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4.0
Taiwan Travelogue
ByPublisher Description
A bittersweet story of love between two women, nested in an artful exploration of language, history, and power
May 1938. The young novelist Aoyama Chizuko has sailed from her home in Nagasaki, Japan, and arrived in Taiwan. She’s been invited there by the Japanese government ruling the island, though she has no interest in their official banquets or imperialist agenda. Instead, Chizuko longs to experience real island life and to taste as much of its authentic cuisine as her famously monstrous appetite can bear.
Soon a Taiwanese woman―who is younger even than she is, and who shares the characters of her name―is hired as her interpreter and makes her dreams come true. The charming, erudite, meticulous Chizuru arranges Chizuko’s travels all over the Land of the South and also proves to be an exceptional cook. Over scenic train rides and braised pork rice, lively banter and winter melon tea, Chizuko grows infatuated with her companion and intent on drawing her closer. But something causes Chizuru to keep her distance. It’s only after a heartbreaking separation that Chizuko begins to grasp what the “something” is.
Disguised as a translation of a rediscovered text by a Japanese writer, this novel was a sensation on its first publication in Mandarin Chinese in 2020 and won Taiwan’s highest literary honor, the Golden Tripod Award. Taiwan Travelogue unburies lost colonial histories and deftly reveals how power dynamics inflect our most intimate relationships.
May 1938. The young novelist Aoyama Chizuko has sailed from her home in Nagasaki, Japan, and arrived in Taiwan. She’s been invited there by the Japanese government ruling the island, though she has no interest in their official banquets or imperialist agenda. Instead, Chizuko longs to experience real island life and to taste as much of its authentic cuisine as her famously monstrous appetite can bear.
Soon a Taiwanese woman―who is younger even than she is, and who shares the characters of her name―is hired as her interpreter and makes her dreams come true. The charming, erudite, meticulous Chizuru arranges Chizuko’s travels all over the Land of the South and also proves to be an exceptional cook. Over scenic train rides and braised pork rice, lively banter and winter melon tea, Chizuko grows infatuated with her companion and intent on drawing her closer. But something causes Chizuru to keep her distance. It’s only after a heartbreaking separation that Chizuko begins to grasp what the “something” is.
Disguised as a translation of a rediscovered text by a Japanese writer, this novel was a sensation on its first publication in Mandarin Chinese in 2020 and won Taiwan’s highest literary honor, the Golden Tripod Award. Taiwan Travelogue unburies lost colonial histories and deftly reveals how power dynamics inflect our most intimate relationships.
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4.0
“2.5 - I liked the food writing elements and thought that representing the unequal power dynamics of colonialism through a friendship was an interesting concept. However, it felt super drawn out to me the whole time and could have been edited to be much shorter and still packed the same punch. I was also thrown off by like the fake memoir aspect and made the boundary of truth/fiction of other elements like translator notes. Maybe I would feel differently if I visited Taiwan/had more knowledge of its food/culture/history?”
“This book was so good!! It was so interesting that the relationship between Aoyama and Ông Tshian-hoh being a conceit for Japan’s colonial relations towards Taiwan. It also portrayed really well the superiority that Aoyama exhibits subconsciously but nature of being the colonizer, and the effects that superiority had on her and Ông’s bond. The standalone characters were also super interesting, especially their deep bond!!!! This book offered insight into that period in a way that was very informative and personal- something that is probably really hard to find otherwise. I also loved the focus on food it was fun to read all the detailed descriptions. Not to be corny but food brings people together and that really was a theme in this novel. Also yuri yuri yuri!!!”
BelievableChange and growDiverse representationLikeableMemorableMinor characters stand outMorally ambiguousMultilayeredOriginalStrong relationshipsUnforgettable protagonistAddictiveClever plottingSatisfying conclusionSteady pacingSuspensefulWell-structuredAtmosphericHarshHistoricalSetting fits the storyVivid descriptionsDescriptiveEasy to readWitty
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