Taiwan Travelogue, A Historical Romance, Wins International Booker Prize
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LONDON: ‘Taiwan Travelogue’ has officially won the prestigious International Booker Prize, making historic strides as the first novel originally written in Mandarin Chinese to claim the world-renowned literary award.
The coveted fiction prize was formally presented to Taiwanese author Yang Shuang-zi and American translator Lin King during a celebratory ceremony held in London on Tuesday evening.
Published by Graywolf Press, the ground-breaking book beats out five other prominent international finalists to secure the £50,000 ($63,000) purse, which is strictly split equally between the writer and the translator.
Set during the 1930s under Japanese colonial rule, the historical romance explores complex cultural dynamics, food, and intimacy through the perspective of a visiting Japanese writer and her local Taiwanese translator.
Eleanor Wachtel, the chair of the judging panel, highly praised the book as an extraordinary, multilayered narrative that masterfully exposes the intricate mechanisms of colonial assimilation and human connection.
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