Booker Prize winners bring Taiwan's many voices to the world

London, May 21 (CNA) "Taiwan Travelogue" was the first Taiwanese novel to win the prestigious International Booker Prize, but the work's author and translator insisted that no single book could ever represent the whole of Taiwanese literature.

Speaking to CNA after the award ceremony at the Tate Modern in London, author Yang Shuang-zi (楊双子) said discussions surrounding Taiwanese literature and Taiwanese cuisine ultimately return to the question "What is Taiwanese?"

There will never be a definite answer, Yang believes, as the meaning of "Taiwanese" is constantly evolving.

In her mind, the idea of being "Taiwanese" is rooted not in bloodlines, ethnicity, religion or rituals, but in the people who choose to live together on the island.

"No matter what brought them here, they decided to live together and determine what kind of future they will move toward together," she said.

She said that shared experiences -- whether political events, sporting moments, or achievements such as Taiwanese literature winning a major international prize -- help shape the collective identity of being Taiwanese.

The award-winning historical novel, first published in 2020, set its scene in 1938 during Taiwan's Japanese colonial era.

It traces the relationship between a Japanese author and her Taiwanese translator as the two embark on a culinary and railway journey across the island, exploring themes of identity, imperialism, and cultural exchange.

Natasha Brown, chair of the Booker Prize judging panel, said the book poses the question of whether "love can overcome a power imbalance" while succeeding as "both a romance and an incisive postcolonial novel."

Translator Lin King (金翎) King told CNA that her efforts reflected a strengthened commitment to Taiwanese literature and giving it an international voice.

Reflecting on her acceptance speech, King said that after the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war, some of her Ukrainian friends said they wanted to pick up their Ukrainian language.

That prompted her to reflect on why, despite growing up in Taiwan, she had focused on translating "other Sinophone works" instead of Taiwanese stories.

"We have such a small population and such a small piece of land, but we need a tremendous volume of voices to be heard," she said.

King said the sense of crisis surrounding Taiwan became even stronger when viewed from the United States.

She noted that international media coverage of Taiwan often centers on the possibility of a Chinese invasion while overlooking Taiwan's own perspectives and voices.

"It's always about the U.S.-China relationship," she said, adding that Taiwan's voice is often almost absent from the discussion.

As a result, King said she decided to devote herself exclusively to translating Taiwanese works and to serving as "a voice for Taiwan."

She added that while she's translating a few Taiwanese literary works, a growing community of translators in Taiwan and abroad is also working to bring Taiwan's stories to global audiences.

King said she hoped she could be shortlisted for the International Booker Prize for other translated Taiwanese works in the future, preferably bringing different Taiwanese authors back to U.K.

Yang later shared the same hope, saying she was looking forward to the world discovering Taiwan's multifaceted voices through the lens of its literature.