Taiwan Travelogue

Taiwanese author Yáng frames her dizzying English-language debut as a translation of a 1954 Japanese text. Its author, Aoyama Chizuko, is a young Japanese woman and successful writer invited by the Japanese-controlled government of Taiwan to give lectures across the island in 1938. She accepts with enthusiasm, eager to learn about Taiwan’s culture. Her interpreter, Ō Chizuru, is a young woman whose guarded charm and extensive knowledge of local cuisine enthrall Aoyama. As she ravenously samples local dishes, she attempts to get closer to Chizuru, who insists friendship is impossible due to their status difference as Mainlander and Islander. Yáng’s introduction and back matter blur the line between reality and fiction, inviting readers to imagine what’s missing from Aoyama’s novel due to its colonial context and the sensibilities of the time. The meta-literary gamesmanship is alluring, though readers may find their patience wearing thin by the fourth afterword. Still, Yáng offers rich reflections on colonialism and translation along with delightful depictions of Taiwanese delicacies. Admirers of metatextual novels like Haruki Murakami’s Kafka on the Shore ought to take note. (Nov.)