Description
Book SynopsisYao-Chang Chen’s historical novel
Puppet Flower retells the story of the 1867 sinking of the American merchant ship the
Rover and its aftermath. He brings to light the pivotal role of this incident in Taiwanese history, merging documented events and literary imagination.
Trade ReviewThis well-wrought book transports us to a complicated yet majestic period in Taiwan’s history. A significant novel, steeped in this unique place while echoing around the world. -- Lu Ping, author of
Love and Revolution: A Novel About Song Qingling and Sun Yat-senWas Formosa a place too treacherous to visit? The author of
Puppet Flower boldly takes up this question and tries to answer it from various perspectives, most notably that of the island's indigenous peoples. Strongly recommended! -- Li Ang, author of
The Lost Garden: A NovelThis engaging historical novel shows how a small event on a remote island can make history. -- Ping-hui Liao, Chuan Lyu Endowed Chair in Taiwan Studies, University of California, San Diego
In the novel
Puppet Flower, Chen explores the complex intersection of international politics and cross-cultural exchange in mid-nineteenth century Taiwan. By imagining the contributions of a mixed-race sibling pair, Chen brings to life the actions and complex societies of indigenous and plains peoples at the threshold of new forms of colonialism. -- Margaret Mih Tillman, author of
Raising China's Revolutionaries: Modernizing Childhood for Cosmopolitan Nationalists and Liberated Comrades, 1920s-1950s[A] nuanced depiction of a formative Formosa. * Taipei Times *
Chen’s novel successfully delivers an alternative history of Taiwan in which all the involved subjectivities, especially those that have traditionally been neglected by official narratives, are given a voice. -- Serena De Marchi * Asian Review of Books *
The whole novel is fascinating in that it mixes in a fairly messy but also fairly conventional personal story with the complex manoeuvrings of the various powers seeking control of Taiwan. -- John Alvey * The Modern Novel *
[A] unique reimagining of an obscure event in 'a turning point' year in Taiwanese history. Told from a multitude of perspectives, particularly of indigenous peoples, Chen’s story does not sacrifice history and complicated colonial relations for cute dramatic contrivances. This is historical fiction with an emphasis on the former. -- Peggy Kurkowski * The Historical Novels Review *
Table of ContentsForeword, by Michael Berry
Preface
Acknowledgments
List of Principal Characters
1. A Pyrrhic Victory
2. The Tragedy That Befell the
Rover3. Orphans of Mixed Blood
4. Identity Revealed
5. Repulse of the Foreign Forces
6. Serenity Lost and Found
7. Troops Marching
8. Puppet Mountains
9. Praying to Guanyin
10. Epilogue
Maps and Illustrations
Glossary
Notes
