For centuries, China and other Asian countries have celebrated Tomb Sweeping Day as a sign of respect to their ancestors. Families visit gravesites and pay homage to their long dead by literally sweeping the dirt off burial plots, cleaning the areas, making repairs and placing willow branches atop tombstones.

The holiday celebrates connections and relationships, making TOMB SWEEPING the perfect title for Alexandra Chang’s collection of short tales. These 15 stories are explorations of how people relate to one another and to themselves --- or, in some cases, don’t.

"Each story investigates and celebrates the question of knowing, just like the tomb-sweeping holiday does. For what do we really know? And how can we ever know? Chang’s genius is in the gaps that leave us pondering."

In “Tomb Sweeping,” Qingming (another name for the holiday) is celebrated with incense and spirit money, and families laying gifts at the tombs of their departed loved ones, including the seemingly ridiculous --- like model BMWs --- to ease their journey. A young girl worries that they have not brought enough, while a distracted father hushes her concerns with one line: “Your grandparents will have a happy time in death.” Conversations with the dead ensue, and the living argue over the meaning of honor. Is it offering too much? Is it learning more about those we thought we knew? Is it accepting that we will never really know?

In “Unknown by Unknown,” an unemployed young woman takes a job as a house sitter at an all-too-comfortable house. She settles in quickly, obeying all the homeowner’s instructions, and finds herself living in familiar territory. Eerily, the artwork that came with the house speaks to her. In the end, readers wonder if this is her art, just as the woman is curious about the familiarity of it all --- once again begging the bigger question: How much do we truly know ourselves?

Each of these pieces offers a hint of humor and a dose (small or large) of haunt. Mistaken identities lead to relationships. College friends grow apart. Fathers age. Numerous characters are introduced, and so many nuances leave an unsettledness about them. But rather than this being an issue, the unanswered lends itself to the mystery of Chang’s writing and the message that we may never actually know ourselves or those around us.

Each story investigates and celebrates the question of knowing, just like the tomb-sweeping holiday does. For what do we really know? And how can we ever know? Chang’s genius is in the gaps that leave us pondering.