Reading Recluse๐ "Taiwan Travelogue" by Yรกng Shuฤng-zว, translated from Mandarin Chinese into English by Lin King
With all that I had heard about this book (it's cutesy, it's food writing, it's cozy), I feared I wouldn't like it. I gave it a try anyway because of the IBP longlist and wow, this book completely won me over.
The book 'pretends' to be a book written by a Japanese author who visited colonized Taiwan in 1938, rediscovered, translated and republished with several notes and add-ons. It's an original structure that added another dimension to the novel, it was my favorite part of it. Nothing made me as emotional as the meta layer of the book that we only truly got to see fully at the end.
The text does start with the tone of one of those cozy Japanese novels I have frequently complained about on here -they're really not my thing. But looks can be deceiving. The story follows an author who has come to stay in Taiwan for a while for the purpose of her writing. Although she has declined to go for the explicit purpose of promoting Japan's expansionism, she's still there (whether she realizes this or not) indirectly in some formal capacity, being received officially as an esteemed visitor from the colonizer that should be served as well as possible by the local authorities. She is appointed a Taiwanese interpreter who accompanies her. At a glance, this is the story of their relationship.
If you want to explore the novel yourself without any expectations or further knowledge, leave my post here. I don't think there's much to spoil, but I do discuss the relationship dynamics a little below. I think the core of the novel is slowly getting a better understanding of that relationship and then zooming out and being to apply the interpersonal on a bigger level. The novel did that very well. Off you go now, dear reader who hasn't read the book yet but wants to!
I wrote so many notes during my reading. It was an emotional read. The author and interpreter have great banter together and undertake fun activities, but so much is also soured. Their relationship is uncomfortably unequal, understandably so. From one of the very first interactions in which the author nicknames her interpreter, to one of the last where she's confused about her interpreter's unease at her praise of some of the consequences of Japan's invasive, colonizing action on the island. Painful to observe.
The Japanese author disagrees with her country's expansion and mourns the local cultures that are suppressed and lost, but she also fully profits from it -how else could she have this luxurious time abroad? She defends her interpreter's position as an equal, but continues to treat her as a personal assistant herself as well. She calls the interpreter her best friend, but after six months still doesn't know what she can and can't eat. She's self-absorbed and never puts two and two together.
The book contains a lot of food talk, something which I initially thought I wouldn't enjoy because that doesn't interest me much. But this book made it interesting with its dynamics. It's always the interpreter feeding the Japanese author, the author gorging on all the island has to offer. Oof. Not only that, while the author tries to appreciate the local food culture, she constantly compares it to what she knows (Japan's cuisine) and reflects on what's in front of her as a fun, exotic thing. And as readers we get pulled into this dance of orientalism! It's easy to get excited and go 'ohhh, ahhh!' at her descriptions. I felt complicit. But then there are all these footnotes to combat it, with in-depth information, blurring the lines: what version of the book is talking to you right now?
All of the Japanese author's white knighting is what ultimately breaks the possibility of the development of a true bond. What worked in the book's favor, I think, are the gender dynamics. Both characters are women dealing with sexist societal expectations about what they are allowed to do with their lives. If the author had been a man, the red flags would have been more obvious, and sooner.
I like subtle novels, but I also like what the last quarter of this book did. It makes everything explicit. Just throw it out in the open! The protagonist learns to self-reflect and even though it might be too late to change and save the relationship, it's still important and opens the door for the fantastic afterwords and notes. Maybe not everything was as sweet as we thought at the start, and maybe not everything is as bitter as we thought by the end. It's bittersweet.
I can only recap this as a good book with symbology, wordplay, layers, footnotes, an interesting meta aspect -all beautifully wrapped. I hope it makes the shortlist.
Dance the Manta Ray
