I cannot remember the last time I wanted to literally and metaphorically savor a book as much as I did while reading Taiwan Travelogue. I have so so SO many thoughts and reflections (most of which I have shared in my numerous forum posts) that I hardly know how to write a review that encompasses how much this book has made me think, feel, and learn.

To quote a friend from my book club, "I have SO MUCH GREY MATTER in my brain now."

OVERVIEW That being said, I'm going to use this review to highlight the discussions and takeaways from my book club discussion. I've been in an "organically" created community with "leftist" (mostly queer) Taiwanese and Taiwanese Americans for the past 2-3 years. We originally formed as a way to show solidarity with Palestine, but overall it's evolved into a virtual/physical space that is so interesting where we can interrogate what it means to be Taiwanese, immigrants, Taiwanese in the diaspora, and/or some combination of the above especially unpacking our positionality globally as colonized and settlers (for those of us in the group who aren’t Indigenous Taiwanese). Our book club was literally started by someone writing in the group chat "dreaming of a book club where we discuss Taiwan Travelogue" and the next message was me setting up a poll to ask for interest/availability. I wonder if the author knows how much this book has also brought together Taiwanese people in the diaspora who may often feel disconnected from the island.

WRITING STYLE Someone in my book club mentioned Yáng Shuāngzǐ most likely takes a lot of inspiration from Yang Chian-Ho (Chhian-ho̍h), a prominent Taiwanese woman journalist who wrote about Taiwan in the Japanese language during Japanese colonialism. My fellow book club member also mentioned during this era, Taiwanese colonial writers had a specific tone and style of writing in Japanese since their first language may have been either Chinese or Taiwanese. The Taiwanese (born in Taiwan) folks in my book club who read the Chinese version (and whose first languages are Chinese) said Yáng Shuāngzǐ did a good job at capturing this writing style because even the word choices that were in Chinese, felt like they were translated from Japanese. Yang Chhian-ho̍h often wrote about the feelings young people had when graduating from all girls schools and the sad feelings related to the expectations of marriage; arguably then, Yáng Shuāngzǐ did a queer take on this within Taiwan Travelogue.

Click here for more info on Yang Chian-Ho and an English translation of her writing.

RECEPTION IN TAIWAN + RECEPTION BY MY BOOK CLUB When the first edition of the book was published in Taiwan, there was a minor "controversy" (which is mentioned briefly during Lin King's end notes) because the cover of the book read "Taiwan Travelogue by Aoyama Chizuko, translated by Yáng Shuāngzǐ" which meant the Taiwanese public assumed it was truly a real translation from a Japanese writer during colonial times.

During the 2nd printing of the book, Yáng Shuāngzǐ had to change the cover to be "Taiwan Travelogue by Yáng Shuāngzǐ" -- Also, I'm not sure if it's mentioned in this forum, but from my book club, I learned that Yáng Shuāngzǐ is a pen name in honor of the author's twin sister who passed away in 2015. The author's name is actually Yang Jo-tzu and she previously collaborated with her twin sister Yang Jo-hui under the shared pen name Yáng Shuāngzǐ (meaning "twins"). In the past, Jo-hui was primarily responsible for historical research and Jo-tzu for narrative and plot. I think that definitely adds an extra extra layer to all of the translations and nuance of this book.

Additionally, some folks in my book club mentioned Taiwan Travelogue did not gain domestic attention until the book received both the 2026 US National Book Award for Translated Literature and the 2026 UK International Booker Prize; this can also reflect the way many in the Taiwan public still defer to “Western standards” of what is “popular” and/or part of “pop culture” as a result of Western imperialism and/or US capitalism worldwide. Since the awards were given to the English translation of both books, the marketing of the book in the US / UK is arguably specific for its demographics… whereas given the initial “publishing controversy” the marketing of the book in Taiwan was not as widespread.

For the current Taiwanese public, some (especially in an older generation) hold a fondness for Japan; it can be easier for some to compare plainly, “Well was I treated better under Japanese occupation or Chinese occupation?” and draw an opinion from that thought and/or individual personal experience rather than dissecting the nuance of colonization and imperialism… And yet that is what Taiwan Travelogue does; there are so many ways that colonialism seeps its way into society and creates permanent affects, some of which can be huge yet unbeknownst for centuries and some of which can be tiny micro-moments and/or internalized beliefs left uninterrogated.

For some of us in the diaspora who understand how pervasive, implicit, and/or explicit colonization is, during the book club we wondered how the Taiwanese public (and arguably Western public since it won prizes in the US and UK) thought the relationship between Aoyama and Tshian-ho̍h was subversive and/or subtle. Yet under the guise of “liberalism” and “democracy”, for the “everyday person” not engaged in sociopolitical work, discussions, or understandings, many are probably like Aoyama where the blatant privilege and bias is not clear until someone spells it out to your face.

Furthermore, I brought up using food as the figurative yet literal means of making and talking about colonialism as "palatable" - who knows if publishers in the US/UK would have picked up this book if not for food being such an integral part? Afterall, Lin King has made it known that many Western publishers originally didn't want to pick it up since "TAIWAN" was explicitly in the title.

BEING A SETTLER + REPRESENTATION FOR WHO? We also discussed Mishima and Tshian-ho̍h having to survive “the system”. Mishima being Japanese but born and raised on the island, and Tshian-ho̍h being Taiwanese but choosing to wear “Chinese” outfits from the Qing dynasty; neither of them are “native” or Indigenous Taiwanese and are still in some ways negatively affected by Japanese colonization, yet as educated settlers, in some ways benefit from Japan. A small “nod” to different tribes only very briefly came up in the book, just as acknowledging the various tribes and Indigenous cultures in Taiwan are more recent (last 10 or so years) discussions. Some of the folks in my book club are of “Hakka” descent which arguably has its own separate culture, language, and identity outside of Taiwanese and indigenous tribes (as was mentioned very briefly in the book).

I am grappling with who gets to share stories about Taiwan, its history, its people. Even the amount of space I have taken up in this forum… I feel grateful to be able to interact with others who do or don’t have Taiwanese ancestry, but I feel like I know so little and I am constantly getting my facts jumbled, so who am I to share? I have only visited Taiwan less than 5 times, I have never lived there as a permanent resident or citizen, and I was born and raised in a country whose imperialism also ruined the lands and lives of ancestors on both sides of my family. Yet I hope (just like a part of the author's and translator's intentions) more and more conversations, stories, and histories about Taiwan from all forms of Taiwanese people continue to be shared publicly and widely.