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Event time (Europe/Berlin)

  • Europe/Berlin
  • Asia/Taipei
  • -

Location

Halle I, Taipei World Trade Center
No.5, Sec. 5, Xinyi Rd. Xinyi Dist.
Taipei, 110
Taiwan

Caught between his native and foreign home: Stephan Thome in conversation with An-Nie Hsu

Book presentation
Chinese

Why did China and Taiwan become the subject of his literary work so late? Is it easier to look at one's own homeland from a foreign perspective, or does the difference between the two disappear at some point? Why does the author call Taiwan his "second home" and how do readers in Germany react to stories from East Asia, which is a foreign location to them? Stephan Thome talks about these and other questions with Prof. An-Nie Hsu at TIBE 2022. A conversation about literature as a mediator between cultures and a life of changing residences.

Programme

Author Stephan Thome has lived in Taipei for many years, yet his first three novels were all set in Europe. He first dealt with an event in Chinese history in his 2018 “Gott der Barbaren” (Engl. God of Barbarians), which focussed on the Taiping Rebellion that devastated large parts of China during the mid-19th century. In his most recent 2021 novel, “Pflaumenregen” (Engl. Plum Rain), Thome tells the story of a Taiwanese family over three generations, unfolding a historical panorama that stretches from the Japanese colonial period to the present. His German publisher calls the book "the author’s declaration of love for his adoptive country Taiwan". His “Gebrauchsanweisung für Taiwan” (Engl. A User’s Guide for Taiwan) was also published in 2021. In it, Thome not only describes the culture, history and everyday life on the island, but also gives information about his personal connection to Taiwan.

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Taipeh 2019
TIBE 2022 - Taipei International Book Exhibition
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