Books you must read before visiting Taiwan
Books you must read before visiting Taiwan
What a better way to learn about Taiwan, then in these fascinating books. We have collected our top 3 favourite books that will engulf you into Taiwan's rich history, language, nature and tales.
The Stolen Bicycle by Wu Ming-yi
From the critically acclaimed Taiwanese author Wu Ming-Yi comes an intimate and magical story about family, war, history, friendship and bicycles.
On a quest to explain how and why his father mysteriously disappeared twenty years ago, the writer embarks on an epic journey in search of a stolen bicycle and soon finds himself immersed in the strangely overlapping histories of the Japanese military during World War II, Lin Wang, the oldest elephant who ever lived, and the secret world of antique bicycle collectors in Taiwan. The result is a surprising and moving meditation on memory, loss, and the bonds of family.
This is a great book to read before you visit Taiwan as it takes you on a beautiful journey around the country and through history through words. And even more excitingly, for our cycling community, this story revolves around an exciting subject: bicycles and bicycle collectors in Taiwan.
Two Trees Make A Forest by Jessica J. Lee
A must to add to list of books to read before visiting Taiwan. This book beautifully blends biography, history, linguistics text, and nature writing, to bring a captivating story on Taiwan through a person journey of self-discovery.
Lee sends us on a journey to retrace her family’s footsteps through Taiwan as a nation, with half of this book being a personal exploration of self-discovery, as Lee traces her family history, specifically her mother’s side who was born in Taiwan to two Chinese migrant parents.
Lee explores the linguistic history of China and Taiwan, and how language is used to express feelings, put names and descriptions to the things around us, and bring life to the world. She beautifully ties nature writing – as she wanders and explores the hills, forests, and rivers of the island. It also looks at Taiwan’s relationship to itself in complex and meaningful ways. A historic and etymological journey through the language of her mother and grandparents.
This is a great book to read before you visit Taiwan as it takes you on a beautiful journey around the country and through history through words. But best of all for all of cycling community, this story revolves around an exciting subject: bicycles and bicycle collectors in Taiwan.
Two Trees Make A Forest by Jessica J. Lee
A must to add to list of books to read before visiting Taiwan. This book beautifully blends biography, history, linguistics text, and nature writing, to bring a captivating story on Taiwan through a person journey of self-discovery.
Lee sends us on a journey to retrace her family’s footsteps through Taiwan as a nation, with half of this book being a personal exploration of self-discovery, as Lee traces her family history, specifically her mother’s side who was born in Taiwan to two Chinese migrant parents.
Lee explores the linguistic history of China and Taiwan, and how language is used to express feelings, put names and descriptions to the things around us, and bring life to the world. She beautifully ties nature writing – as she wanders and explores the hills, forests, and rivers of the island. It also looks at Taiwan’s relationship to itself in complex and meaningful ways. A historic and etymological journey through the language of her mother and grandparents.
This is a great book to read before you visit Taiwan as it takes you on a beautiful journey around the country and through history through words. But best of all for all of cycling community, this story revolves around an exciting subject: bicycles and bicycle collectors in Taiwan.
Running Mother and Other Stories by Songfen Guo
A wonderful collection of diverse and intriguing tales.
This collection of six short stories depicts people, mainly women, struggling for an identity. Running Mother and Other Stories gives the reader an insight into how many of the cultural and political upheavals of the past affect modern day Taiwanese. From how familial responsibility affects a man’s decisions to the thoughts of a condemned man in his final moments before execution, these are sometimes upsetting but nevertheless intriguing collection of stories.
Showcasing the best of Taiwan’s modernist style, these stories are not only an indictment of the human condition but also a powerful comment on the experience of post-retrocession Taiwan.
