Green Island - by Shawna Yang Ryan (Paperback)

About the Book

"As [this] novel sweeps across six decades and two continents, the life of the narrator shadows the course of Taiwan's history from the end of Japanese colonial rule to the decades under martial law and, finally, to Taiwan's transformation into a democracy. But, above all, [it's a] story of a family and a nation grappling with the nuances of complicity and survival, raising the question: how far would you be willing to go for the ones you love?"--Dust jacket flap.

Book Synopsis

BEST BOOK AWARD IN FICTION BY THE ASSOCIATION FOR ASIAN AMERICAN STUDIES - A stunning, lyrical novel that tells "the story of how the Tsais, a Taiwanese family, survive the 'February 28 Incident' of 1947 and precariously navigate the decades that follow" (The New York Times).

As an uprising rocks Taiwan, a young doctor in Taipei is taken from his newborn daughter by Chinese Nationalists, on charges of speaking out against the government. Although the doctor eventually returns to his family, his arrival is marked by alienation from his loved ones and paranoia among his community.

Years later, this troubled past follows his youngest daughter to America, where, as a mother and a wife, she too is forced to decide between what is right and what might save her family--the same choice she witnessed her father make many years before.

The story of a family and a nation grappling with the nuances of complicity and survival, Green Island raises the question: how far would you go for the ones you love?

Review Quotes

"Ryan embraces the complexity of the situation, by not creating heroes but instead exploring the truth of compromise, survival and belonging." --The New York Times

"A tough, unsentimental, and moving novel that is a memorial not only to the heroes, but also to the survivors." --Viet Thanh Nguyen, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sympathizer

"Sweeping . . . as epic in scope as the story is intimate." --The Arizona Republic

"A chilling, convincing picture of Taiwan during the years of authoritarian rule." --Los Angeles Times

"Moving and suspenseful. . . . Full of compassion." --Richmond Times-Dispatch

About the Author

Shawna Yang Ryan is a former Fulbright scholar and the author of one previous novel, Water Ghosts; she teaches in the Creative Writing Program at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. Her short fiction has appeared in ZYZZYVA, The Asian American Literary Review, Kartika Review, and Berkeley Fiction Review. She lives in Honolulu.