Chapter Nine: Racism, Ghosts, and the Hunger for Connection
⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.
Summary
Cora joins Yifei and Harvey for dinner in Chinatown on a rare free day when no cleanup calls come in. She is self-conscious about not knowing Chinese food names and lets Yifei order. Two white men at a nearby table make racist jokes about rats and bats in the food. Yifei decides to move them elsewhere, but as they gather their things, a brick is thrown through the restaurant window, shattering glass over the group. Harvey shields Cora. They leave quickly without calling the police, as the staff request.
They share what little food remains on a park bench, brushing glass from each other’s hair. Yifei lends Cora a blue cardigan, explaining that wearing all black this month is bad luck. Cora walks home alone after dusk. On her street, she hears Delilah’s voice calling her name. A cold hand grips her shoulder and tells her not to turn around, but Cora does anyway—and finds the street empty. The touch leaves a bruise.
Back at her apartment, Cora locks the door and remembers a childhood moment: Delilah pulling her back from a ledge during a Truth or Dare game, promising that being sisters meant inevitability, not choice. Now, inside her living room, Cora sees a gaunt woman with needle-thin neck and black eyes eating her coffee table, casting a shadow that is a portal to darkness. Cora claps her hand over her mouth to avoid screaming and alerting the neighbors.
Key Events
- Cora, Yifei, and Harvey eat soup dumplings at a Chinatown restaurant.
- Two white men make racist comments about rats and bats in the food.
- Yifei angrily moves the group; a brick is hurled through the store window.
- Harvey shields Cora; both are cut by glass.
- The staff refuse to call the police; the group eats leftovers in a park.
- Yifei gives Cora a blue cardigan for luck; Cora walks home alone.
- Cora hears Delilah’s voice and feels a cold hand on her shoulder.
- She turns around despite being told not to; the street is empty.
- Cora recalls a memory of Delilah pulling her back from a roof ledge.
- In her apartment, Cora finds a ghostly woman eating her coffee table.
Character Development
Cora continues to struggle with intrusive thoughts and the desire for normalcy. Her attempt to become a “foodie” and socialize is violently interrupted by racism, reinforcing her belief that the world sees her only as Chinese. Her fear of institutionalization keeps her from screaming when she sees the ghost—she knows no one else will believe her. The memory of Delilah reveals Cora’s long-standing loneliness and her need for a promise that was never kept.
Yifei acts protectively, moving the group away from the racist men and later lending Cora her cardigan. She watches Cora closely and texts her regularly, but Cora remains wary of her kindness.
Harvey is impulsive and physically protective, but his joking nature is subdued after the attack.
Delilah appears in memory and as a ghostly voice. Her childhood promise—“You’re my sister… it doesn’t matter how we feel about it”—underscores Cora’s grief and her sense of abandonment.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
- Hungry ghosts: Yifei’s earlier mention of hungry ghosts (in prior chapters) is now literalized. The ghost woman eating Cora’s coffee table embodies insatiable hunger and connects to the “bat eater” slur from the white men.
- Racist violence: The brick thrown through the Chinese restaurant window is a direct expression of anti-Asian hate. Cora internalizes that no matter how she tries to blend in, she will be targeted.
- Intrusive thoughts: Cora imagines jamming a bat into the white man’s mouth—a violent counter to the “bat eater” joke. The text explicitly labels this an intrusive thought, linking her trauma to her desire for retribution.
- Memory and erosion: Cora worries that her memory of Delilah’s voice will be eaten by “hungry moths.” The ghostly encounter tests whether her mind is fracturing or the world is opening.
- Darkness and being seen: The chapter opens with Cora uneasy in darkness. The ghost and the racist men both force her to be seen—as Chinese and as haunted.
Why This Chapter Matters
This chapter is the point where the supernatural and the real collide without ambiguity. Cora’s racist attack in Chinatown is a tangible threat; the ghost in her apartment is an inexplicable one. Together they drive home her isolation: she cannot rely on the police, her friends, or her own mind. The childhood memory of Delilah adds emotional depth, showing that Cora has always been on the edge—and that her sister’s promises were false. The chapter sets up Cora’s choice: either believe she is going mad or accept that hungry ghosts are real.
Study Questions
1. Why does Cora agree to go out with Yifei and Harvey?
Cora agrees partly because she is unnerved by waiting for a possible cleanup call, and partly because she wants to force herself to become a normal person who enjoys trying restaurants. She thinks a food blog or Yelp reviews might give her a hobby.
2. What does the brick through the restaurant window symbolize?
It symbolises the physical and emotional violence of anti-Asian racism. The brick comes immediately after the white men make racist jokes, and the staff refuse to call the police, showing that the community has learned to distrust authorities. The attack reinforces Cora’s fear that she will never be seen as anything other than Chinese.
3. Why does Cora turn around when the voice tells her not to?
Cora has always been driven to know the truth, even when it is dangerous. The memory of Delilah pulling her back from a roof ledge shows she has repeatedly ignored warnings. Turning around confirms her pattern of defying caution—and she finds only emptiness, which may be worse than seeing a ghost.