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Romantasy Bookstore
Taipei Story (Deluxe Limited Edition) by R.F. Kuang
Taipei Story (Deluxe Limited Edition) by R.F. Kuang
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$32.00 USD
Regular price
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$32.00 USD
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Coming-of-age • summer in Taipei • intensive language program • diaspora homecoming (and the disillusionment) • grief after a family loss • identity + culture shock • wry humor + emotional gut-punch • family secrets/silences
Perfect for readers of:
- Smart, voicey coming-of-age novels that are funny until they’re devastating
- Diaspora stories about “returning” to a place that doesn’t feel like home
- Grief narratives that unravel family history and what goes unsaid
- Anyone who’s ever believed language would be the bridge—and found out it isn’t always
Spice: 1/5
Literary coming-of-age with emotional intimacy, not heat.
The vibe
College freshman Lily Chen heads to Taipei for the summer to attend an intensive language program—something many Chinese American students do in hopes of connecting to the culture they inherited but never fully understood. At first, it feels like a promising start. Then everything starts to fray: the classes are brutal, her roommate is driving her insane, and one reckless hot springs trip with a guy she barely knows turns into vicious gossip that leaves Lily feeling exposed and alone.
Instead of finding belonging, Lily feels adrift—like a foreigner in the very place she thought would feel like home. And then the news that changes everything arrives: her grandfather has died. Grief hits hard, and with it comes a new kind of panic—questions about her family history that are now impossible to ask the one person who might have answered them.
As Lily tries (and often fails) to connect—through language, through memory, through the stories her family tells and the silences they keep—her summer becomes a wryly funny, profoundly moving search for understanding. Not just of Taipei, but of herself, her family, and what “home” is supposed to mean when the fantasy of homecoming doesn’t come true.
Tropes & tags
- Coming-of-age / literary contemporary
- Summer abroad / Taipei setting
- Intensive language program
- Diaspora identity / culture shock
- Grief + family history
- Intergenerational silence / secrets
- Humor + heartbreak blend
- Self-discovery / redefining “home”
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