{"product_id":"taipei-story-preorder","title":"Taipei Story (Preorder)","description":"\u003cp style=\"background:#fff3cd;padding:12px;border-left:4px solid #ffc107;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e📖 PREORDER\u003c\/strong\u003e — expected release date \u003cstrong\u003e8 September 2026\u003c\/strong\u003e. Order now to reserve your copy. Your card will be charged at the time of order. We will ship as soon as stock arrives at our Indore store.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrom R.F. Kuang — the #1 \u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e bestselling author of \u003cem\u003eBabel\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eYellowface\u003c\/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eKatabasis\u003c\/em\u003e — a wryly humorous and profoundly moving coming-of-age novel about grief, language, and culture shock, set against the backdrop of an unforgettable summer in Taipei.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eYale student Lily Chen arrives in Taipei hungry: for family, for culture, for connection. She's there for a summer at the National Taiwan University on an intensive Mandarin language programme — like so many Chinese American students before her — hoping to finally meet the Chinese self she inherited but never fully understood.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBut her summer of discovery quickly unravels. Her classes are gruelling, her roommate is unbearable, and a reckless, deeply awkward 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThen shocking news arrives: Lily's grandfather has passed away. The loss forces her to grapple with now-unanswerable questions about her family history — and pulls her into a poignant, often hilarious, often devastating journey of self-discovery.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eTaipei Story\u003c\/em\u003e 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?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch4\u003eAbout the author\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRebecca F. Kuang\u003c\/strong\u003e is the #1 \u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e and #1 \u003cem\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/em\u003e bestselling author of the \u003cem\u003ePoppy War\u003c\/em\u003e trilogy, \u003cem\u003eBabel\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eYellowface\u003c\/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eKatabasis\u003c\/em\u003e. Her work has won the Nebula, Locus, Crawford, and British Book Awards, and been shortlisted for the Hugo, World Fantasy, and many others. A Marshall Scholar, she has an MPhil in Chinese Studies from Cambridge and an MSc in Contemporary Chinese Studies from Oxford, and is currently pursuing a PhD in East Asian Languages and Literatures at Yale.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch4\u003eStyle and influences\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKuang has described \u003cem\u003eTaipei Story\u003c\/em\u003e as a coming-of-age novel “in the larky style of” Elif Batuman and Patricia Lockwood. After the dark academia of \u003cem\u003eBabel\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eKatabasis\u003c\/em\u003e and the publishing satire of \u003cem\u003eYellowface\u003c\/em\u003e, this is her first foray into literary fiction grounded in language schools, food courts, and the messy bits of trying to come home.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch4\u003ePreorder notes\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eRelease date:\u003c\/strong\u003e 8 September 2026\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eEdition:\u003c\/strong\u003e HarperCollins paperback (UK \/ India trade edition)\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 288\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eWe will ship as soon as stock arrives at our Indore warehouse. Local Indore customers can collect from store.\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eCover and final price may be subject to publisher revisions.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"HarperCollins","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51698780340440,"sku":"9780008841928","price":699.0,"currency_code":"INR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0818\/1471\/6632\/files\/taipeistory.jpg?v=1779243577","url":"https:\/\/www.readersparadise.co\/products\/taipei-story-preorder","provider":"readersparadiseindore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}