughout every story, but not in a way that depresses the reader.

Thank you to Darcy Tamayose, Bespeak Audio, and NetGalley for my advance audio copy.

ARC audiobook provided in exchange for an honest review.

The narration on this book was very clear and easy to listen to! The stories are a bit disjointed in a way but each has a connection to the town Ezra. While they don’t so much “come together”, you start seeing the patterns and all the stories were very interesting. If you’re into short stories, give this book a try!

Thank you to @NetGalley and @EWCPress for the audio-ARC

In three stories set in a Canadian prairie town use themes of horror and the supernatural to tell stories that are so painfully poignant and real. Grief, treatment of marginalized individuals and immigrant experiences are all woven into these stories of ghosts and magnificent monsters.

The first story was by far my favorite. An academic researching missing and murdered women around the world through the lens of colonialism is brutally murdered by her partner, who frames someone else. In a twist of fiction the abuser/murder gets what is coming to him and the victims, both murdered and falsely imprisoned, find some justice.

Themes of colonialism, immigration, othering mix in with heartfelt characters and unique plots to create a strong little collection. The juxtaposition of Japanese culture in Canadian society makes these stories that much richer.

Don’t let the cover fool you, this is a solid collection.