Blazing a singular literary path, TLA New Bud Award-winner Hsu En-En’s lived
experiences with social activism and leaving Kaohsiung for a new life in the north
give her writings on political activism, resistance, and engagement is fresh, sharp and
thoughtful perspective on this era’s most salient issues.
These nine short stories all center around a group of women who participated in social
protests in their younger years and now all work in the public sector as broadcasters,
part-time staff, or advisors. One even is the organizer of a retreat training program for
government staff. The narratives reveal lives caught between principled idealism and
everyday reality and explore the difficulties of making concessions.
The stories also explore how women’s priorities and thoughts change with age.
Beyond relations with men, the narrative plumbs the ambiguities and complex
feelings involved in female friendships, dissects the landscape of same-sex desire
and affection, and reflects a yearning for greater acceptance of polyamorous and fluid
relations.