{"product_id":"portraits-in-white-9780231220101","title":"Portraits in White","description":"\u003cp\u003eAfter the Chinese Civil War, the Kuomintang imposed authoritarian rule on Taiwan in the name of anticommunism. The White Terror, as martial law and state repression were known, would last for decades, casting a pall of uncertainty and fear over Taiwanese society--and its legacies still haunt Taiwan today. Kaori Lai's \u003ci\u003ePortraits in White\u003c\/i\u003e explores everyday life under the White Terror, illuminating how the violence of martial law pervades even the most mundane moments. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe book is composed of three novellas, each telling the story of an ordinary person. Mr. Ch'ing-chih, a schoolteacher, keeps his head down and avoids harming others despite pressure to do intelligence work. Ms. Wen-hui, an old woman who had served as a housekeeper for elites of different backgrounds since the Japanese occupation, faces death alone in the digital age. Ms. Casey, discriminated against for not being of mainlander descent, moves to Europe and must navigate the politics of diaspora. Even if only alluded to obliquely, the White Terror always hovers in the background, shaping the characters' experiences and inner worlds. Elegantly written and keenly observed, \u003ci\u003ePortraits in White\u003c\/i\u003e provides a panoramic view of the ways authoritarianism seeps into daily life.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eKaori Lai is an acclaimed Taiwanese writer, now based in Berlin, who has received numerous honors including the Taiwan Literature Award and the Taipei International Book Exhibition Prize. Her previous works include the novel \u003ci\u003eAfterwards\u003c\/i\u003e, the short story collection \u003ci\u003eIsland\u003c\/i\u003e, and essays on Taiwanese history and culture. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eSylvia Li-chun Lin is a former professor at the University of Notre Dame and the author of \u003ci\u003eRepresenting Atrocity in Taiwan: The 2\/28 Incident and White Terror in Fiction and Film\u003c\/i\u003e (Columbia, 2007). \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eHoward Goldblatt is the translator of more than sixty works in Chinese, including the novels of Nobel laureate Mo Yan, for which he received a Guggenheim Fellowship. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eLin and Goldblatt have collaboratively translated nearly two dozen books by writers from China and Taiwan, including \u003ci\u003eNotes of a Desolate Man\u003c\/i\u003e by Chu T'ien-wen (Columbia, 1999).\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Columbia University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51603179143442,"sku":"9780231220101","price":27.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_04fb19f0-4e83-416b-9124-d965391737a1.jpg?v=1757427680","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/portraits-in-white-9780231220101","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}