Like most page-to-screen adaptations that Netflix has done, here is one show that you will want to check out if you have not already. The Ghost Bride was written by Yangsze Choo, a fellow author of Malaysian descent who helps to deliver a wonderfully crafted Malaya filled with rich histories and in-depth knowledge about the then Malaya, superstitions and traditional beliefs. The show was co-directed by Malaysian directors Quek Shio Chuan and Ho Yu Hang. Quek is most notable for directing the emotion-packed 2018 movie Guang (光), while Ho is acclaimed for his films—Motif (2019) and Kepong Gangster (2012). It is safe to say the material was in good hands, with the main production crew based in Malaysia.

If the title, The Ghost Bride, did not already give away what this coming-of-age tale is about, let’s look at what it actually means. It is a practice of arranging the marriage of a dead person, but to marry the living to the dead was a rare and dreadful occurrence. Netflix has made it into a Mandarin show, based on the main role of Chinese culture and beliefs that have been woven throughout the book. Instead of keeping its original title, the showrunners crafted a fitting title in Mandarin, 彼岸之嫁, which translates to Marriage to the Afterlife.

The storyline of The Ghost Bride/彼岸之嫁 more or less follows the original route of the book. The main protagonist, Pan Li Lan (played by Huang Pei Jia) is a daughter of a family that is facing bankruptcy and has few marriage prospects. A sudden invitation to the wealthiest family in Melaka—The Lim Family’s Qi Xi party (七夕)—reveals the family’s intention of Li Lan marrying their deceased son, Lim Tian Ching (played by Kuang Tian) as his ghost bride. The union will ease Mr Pan’s debt and ensure Li Lan will have a comfortable life as one of the Lim Family’s members but comes with a terrible price. Li Lan is haunted by Lim Tian Ching and is soon sucked into the afterlife. She must help to uncover the Lim family’s secrets and Tian Ching’s supposed murder before she is trapped in the ghost world forever.

Here are some of the changes made in the Netflix TV show when compared to the book.

Inarguably, the most notable change is Mr Pan (played by Jordan Voon), Li Lan’s father. For a good portion of the book, Mr Pan is a hollow character of bitterness, pessimism and grief. He shuts himself off from the society that was wasting away day by day and smokes opium while his business dwindles down to almost nothing from its former glory. With the gloomy prospect of Li Lan being a ghost bride, she even talks about the realisation of how her father has neglected her in the book, quoting, “my father’s withdrawal from the world meant that he had sought out no friends with sons and had arranged no match for Li Lan.” Later in the book, we learned that Mr Pan did indeed secure a marriage alliance for Li Lan, but things did not go as planned as the marriage was broken off by the male’s side of the family.

The Netflix show, however, tones down Mr Pan’s bitter personality and makes him a more solid and believable character. Instead of starting off the show with Mr Pan being feeble, they’ve crafted a more prominent father figure that still cares about his family and business even though it is faced with financial troubles. As the head figure of the Pan Household, he formally rejects Madam Lim’s offer to help Mr Pan settle his business troubles in exchange to make Li Lan the ghost bride of the Lim family’s deceased son. This shows that even though he was not very present in Li Lan’s life, he still stands up for what is right and protects his daughter. This was a change that was for the better as it further solidified Mr Pan’s character growth, whereas in the book, it was Li Lan who rejected Madam Lim’s offer during her first visit to the Lim Mansion.

The Netflix version portrays a father who is desperately trying to mend the big gaping hole in his business as well as keeping his family together. Ammah (played by Susan Leong) confronts Mr Pan in his study about Li Lan’s marriage prospects where he admits to not being a good dad to Li Lan. Despite money being tight, he offered Ammah money to buy Li Lan a new dress as this is one of the ways he expresses his love for his daughter.

You might be wondering why we have included these two characters in this discussion. They were actually derived from one character in the book: Lim Yan Hong, the daughter of the Lim Family.

In the book, Yan Hong was physically described as a dumpling-faced woman who is very friendly and has an open personality. This was seen through the way she befriends and accompanies Li Lan during the family’s Qi Xi Festival (七夕). Although she is the daughter of Mr Lim’s second wife, she is a person that commands a great deal of respect, often making decisions that should have fallen to Madam Lim. As the story unfolds, we learn that Yan Hong is not entirely what Li Lan believes her to be. She is a character that is strict with the servants and has secrets that she wishes to keep.

One glance at Yu Li (played by Meeki Ng) and you can already tell she was crafted to depict the softer and kinder side of Yan Hong in the book. Yu Li is a loyal friend to Li Lan even after the birth of her child, catching up with Li Lan whenever she is able to. She can also sometimes be seen as Li Lan’s wing-woman which adds more humor to her bubbly and cheery character.

