The children in the middle

The middle children

Highly anticipated, much-awaited 157th Akutagawa Prize Nominated Novel 　　"I am Japanese, and I am also Taiwanese." 　　On Yu-Juo, a coming-of-age story about self-discovery and finding one's way. 　　Taiwan / Japan / China: Three places; Taiwanese / Japanese / Chinese: Three linguistic contexts 　　Me in the middle - torn and continuing 　　—I don't speak my mother tongue, I only speak Japanese. But I am not fully Japanese. 　　Kotoko Amahara, whose father is Japanese and mother is Taiwanese, grew up in Tokyo. At nineteen, she went to Shanghai to study abroad to improve "her mother's language"; in class, she encountered a teacher emphasizing the "orthodox standard Chinese," which differed from her native southern accent, leading to confusion and a loss of confidence in her learning. 　　—I'm different from others; I'm special. 　　Jialing Wu, whose father is Taiwanese and mother is Japanese, was born in Tokyo. She entered China to study abroad from Japan with a Taiwanese Compatriot Travel Document. She speaks fluent Chinese but encountered an identity issue where she was neither a simple "foreigner" nor a "native." 　　—We are all fake Japanese. 　　Shunya Ryu, whose parents are Chinese and have naturalized as Japanese citizens, was born and raised in Japan. He considers Japanese his mother tongue and, out of interest, is learning Chinese as a second language. 　　Three young people from different backgrounds yet similar circumstances, oscillating between "countries," troubled by what it means to be Japanese and what their mother tongue is. On a journey to Shanghai to study Chinese, they become companions, encouraging each other and stimulating reflection on the issues of language (mother tongue, father tongue, dialect, foreign language) and self-identity. 　　As the study program nears its end, their friendship undergoes subtle changes. Can they break through their limitations and find their own balance for their unsettled hearts? An unknown world awaits their next departure... 　　Our "in-between" language can cross borders and soar.

2018-05-24

聯合文學

208

9789863232582