Narrative, Two Ways: Taipei Story, With R. F. Kuang
About this Event
This is a ticketed event. All tickets include 1 deluxe limited edition autographed copy of Taipei Story by R. F. Kuang as well 1 general admission ticket to the screening of the film Taipei Story (1985). This event is presented in collaboration by Narrative & The Brattle Theatre. Please make sure to review your shopping cart prior to purchasing. All sales are final. No refunds or exchanges.
Join us in welcoming author R. F. Kuang back home from her international book tour in celebration of her forthcoming novel, TAIPEI STORY. Narrative is honored to partner with The Brattle Theatre to present Narrative, Two Ways- a very special event highlighting the varying experiences within the artform of storytelling through the novel & the film. The event will begin with a screening of a work that served as inspiration for Kuang's novel of the same title- the 1985 film by Edward Yang, Taipei Story. The evening will conclude with a post screening discussion & book signing with the author.
Event Details:
Venue: The Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle St, Cambridge, MA 02138
Check-in will begin at 5:30PM
Event will begin at 6:00PM
There will be a signing line with the author after the conversation. One book personalization per guest only, no posed photos. Recording/Photography is not permitted during this event. Should this event sell out, please join the waitlist as any spots that may open will be made available through eventbrite's automated waitlist.
Book: Taipei Story
From R.F. Kuang, the acclaimed #1 New York Times bestselling author of Katabasis and Yellowface, comes a wryly humorous and profoundly moving coming-of-age novel that grapples with grief, language, and culture shock—all set against the backdrop of an unforgettable summer in Taipei.
College freshman Lily Chen is off to spend the summer in Taipei at an intensive language program like so many Chinese American students before her, hoping to connect with the culture she inherited but never fully understood. But a promising start quickly unravels. Her classes are grueling, her roommate is driving her insane, and a reckless trip to the hot springs with a guy she barely knows soon has her classmates viciously gossiping. She feels adrift, a foreigner in a country she thought would feel like home.
Then shocking news arrives: Lily’s grandfather has passed away. The loss forces her to grapple with now-unanswerable questions about her family history. As Lily grieves, she’s drawn into a journey of self-discovery—piecing together memories, stories, and silences over a series of hilarious and devastating attempts at connection.
Taipei Story asks: What if the diaspora fantasy of homecoming never comes true? What if learning a language can’t bring you any closer to the people you’re trying to reach? What if you search for your family’s history, but your family doesn’t want to share? What if you wait too long to ask the right questions? As Lily struggles for answers, her summer becomes a poignant search for understanding—of herself, her family, and the meaning of home.
Author:
Rebecca F. Kuang is the #1 New York Times and #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of the Poppy War trilogy, Babel: An Arcane History, Yellowface, Katabasis, and Taipei Story. Her work has won the Nebula, Locus, Crawford, and British Book Awards. She was named to the 2023 Time100 Next list and the Forbes 30 Under 30 Class of 2024. A Marshall Scholar, she has an MPhil in Chinese Studies from Cambridge and an MSc in Contemporary Chinese Studies from Oxford. She is now pursuing a PhD in East Asian Languages and Literatures at Yale, where she researches Sinophone literature and Asian American literature.
Film: Taipei Story (1985)
Edward Yang’s second feature is a mournful anatomy of a city caught between the past and the present. Made in collaboration with Yang’s fellow New Taiwan Cinema master Hou Hsiao-hsien, Taipei Story chronicles the growing estrangement between a washed-up baseball player (Hou, in a rare on-screen performance) working in his family’s textile business and his girlfriend (Tsai Chin), who clings to the upward mobility of her career in property development. As the couple’s dreams of marriage and emigration begin to unravel, Yang’s gaze illuminates the precariousness of domestic life and the desperation of Taiwan’s globalized modernity.
Further details will be emailed to all registered guests prior to the event. Please reach out to [email protected] with any questions.
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
USD 59.47
