This limited deluxe hardcover features gorgeous stenciled edges – available on the first printing only!
From R.F. Kuang, the acclaimed #1 New York Times bestselling author of Katabasis and Yellowface, comes a wryly humorous and profoundly moving coming-of-age novel that grapples with grief, language, and culture shockall set against the backdrop of an unforgettable summer in Taipei.
College freshman Lily Chen is off to spend the summer in Taipei at an intensive language program like so many Chinese American students before her, hoping to connect with the culture she inherited but never fully understood. But a promising start quickly unravels. Her classes are grueling, her roommate is driving her insane, and a reckless trip to the hot springs with a guy she barely knows soon has her classmates viciously gossiping. She feels adrift, a foreigner in a country she thought would feel like home.
Then shocking news arrives: Lilys grandfather has passed away. The loss forces her to grapple with now-unanswerable questions about her family history. As Lily grieves, shes drawn into a journey of self-discoverypiecing together memories, stories, and silences over a series of hilarious and devastating attempts at connection.
Taipei Story asks: What if the diaspora fantasy of homecoming never comes true? What if learning a language cant bring you any closer to the people youre trying to reach? What if you search for your familys history, but your family doesnt want to share? What if you wait too long to ask the right questions? As Lily struggles for answers, her summer becomes a poignant search for understandingof herself, her family, and the meaning of home.
