Transnational Series: Jeremy Tiang

Join the for an in-store event with translator Jeremy Tiang to discuss and honor the release of by Xu Zechen.

Looking to take a vacation before settling in to his PhD studies and hoping to swindle a little traveling money from his father, Chen Munian made up a story about killing someone and needing to flee.

But now that lie has taken on a life of its own and everyone—the university, the police, the sprawling campus community—is convinced he’s a murderer.

Munian is barely holding on: his wages are meager, he lives with a group of chaotic roommates, he drinks too much with his crazy artist neighbor who is obsessed with Van Gogh, and his bumbling attempts to woo the beautiful Qin Ke always end in heartache. His life keeps spiraling out of his control, and he can’t help but wonder if he was destined to be a murderer all along.

Xu Zechen’s Night Train, in Jeremy Tiang’s brash translation, follows characters who live on the precipice, where the foolish mistakes of young men can have devastating consequences.

Jeremy Tiang is a novelist, playwright and the International Booker-longlisted translator of over 30 books from Chinese. Night Train is his second collaboration with Xu Zechen, after Beijing Sprawl, co-translated with Eric Abrahamsen. His plays include Salesman之死, winner of an Obie Award for Outstanding New Play, The Last Days of Limehouse, and A Dream of Red Pavilions. He is also the author of a novel, State of Emergency, winner of the Singapore Literature Prize, and a short story collection, It Never Rains on National Day, as well as the co-editor with Dr. Kavita Bhanot of Violent Phenomena: Essays Toward the Future of Literary Translation. Originally from Singapore, he now lives in New York City.

The Transnational Literature Series at Brookline Booksmith

The Transnational Series focuses on stories of migration, the intersection of politics and literature, and works in translation and is supported by the independent bookstore Brookline Booksmith. Subscribe to the Transnational Series newsletter for information on upcoming events, book recommendations, and more.

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Livestream!

Barring technical difficulty, this event will be livestreamed to our store YouTube channel.

Event Accesibility

This event will take place at street level. If possible, the event will be livestreamed to YouTube. ASL interpretation may be provided (based on the availability of interpreters) but must be requested at least 2 weeks in advance of the event. Seats are limited. Please email [email protected] as soon as possible if you require ASL interpretation, guaranteed seating, or other accommodations. We will do our best to serve your needs!

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Please note that any Brookline Booksmith in-person event may be canceled by the bookstore, publisher, or author based on concerns about health and safety around the time of the event. Wherever possible, any in-person appearance canceled due to COVID will be moved to the Brookline Booksmith Zoom as a webinar at the same date and time, and all tickets and registrations will be transferred to the online event. Book signing details may change. Refunds may be requested in the case of a virtual pivot or event cancelation.

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