Taiwan Traveloge, by Yang Shuang-Zi
2026-10-20
I picked up Taiwan Travelogue after it won the International Booker Prize. While this was a fun read, it did not quite meet expectations, considering.
Ostensably centered around a will-they, won't-they romance between two women, Japanese author Chizuko and her Taiwanese translator Chizuru, as they travel through Japan's colony of Taiwan shortly before World War II, Taiwan Travelogue is at least as much about the relationship between these countries.
There was room here for open discussions of relationship dynamics in same-sex relationships and the affects of colonization on colonizer and colonized, but both are rendered flatly, judgmentally, and without nuance. On the bounds of the book's overly-deep meta-fiction structure we are told explicitly that Chizuru is complicit in Taiwan's subjugation, despite her liberality, and that Chizuko is actively considering Chizuru's advances.
A better book would have left the reader to consider for themselves on what grounds Chizuru is a villain. Is it because she's a colonizer, because she's coercive, and / or because she's selfish and immature? There's at least as much evidence for the latter two counts as the first, but they are mostly brushed away.
Despite my qualms, Taiwan Travelogue is an enjoyable read. The characters are charming, the scenic descriptions gorgeous, and the ever-present food scrumptuous-sceming. While reading it, it was fun, fast fiction. It's after completing it that its flaws become clear.
★★★☆☆
Tags: books