The author and translator of the award-winning novel Taiwan Travelogue (臺灣漫遊錄) yesterday started a book tour in the US, with stops in New York and California.
Yang Shuang-zi (楊?子), the book’s author, and Lin King (金翎), the translator, embarked on a tour comprising five dates and eight sessions at bookstores, universities and the New York Public Library, the Ministry of Culture said in a news release.
The tour is hosted by the Taipei Cultural Center in New York and the Taiwan Academy in Los Angeles, with support from the ministry.
Photo: CNA
Yang and King are to discuss the novel’s inspiration, as well as its writing and translation process, providing a behind-the-scenes look at the historical research, on-site exploration and challenges in translating cultural and emotional nuances for an international audience, the news release said.
The pair made history in November last year when the novel won the National Book Award for Translated Literature in the US, becoming the first-ever Taiwanese work to win the prestigious award.
Set in 1938 when Taiwan was a Japanese colony, the novel follows a Japanese woman and a Taiwanese woman who have the same kanji characters in their names on train rides across Taiwan.
Each chapter of the novel highlights a Japanese or Taiwanese dish, and as the two women exchange ideas and share their cultures, a journey through gender, culture, colonialism and history unfolds.
The center said in a statement that it hoped the tour would help deepen appreciation for Taiwanese literature and history overseas.
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