Ghost Town

Kevin Chen

Europa Editions

Synopsis

FROM THE BEST-SELLING AUTHOR & WINNER OF THE TAIWAN LITERATURE AWARD

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.

Translated by Darryl Sterk.

About the Author

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. Karmele Jaio Eiguren’s Festival appearance is generously supported by the Taipei Cultural Center of TECO in New York.

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