PRE-ORDER: Taipei Story (Deluxe Limited Edition): A Novel (09/08/2026)
Hardcover | 288 pages
*AVAILABLE ON SEPT. 8TH, 2026*
This limited deluxe hardcover features gorgeous stenciled edges ā available on the first printing only!
From R.F. Kuang, the acclaimed #1Ā New York TimesĀ bestselling author ofĀ KatabasisĀ andĀ Yellowface, comes a wryly humorous and profoundly moving coming-of-age novel that grapples with grief, language, and culture shockāall set against the backdrop of an unforgettable summer in Taipei.
College freshman Lily Chen is off to spend the summer in Taipei at an intensive language program like so many Chinese American students before her, hoping to connect with the culture she inherited but never fully understood. But a promising start quickly unravels. Her classes are grueling, her roommate is driving her insane, and a reckless trip to the hot springs with a guy she barely knows soon has her classmates viciously gossiping. She feels adrift, a foreigner in a country she thought would feel like home.
Then shocking news arrives: Lilyās grandfather has passed away. The loss forces her to grapple with now-unanswerable questions about her family history. As Lily grieves, sheās drawn into a journey of self-discoveryāpiecing together memories, stories, and silences over a series of hilarious and devastating attempts at connection.
Taipei StoryĀ asks: What if the diaspora fantasy of homecoming never comes true? What if learning a language canāt bring you any closer to the people youāre trying to reach? What if you search for your familyās history, but your family doesnāt want to share? What if you wait too long to ask the right questions? As Lily struggles for answers, her summer becomes a poignant search for understandingāof herself, her family, and the meaning of home.
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Description
Hardcover | 288 pages
*AVAILABLE ON SEPT. 8TH, 2026*
This limited deluxe hardcover features gorgeous stenciled edges ā available on the first printing only!
From R.F. Kuang, the acclaimed #1Ā New York TimesĀ bestselling author ofĀ KatabasisĀ andĀ Yellowface, comes a wryly humorous and profoundly moving coming-of-age novel that grapples with grief, language, and culture shockāall set against the backdrop of an unforgettable summer in Taipei.
College freshman Lily Chen is off to spend the summer in Taipei at an intensive language program like so many Chinese American students before her, hoping to connect with the culture she inherited but never fully understood. But a promising start quickly unravels. Her classes are grueling, her roommate is driving her insane, and a reckless trip to the hot springs with a guy she barely knows soon has her classmates viciously gossiping. She feels adrift, a foreigner in a country she thought would feel like home.
Then shocking news arrives: Lilyās grandfather has passed away. The loss forces her to grapple with now-unanswerable questions about her family history. As Lily grieves, sheās drawn into a journey of self-discoveryāpiecing together memories, stories, and silences over a series of hilarious and devastating attempts at connection.
Taipei StoryĀ asks: What if the diaspora fantasy of homecoming never comes true? What if learning a language canāt bring you any closer to the people youāre trying to reach? What if you search for your familyās history, but your family doesnāt want to share? What if you wait too long to ask the right questions? As Lily struggles for answers, her summer becomes a poignant search for understandingāof herself, her family, and the meaning of home.
