Review of Taipei Story by R. F. Kuang

The Taipei sights, sounds, heat, and tastes are the stars of Kuang's novel. Much of the study-abroad language immersion program felt expected; I most appreciated Lily's eventual examination of her own family's history and heritage and how she fits into it.

Lily Chen is a college student who travels to Taiwan to study in an intensive language program along with many other Chinese American students.

Lily and her roommate misjudge their living arrangements and suffer through unreliable plumbing and cramped quarters as they begin to turn on each other. Lily's classes are incredibly rigorous, and she is quickly exhausted from living without fluent language. Yet she yearns to feel more at home in this place that has helped define her family and culture.

The novel is immersively set amid the delectable food, steamy weather, and bustling, busy city of Taipei. For me, the setting is the star of the novel.

Taipei Story is a starting-to-come-of-age novel, although it doesn't dig into extensive character development or depth. For much of the story, little plot exists to move the tale along. We witness Lily's typical study-abroad experiences, but few aspects of them seemed particularly noteworthy. Lily is not sure of herself socially or romantically and is taken advantage of, suffers loneliness, is the victim of rumors, and experiences various awkward, painful young-adult missteps and unfortunate circumstances.

Late in the book, Lily forces herself to stretch and explore the region, and the story's momentum improves. I was also interested in her examination of what she had been seeking from her Taiwanese experience, her eventual exploration of her family's history, and her own revised definition of personal success within the rigorous program.

Most of the summer's interpersonal difficulties are fairly neatly resolved by the end.

I listened to Taipei Story as an audiobook through Libro.fm.

More Books to Check Out

R. F. Kuang is also the author of Katabasis, Yellowface, The Poppy War, Babel, The Burning God, and The Dragon Republic.