In addition to furnishing a Nobel prize winner and serving as Taiwan's largest reading room, the Taipei International Book Exhibition will introduce some remarkable literary figures to the local reading public. Here are a few of the highlights:
Golo on Taiwan
On his last trip to Taiwan, the French cartoonist, Golo, began working on an illustrated travel journal about Taipei. The book, Made in Taiwan, follows Golo's own comically down to earth ramblings through scooter-filled streets, night markets and round table dinners. The man who "draws what he sees" will formally release his latest work tomorrow at 3:30pm at the fair. A total Taiwan endeavor, the book is published by Le Pigeonier, a local bookstore specializing in French books. Golo, who derives his name from a fictional Senagalese monkey, will also sign copies of the book at the fair on Sunday at 2pm and make other appearances at Le Pigeonnier. For more details, call le Pigeonnier: 2517-2616.
FNAC speaker series
In the middle of the trade center hall, FNAC has carved out a cozy nook of a cafe. In addition to offering muffins and scones, the venue will play host to a dynamic series of talks by contemporary authors and translators. FNAC has brought these writers to Taiwan with the sole intention of introducing them to the Taiwan reading public.
who: Andrei Makine
When: Saturday, 4pm
Russian-born Andrei Makine is probably best known for his first novel, Dreams of My Russian Summers, which has been translated into 25 languages. Stylistically, he has been recognized with two of France's top literary prizes for pushing subjectivity to its limits through a blurring of the cognitive borders between dream and reality, past and present, and even folklore and the external world. Thematically, his novels often trace his own past, which took him from Stalinist Russia to today's Paris, where he now lives and writes -- in French.
Who: Noel and Liliane Dutrait
When: Sunday, 2:30pm
Noel and Liliane Dutrait are a husband and wife team that have translated Nobel prize winner Gao Xingjian (
Who: Ryu Murakami
When: Sunday, 4pm
Born in 1952, Ryu Murakami is Japan's premier chronicler of Japan's disaffected youth. He has told stories of women who leave unwanted babies in train station lockers (Coin Locker Babies, 1980), teens losing themselves in sexual fetishes, hard drugs and airplane glue (Almost Transparent Blue, 1976), and S&M prostitutes (Tokyo Decadence, a film from 1992). One of Japan's most popular authors, he has also directed four feature films.
Who: Marc Levy
When: Monday, 4pm
At the age of 22, Marc Levy cast aside his training as an architect to produce his first novel, Et si c'etait vrai. The book deals with a woman, her mysteries, the man who secretly knows of them, and the intrigue between the pair. Upon publication, the tale rocketed up the French best-seller lists, was translated into 20 languages, and attracted the attention of Steven Spielberg, who will make a movie out of it.
What: French Film Festival
The French Film Festival will run every day of the book fair before lunch, highlighting French cinema from the classics up through recent blockbusters. Films will be shown in areas of the Taipei World Trade Center designated as Recreation Halls 1 and 2. Hall 1 films begin at 9:30am, and Hall 2 films begin at 10am. Film titles and times are as follows: Friday 9:30am, Taxi, 10am, The Fifth Element (English); Saturday 9:30am, On Connait La Chanson, 10am, The Dinner Game; Sunday 9:30am, The Dinner Game, 10am, The City of Lost Children; Monday 9:30am, The City of Lost Children, 10am, On Connait La Chanson; Tuesday 9:30am Belle Maman, 10am, Taxi 2. Unless otherwise noted, films will be in French. Some films will have English subtitles.
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