Review: "A Ghost in the Middle Kingdom" by Anna Keibler

A Ghost in the Middle Kingdom by Anna Keibler
Published July 2025 via Black Rose Writing
★★★

Keibler was teaching English in China when she fell into an unlikely romance: Her paramour was a yak herder, and there were significant cultural and financial barriers to them being together. But Keibler believed in their romance, and she was determined to make it work—even if that meant putting her passport up as collateral to get the money Alimu needed to buy a truck so that he could earn more money and they could more easily be together. Even if that meant believing him when all the evidence suggested that he wasn't truthful. Even when...well, some things are better left for the book.

I felt better after hearing Alimu's explanation. [...] I wanted to believe Alimu, so I did. (112)

I went back and forth (and back and forth) on whether to round up or down from three and a half stars. It's a fascinating read: Keibler is a good writer, and more than that she's wide-open about the many bad decisions she made; no apology, no regrets, just "here's my experience" and keep moving. I had to take a break from reading midway through, because—and this is not criticism, just statement of fact—my own decision-making process is so different from Keibler's that I spent much of the book wanting to read with my hands over my face, peeking through my fingers.

I will say that the way she portrays things in the book is not the same as what the book description indicates. For example, the description says Not only does Alimu convince Anna to barter away her passport—rendering her ensnared in his embrace, but the way she tells it in the book, she made that particular deal on her own, and Alimu said after she told him that it was a bad idea. (This is about the only time in the book that I agreed with Alimu—terrible idea! Don't use your passport as collateral!) The overarching point is still the same, mind; it was a deeply problematic relationship and a precarious situation that got more precarious over time.

So, very much one in which no one person is making all the bad decisions—there are plenty to go around. (Also maybe worth noting that Keibler had a safety net in the form of her parents; she acknowledges this but also didn't want to ask them for help. And I get this, though it sometimes adds to the fingers-over-eyes sense.) Your enjoyment of the book might depend somewhat on your own personality; it's a compelling read, and there's a lot to learn about expat life in China, but whether or not it's relatable (and it doesn't have to be!) really comes down to the reader.