Taipei Story Review: Stellar writing, hollow protagonist
R.F. Kuang has been one of my new favorite authors for a few months now, so I was thrilled to see her dropping a new book! After reading Yellowface and The Poppy War trilogy—which were so drastically different yet equally captivating—I was eager to see what she would bring to a low-concept exploration of travel, imposter syndrome, family, political conspiracy, the power of music, heritage and genealogy, Chinese linguistics, study abroad drama, a bit of film studies, and a whole lot of themes regarding the weight non-native, diaspora Chinese speakers feel compared to heritage speakers. Since I had already outlined and planned to write a book with a concept similar to Taipei Story, I was beyond hyped to see how one of my favorite authors would write it. So, did it live up to my expectations, or did it fall flat? That's what I, Brighton Nelson, will be discussing in today's review. Thanks so much for joining me, and I hope you enjoy your time on the site!
The Positives
First, I'll start with the positives. This novel does a great job of balancing the good and the bad of exploring a different country, without feeling overly optimistic or needlessly negative. While I would have liked more nuance in what she explores, along with a deeper appreciation for the beauty in Taipei's mundane moments, the scenes we do get are vibrant and well depicted. Honestly, if anything, the book could have used a bit more genuine excitement about Taiwan. Having close friends from Taiwan, I've heard countless stories about the country's vibrant beauty, charm, and culture that "Mrs. Grimdark" Kuang seems to omit from this novel.
This book also explores so many fascinating topics at a micro level. At times, it almost feels like a non-fiction history text, but Lily's personal reactions to each subject create a compelling exploration of an outsider navigating culture shock. I even found myself snapping pictures of multiple paragraphs because they resonated so deeply with me. As somebody currently learning Spanish and French—and hoping to dive into an intensive Mandarin program one day—the linguistic side of the book captured a major part of my life. Also, I'm a massive government, history, music, and film buff... so, many sections touched me or mirrored my exact thoughts, even if I can't claim to understand the heritage side of the diaspora experience!
I also admire and appreciate how Kuang weaves her themes and worldview into such wildly different novels by employing distinct writing styles. While her themes can be on the nose at times—as many critics often say—I enjoy how she's explored similar, deeply relevant ideas across all five books I've read so far. Across grimdark epic fantasy, thrillingly heightened satire, and now reflective literary fiction, she's shown her range as a writer who refuses to be defined by a single genre. I especially love this because it mirrors the type of author I've always aspired to be; I find authors who experiment with genre to be the most interesting and gripping. She uses much more subdued, meditative, and anti-theatrical prose here, and the picture her words paint feels vastly different from her previous novels.
The Negatives
However, while this book hit so close to home on a paragraph-to-paragraph level—and I love that Kuang tackled a story like this—it suffers from many macro-level problems. Although the book raises so many interesting questions, Lily never really goes on much of an arc to expand her horizons. I understand this is literary fiction and not a conventional bildungsroman, but Lily simply feels incomplete at the end. She feels unduly unaltered by everything she saw, partly because the book never has the page count to do full justice to every concept it introduces. While her arc of improving her Chinese has some payoff, the narrative has little momentum because it never feels like it's building toward anything. It's as if a fantastic film cast decided a camera on a tripod could replace their director—the set and script were ready to go, but the character arc had little direction. Again, I understand it's literary fiction. Yet, if you look at someone like Towles—who isn't even that focused on character—I can tell you so much more that shifts in the perspectives of Katey, Eve, Count Rostov, or any of the other characters.
Lily ends up feeling the most stale of any of Kuang's main characters, even though she is the most grounded and should be the most relatable. Without thematic crescendos, the novel ultimately rang hollow. It was one of the more disappointing reads in recent memory because it felt so relatable on paper, yet never delivered on an emotional level. This book should have been a slam dunk for me, but it can't be a mellow, character-study-centric novel if the character doesn't feel fully studied. Rin and June, for example, both descended into madness in very different ways and had very distinct arcs—even if Rin's plateaued at points. Lily, on the other hand, feels more like a silent protagonist in a should-be-fantastic video game.
The Brighton's Bookshelf Verdict
Brighton's Bookshelf Score - 6.5/10
Letter Score - B
Taipei Story—written by one of my favorite authors and biggest inspirations—is a gorgeously written novel on a page-by-page basis. It tackles a lot of relevant themes, and it's a book many people will relate to. It proves R.F. Kuang doesn't need to be confined to any genre to write an interesting novel. However, the book falls apart at the seams a little because Lily feels like one of the most passive characters in recent memory, which makes the narrative feel more like a great collection of short stories than a cohesive whole. It's a novel I wanted to adore, but it didn't quite soar—it whimpered.
Interested in checking out some of my other reviews? Check them out below!
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