Have you ever wondered how people will react when you die? Shanghai-born Montrealer Ying Chen takes this concept to its very limits in her third novel, Ingratitude.

Twenty-five-year-old Yan Zi decides to take her own life to escape the demands of her controlling mother. From Yan’s deceased state, she describes the days leading up to her suicide, and her mother’s reaction to her death, which she has closely observed. A part of Yan lives on long enough to tell this story, to reflect on her drastic actions, and to decide whether it was right – or regrettable.

Likened to Albert Camus’ The Stranger, Ingratitude recalls the existentialist voice of Meursault, who lives in a society with rules so binding, anyone breaking them is condemned as an alien. Yan feels that she, too, is bound by unbending rules – her mother is intent on reminding her that she owes her her life, that in fact, Yan has no life of her own; because she came from her mother’s womb, she is still attached to her in an almost physical way. At 25, Yan is past the marriageable age because her mother has insisted on keeping her by her side, and on choosing any husband that Yan might take.

Yan, in her frustration, begins to rebel. She decides she wants her mother to feel pain, wants her to suffer for shackling her. Killing herself is an excellent solution, and ironically, Yan spends a great deal of time at the Happiness Café, contemplating her morbid ending and how she will execute it. But first, she loses her virginity with her co-worker’s boyfriend, and makes no effort to hide it, resulting in complete ostracism from her family and peers.

Chen’s novel is a resounding success as it explores a cultural taboo – suicide – and instills immense curiosity in it. More unusual yet is the fact that Chen allows Yan the chance to reflect on her actions, even though it is too late. This inspires reflection, and in some ironic fashion, hope for those darkest days.