Taipei Story

Lily Chen, a Yale student, goes to Taipei for a summer hoping to connect with her family, culture, and herself by learning Chinese. Her classes are hard, her roommate is difficult, and gossip follows a reckless trip to hot springs with a man she barely knows. After her grandfather dies, Lily grieves and searches for understanding of her family, identity, and home. The book explores connection, language, grief, and belonging during one summer in Taipei. It follows her questions about the culture she received and what home means.

Why You Should Read?

• Follow Lily Chen as she seeks family, culture, and connection during one summer in Taipei.
• Experience her difficult classes, troublesome roommate, and gossip after a hot springs trip.
• Understand Lily's grief and questions about identity, family, and home after her grandfather dies.
• Discover a story about learning Chinese and searching for understanding of oneself and heritage.

About the Author

R.F. Kuang, also named Rebecca F. Kuang, is an American novelist and short-story writer known for fantasy novels. These include The Poppy War trilogy and Babel, or the Necessity of Violence, published in 2022. That novel placed first on The New York Times Best Seller list and won the 2022 Nebula Award for Best Novel. Kuang was born on May 29, 1996, and writes as R. F. Kuang.