Taipei

By: Tao Lin

Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne

Taipei by Tao Lin is an ode - or lament - to the way we live now. Following Paul from New York, where he comically navigates Manhattan's art and literary scenes, to Taipei, Taiwan, where he confronts his family's roots, we see one relationship fail, while another is born on the Internet and blooms into an unexpected wedding in Las Vegas.

Along the way - whether on all-night drives up the East Coast, shoplifting excursions in the South, book readings on the West Coast, or ill-advised grocery runs in Ohio - movies are made with laptop cameras, massive amounts of drugs are ingested, and two young lovers come to learn what it means to share themselves completely.

The result is a suspenseful meditation on memory, love, and what it means to be alive, young, and on the fringe in America, or anywhere else for that matter.

©2013 Tao Lin (P)2013 Tantor

Critic reviews

" Taipei is a book without an ounce of self-pity, melodrama, or posturing, making the glacial Lin the perfect poster child for a generation facing-and failing to face-maturity." ( Publishers Weekly Starred Review)

Don't buy into the hype

Tao Lin is praised for his style. You notice his style most in passages where he describes social interactions with phenomenological precision, making you feel like you are just as high as he is, and just as bored with the parties he's describing. But after couple pages, you're left with a book with no plot. All the characters are either dislikeable or stupid and annoying. And not in the funny Seinfeld way... they're just annoying. There's no reason to read more than 2 chapters of this book.

Mischapteded

The chapters are improperly organized. The book only has 6 chapters but this organizes it into 11. Annoying for class discussion.

Not Even Worth a Free Credit

This book is not even worth a free credit. Don't waste 8hrs (or even 5 mins) of your time on this book. The plot is essentially the author describing a loosely related string of drug-fueled, mundane interactions between characters seemingly irrelevant to the lackluster plot. Apparently, this author is 'known' for their writing style, but I found nothing noteworthy here. It has been a chore to finish this book, and I regret having started it every time I opened the Audible app. In addition to the pointless plot and poor writing style, the narration was only moderate.

Worst book ever

Would you try another book from Tao Lin and/or Kirby Heyborne?

No.

What was most disappointing about Tao Lin’s story?

The storyline of endless pleasure seeking behavior leading to addiction and suicidal thinking.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Taipei?

I would not have published the book.

Any additional comments?

Worst book I have ever read. Due to it being a class assignment I was forced to finish it otherwise I would not have made it past the second chapter.