Taiwan Travelogue: Winner of the 2026 International Booker Prize
As seen:
By Yáng Shuāng-zi and Lin King
avg rating
1 review
Winner of the 2026 International Booker Prize
Winner of the 2024 National Book Award for Translated Literature
Disguised as a translation of a rediscovered text by a Japanese writer, Taiwan Travelogue is a bittersweet story of love between two women, nested in an artful exploration of language, history and power. Set in May 1938, the young novelist Aoyama Chizuko sails from Japan to Taiwan where her interpreter proffers tantalising glimpses of island life and helps her to taste as much of cuisine as her larger-than-life appetite can bear.
TweetReviews
Food glorious food! Every chapter has something yummy and local as the Japanese narrator travels around the island with her local (Taiwanese Islander) translator. Got to keep your wits about you though: it's very tricksy. Set in 1930's when Taiwan was colonised by Japan it explores colonialism, power and relationships and the role of food as part of that. What can be trusted and what can't, including the book itself? As I said, very tricksy.
