Ghosts

This week my readings seem to be all about ghosts. First, there is the Mediator series I picked up from the bigbadwolf sale (RM5 a piece, six books in all). I recall reading the first two books during secondary school, but I couldn't find the rest of the books after that and thus the series was forgotten. Previously, it was published under another pen-name, but after Cabot became famous through The Princess Diaries, I think the publishers saw it fit to republish it under Cabot's name.



If you've watched Ghost Whisperer, then you'd be familiar with the premise of the Mediator series. Susannah "Suze" Simon has been seeing ghosts since she was two years old and has been helping them with their unfinished business most of her life. Her move to California means meeting new friends, new mentors and of course new ghosts. In fact, she shares her bedroom with a hundred-something year old male ghost.

The series goes through different cases, each showing her kick-ass ability as a mediator. There is a main arc through out the series regarding her "roommate" which became a central focus for the last three books. I believe the series are aimed at the young adult category due to the simplicity of the writing and plot. The first two books were probably published when Cabot just started off as a writer as it shows in her writing as I can recall passages from book I repeated in book II. Cabot's writing tend to have a happy ending, and this series also have one. Somehow, the ending of this series reminds me of Casper the movie, albeit it's a happier one.



The other ghost story that I've just finished is The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters. It's a ghost story set in 1940s, after the end of World War II. The Hundreds is an estate that has seen better days and now is struggling to make it through the changing times. The struggle seems to take its toll on the Ayres family who owns the estate and begins to break them down one by one.

Waters has chosen such an interesting voice for the narrator. For what's essentially a ghost story, the narrator is a doctor - a man of science who tries hard to rationalise the strange happenings at the Hundreds. It's a battle of science against superstition throughout the novel, with the ending left to the reader to choose which side they stand on.

Though this novel unfolds slowly at first, I can't help feeling a bit creeped out as the action picks up in the last third of the book. Since several of Waters novel have been adapted for TV, perhaps a producer will be willing to pick this up. I think it will make for a haunting movie.