The showrunners decided to keep the real Yan Hong (played by Jojo Goh) deprived of her warmth written in the book. In the show, she is a cold, selfish and unpleasant person. She keeps secrets from others and is not afraid to hurt others when it comes to protecting herself and her whereabouts. During an investigation on Tian Ching’s murder, Li Lan and her partner, Er Lang, were seen in the gambling den Yan Hong frequents. She dispatched a group of men to create a distraction before slipping away. This was also where Li Lan was poisoned. Tian Bai (the cousin to both Yan Hong & Tian Ching) questioned why she never informed him that she saw Li Lan, where Yan Hong quotes, “When did I ever have to answer you? I am not her parent. She and I are not friends to begin with.” This statement further displays Yan Hong’s icy demeanor.

Because her mother, Mr Lim’s second wife, died while she was young, Yan Hong longs for motherly love and attention from Madam Lim. Sadly, Madam Lim has never regarded Yan Hong as her own daughter and treats her harshly. Yan Hong confesses that she wished she had a biological sister as she has no confidants in the household. We get to understand that Yan Hong’s unfeeling character is largely due to the lack of motherly love.

Er Lang is a character that only appears one-third into the book. His appearance in the book is not as prominent as what they’ve done with the Netflix adaptation—a change I appreciate.

Er Lang, with his big straw hat shrouding his face, holds a sense of mystery to him, and yet he is the only person Li Lan can trust while she ventures into the Plains of Dead in the books. In her quest into the afterlife, Er Lang gifts Li Lan a round scaled disk which she can use to call him when she needs help. Little did we know that the disc had the ability to be turned into a dragon, right out of the Chinese folktales Ammah has told Li Lan. Er Lang holds the key to Li Lan’s escape in the afterlife, as well as the key to her heart.

Netflix established a prominent character for Er Lang from the start. As the main character, Er Lang appears more on screen than in the books. In the show, Er Lang is a Heavenly Guard sent from heaven to solve the reason why and how Lim Tian Ching was able to bribe one of the hell guards. He serves as a spy in the Lim Household to pry information to help with his case. As the show progresses, we see Er Lang putting aside his humorous side to focus on the task at hand.

Lim Tian Ching (played by Kuang Tian) is both a victim and a villain in this story. In both versions, he died with a vengeful heart and was rich in the afterlife. As the main heir and sole surviving son of the Lim Family, Tian Ching died abruptly.

The show decided to dive deeper into Tian Ching’s character and craft a new backstory as to why this character is so hated by the people around him. We also get to see how powerful he is. The show takes great attention to the details of Tian Ching, from the mansion to the riches and the clothing he wears. He can also be seen with a diamond brooch of the 14 stars on the Jalur Gemilang flag. Madam Lim has always turned a blind eye to the way her son behaves and spoils him, leaving him to have a mentality that he is always right and was never wrong. In the show, Tian Ching quotes, “Why do I need others to judge me? My fate is up to myself. Even in death, there is no ‘mercy’ in my dictionary.” Both the book and show portrays Tian Ching as a bully that likes to inflict harm on those who do not listen to him or follow his orders. He is also not afraid to kill someone to satisfy his need for “injustice”.

In the book, Tian Ching was merely a pawn in his dead ancestor’s scheme in bribing one of the hell guards. Netflix puts him in the spotlight of being in charge and in control of things in the Plains of Dead. He continues to haunt Madam Lim for offerings and one particular item to bribe the officials. He also has a powerful sway in inviting all the important ‘people’ in the afterlife, which further proves his mightiness in the afterlife. In the show, we see how both Er Lang and Li Lan discover Tian Ching’s weakness and the item he uses to bribe the officials. In the end, both the book and show Tian Ching received the same ending he was written to have.

It was interesting to see what Netflix has done with the Plains of Dead. It was described in the book as the place where paper burnt offerings get delivered to in order for the dead to have a more comfortable living before proceeding to the Gates of Judgment when their time is up. The layout of the Plains of Dead is constantly shifting every time a person arrives at the Gates of Judgement. It was a place where things do not seem as simple as they appear to be, with ox-headed and lizard-skinned hell guards patrolling the realm, big-scaled creatures that spy for the Courts of Hell. Li Lan mentioned the air in the Plains of Dead is stifling and how the longer she stayed in that place, the harder it was for her to breathe and re-enter her body.

While the book depicts a somewhat populated Plains of Dead, Netflix decided to keep the place focused solely on the mightiness of Lim Tian Ching by picturing his mansion as the sole property in the Plains of Dead. The colour treatment for the cinematography also changed from the warm, yellow tones they’ve used for the living world to cold, blue tones to signify the shift between living and dead. They’ve also added the horror element to the Plains of Dead by adding zombies into the scene where Li Lan wakes up in the afterlife after being poisoned in the living world. The show pictures the Plains of Dead as a desert, with bones littered on the ground and dried, dead branches to bring the audiences to realise in the world of the dead, nothing grows.

All in all, the show improved the characters by adding dimension and depth to them. Netflix also brought in important characters much earlier than in the book, crafting a believable 1890s Melaka. Both the book and show transports us back in time, giving us a glimpse of late 19th century Malaya and Chinese beliefs. Whether it’s the book or TV show, The Ghost Bride is a story that brings you on an unexpected adventure, and I highly recommend it to all Malaysians.