The English translation of Taiwan Travelogue (臺灣漫遊錄), written by Yang Shuang-zi (楊双子) and translated by Lin King (金翎), has won the China Books Review award for Outstanding Translated Literature from Chinese Language.
The digital magazine said the novel, which is set in late 1930s Taiwan and follows a Japanese writer and her Taiwanese interpreter on their culinary trip along Taiwan's railways, was selected as the winner by an independent jury of five authors and translators.
The jury praised the book as "a masterful novel that combines a sly literary conceit with the lush pleasures of food writing, upended by a deepening experience of colonialism and its effects on friendship and love."
Photo: CNA
Yang was applauded for her "narrative gift" that "reveals layer after layer behind what appears to be a mere travelogue," and King was complimented for her "artful translation" that "allows tension to swell beneath the surface," the magazine's editors said.
Yang told the Central News Agency that it was especially meaningful to her that the novel won the award, as it was a result of careful research motivated by her experience in two student movements and her younger sister's passing.
She also congratulated King and thanked her for bringing the book to more people around the world.
King said she was happy to receive the award, adding that while the book touched on "heavy" subjects such as colonialism and gender inequality, it was able to use food, romance and humor to convey the complicated history, making it more accessible to readers.
It also reminded them that history is the compilation of daily lives, which consists of both sweet and bitter aspects.
The award comes with a US$10,000 prize.
Also shortlisted for this year's award was Fang Si-chi's First Love Paradise: A Novel (房思琪的初戀樂園) written by late Taiwanese author Lin Yi-han (林奕含) and translated by Jenna Tang, also Taiwanese, the magazine's editors said.
Yang and King previously made history by winning last year’s US National Book Award for Translated Literature for Taiwan Travelogue.
The novel's Japanese version, translated by Yuko Miura, also won Japan's Best Translation Award earlier that year.
Yang was originally a shared pseudonym for twin sisters Yang Jo-tzu (楊若慈) and Yang Jo-hui (楊若暉).
The older sister, Yang Jo-tzu, created the works, while the younger sister did historical research and Japanese translations.
Shuang-zi in Japanese kanji means twins.
After her younger sister died of cancer in 2015, Yang Jo-tzu continued with the pseudonym to honor her bond with her sister.
King, who was born in the US, but was raised in Taiwan, said in a previous interview that she was proud to introduce Taiwan to a global audience.
The China Books Review was founded by veteran China author Orville Schell and Pulitzer-prize winning journalist David Barboza in 2023.
It is published by the New York-based think tank Asia Society's Center on US-China Relations and the Wire China, according to the magazine's official Web site.
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