Author Talk: Kevin Chen 'Ghost Town'
When and Where
Speakers
Description
The Department of East Asian Studies is delighted to welcome author Kevin Chen for a live talk about his novel, Ghost Town.
Translated into English by Darryl Sterk, Ghost Town is centered around Keith Chen, the second son of a traditional Taiwanese family of seven. A decade after Keith ran away from home to find acceptance as a young gay man, he is released from prison for killing his boyfriend. As the story unfurls, we learn what tore this family apart and the truth behind the murder of Keith's boyfriend.
Ghost Town weaves a mesmerizing web of family secrets, countryside superstitions, the search for identity, and clashing cultures. Among Chen's numerous accolades, Ghost Town was one of the New York Times' most anticipated books of Fall 2022; was selected by Library Journal for their Best of World Literature 2022; and was longlisted for the 2023 PEN Translation Prize.
Free, no ticket required. Spaces are limited and allocated on a first come, first served basis*
*Non U of T members, please email eas@utoronto.ca for security access
This event is hosted in collaboration with the Taipei Cultural Center of TECO in New York.
About Kevin Chen
Taiwanese author Kevin Chen started his career as a cinema and theater actor. Now based in Germany, he has published several novels, essays, and short story collections in Taiwan. He is the winner of several literature awards in Taiwan. His first English publication Ghost Town, translated by Darryl Sterk, was reviewed by the New York Times, NPR, Publishers Weekly, etc. Ghost Town was placed on the list of Best Books of World Literature 2022 by Library Journal and the longlist of PEN Translation Prize 2023. Ghost Town will be translated into 11 languages.
About Ghost Town
Keith Chen, the second son of a traditional Taiwanese family of seven, runs away from the oppression of his village to Berlin in the hope of finding acceptance as a young gay man.
The novel begins a decade later, when Chen has just been released from prison for killing his boyfriend. He is about to return to his family’s village, a poor and desolate place. With his parents gone, his sisters married, mad, or dead, there is nothing left for him there. As the story unfurls, we learn what tore this family apart and, more importantly, the truth behind the murder of Chen’s boyfriend.
Told in a myriad of voices, both living and dead, and moving through time with deceptive ease, Ghost Town weaves a mesmerizing web of family secrets and countryside superstitions, the search for identity and clash of cultures.