Fiction
THE FORMOSA EXCHANGE新寶島
Introduction
2021 TLA Golden Book Award
About the Book
One morning in May, the citizens of Taiwan wake up to find they have all switched places with the citizens of Cuba. Huang Chong-Kai’s astonishing work of magical realism opens new conversations on race, marginality, and the (re)telling of history. With its multitude of voices and narrative formats, The Formosa Exchange isn’t just a story, it’s an event – think Gabriel Garcia Marquez told with the historical commitment of Michael Herr’s Dispatches. It also offers extremely trenchant commentary on social constructions of race, multiculturalism, and political marginality.
Judge Commemtary (By Chen Rong-Bin)
This is certainly an exceptional work of postmodernism (and poststructuralism) mixed with magical realism, but the themes that the novel addresses are pragmatic indeed. The book inspires the reader to contemplate the relationship between people and land: if we no longer live in Taiwan and all migrate to Cuba, shouldn’t we change our perspective on issues of ethnicity between so-called benshengren, waishengren, and indigenous people? How would the fate of the Taiwanese people differ if we didn’t have to face the threat of China, or if we were separated from America only by a narrow body of water? The Formosa Exchange is a masterful literary work that simultaneously entertains and provokes thought.
About the Book
One morning in May, the citizens of Taiwan wake up to find they have all switched places with the citizens of Cuba. Huang Chong-Kai’s astonishing work of magical realism opens new conversations on race, marginality, and the (re)telling of history. With its multitude of voices and narrative formats, The Formosa Exchange isn’t just a story, it’s an event – think Gabriel Garcia Marquez told with the historical commitment of Michael Herr’s Dispatches. It also offers extremely trenchant commentary on social constructions of race, multiculturalism, and political marginality.
Judge Commemtary (By Chen Rong-Bin)
This is certainly an exceptional work of postmodernism (and poststructuralism) mixed with magical realism, but the themes that the novel addresses are pragmatic indeed. The book inspires the reader to contemplate the relationship between people and land: if we no longer live in Taiwan and all migrate to Cuba, shouldn’t we change our perspective on issues of ethnicity between so-called benshengren, waishengren, and indigenous people? How would the fate of the Taiwanese people differ if we didn’t have to face the threat of China, or if we were separated from America only by a narrow body of water? The Formosa Exchange is a masterful literary work that simultaneously entertains and provokes thought.
Info
Category：Fiction
Author：Huang Chong-Kai
Publisher：SpringHill Publishing
Rights Contact：Patience Chuang
Email：patiencechuang@gmail.com
ISBN：9789860638967
