Title: Taipei
Author: Tao Lin
First published June 4, 2013
248 pages, Paperback
ISBN: 9780307950178 (ISBN10: 0307950174)
Rating: 3.32
Overview
“As he scrolled through his social media feeds, time seemed to slip away from him until suddenly he realized the day had passed him by. Tao Lin’s Taipei offers a raw and honest portrayal of modern life.
Follow Paul as he navigates the art and literary scenes of New York City with a comedic touch, only to find himself in Taipei, Taiwan, facing his family’s past. Witness the breakdown of one relationship and the unlikely blooming of another through the internet, leading to a surprising wedding in Las Vegas.
In this deeply personal and unapologetic novel, Lin explores the complexities of memory, love, and what it truly means to be alive in the digital age.”
About the Author
Meet Tao Lin – a prolific author with several published books, including Leave Society (2021), Trip (2018), Taipei (2013), Richard Yates (2010), Shoplifting from American Apparel (2009), cognitive-behavioral therapy (2008), Eeeee Eee Eeee (2007), Bed (2007), you are a little bit happier than i am (2006), and Selected Tweets (2015). Aside from writing, he also edits Muumuu House and can be found on social media platforms such as Twitter and Instagram.
Editoral Review
Taipei by Tao Lin is a contemplative exploration of modern ennui seen through the eyes of a 25-year-old Taiwanese-American writer named Paul. The novel, published in 2013, paints a grim picture of contemporary youth culture and the isolation and detachment that often accompanies it.
Tao Lin, a prolific writer of fiction and poetry, is renowned for his unconventional writing style that blends minimalism and detachment with existential themes. The novel follows Paul on a tour of Taiwanese bookstores as he navigates the complexities of his personal relationships and struggles with depression and apathy.
The book jumps back and forth between past and present, highlighting key moments of Paul’s life, including his difficult relationship with his distant and emotionally absent parents, his drug use, and his casual sexual encounters. Along the way, he meets up with old friends, new acquaintances, and other writers he admires.
At its core, Taipei is both an intimate character study and a meditation on the nature of purpose and meaning in our lives, particularly in an age where technology and social media have made us more connected than ever but also more lonely and disconnected. While the book’s writing style may not be for everyone, its strengths lie in its author’s ability to capture the zeitgeist of modern society’s pervasive sense of disillusionment and alienation.
The book’s prose is stark and unadorned, yet also has a poetic quality that makes the reader stop and contemplate the depth of its insights. One potential weakness of the novel is its meandering plot structure, which some readers may find slow or disjointed.
However, its lack of traditional plot architecture is also what makes it unique and thought-provoking. The book has been compared to Bret Easton Ellis’ Less Than Zero and David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest, both of which share some thematic similarities with Taipei.
Overall, I highly recommend Taipei to fans of literary fiction and those interested in exploring the complexities of modern life. It is a profound and insightful work that forces us to confront some of the less savory aspects of our contemporary society.
While its style may not be for everyone, its message is universal and resonates long after the final page has been turned. 4/5.
