{"product_id":"9780008702557","title":"Taipei Story","description":"\u003ch3\u003eAuthor: Rebecca F. Kuang\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003ch4\u003eModern \u0026amp; contemporary fiction (post c 1945)\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003ch5\u003ePublished on 8 September 2026 by Harpercollins Publishers (The Borough Press) in the United Kingdom.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHardback | 320 pages\u003cbr\u003e161 x 242 x 35 | 604g\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/h5\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘For fans of Sally Rooney and Coco Mellors’ COUNTRY \u0026amp; TOWN HOUSE\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFirst love. Second language. Final goodbyes.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  For Lily, mastering Chinese means connection:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  To her family\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  Her heritage\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  To herself\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  But what if waiting for perfection means it's too late to get the answers she wants most?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  The electrifying new novel from literary phenomenon, Rebecca F. Kuang,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYale student Lily Chen arrives in Taipei hungry: for family, for culture, for connection.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  But her summer of discovery quickly unravels. Her classes are grueling, her roommate unbearable, and a reckless, deeply awkward trip to the hot springs with a guy she barely knows soon ignites vicious gossip.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Then her grandfather dies.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Grieving and adrift, Lily must confront her own questions about the culture she inherited but never fully understood. She embarks on a wryly funny, often devastating search for understanding: of herself, her family, and the meaning of home.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e All over one unforgettable summer in Taipei.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e ‘Kuang is sharply attuned to current mores, but prefers satire to lecturing – reminiscent, in this respect, of her fellow American writers Kiley Reid and Curtis Sittenfeld, who have also written wonderful campus novels. I loved this idiosyncratic coming-of-age story.’ THE SPECTATOR\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e 'A sophisticated coming-of-age story' THE TIMES\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e 'There is a wildness and freedom to her work that is extraordinary. Her characters are complex and human; nothing feels contrived' TIME MAGAZINE\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e A flood of five star reader reviews:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  'As an immigrant myself, this book resonated with me on a very personal level… That feeling of expressing yourself differently, or never quite sounding like you, was captured perfectly… Kuang also brings Taipei vividly to life… It left me reflecting long after I finished' Reader Review\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  'I found this tale of culture and identity to be outstanding in every way' Reader Review\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  'It was just a joy to read and experience the writing. I have so much love for this novel' Reader Review\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'It perfectly encapsulates the feeling of living in a foreign country and trying to learn the language' Reader Review\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  'Kuang is masterful with her words, insightful with her history and absolutely delightful with the gravity of her worlds' Reader Review\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cobham Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56924896395650,"sku":"9780008702557","price":22.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0569\/4567\/2367\/files\/9780008702557.jpg?v=1789976458","url":"https:\/\/www.cobhambooks.com\/products\/9780008702557","provider":"Cobham Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}