£7.99 – £10.99
How far would you go to fight for what is right?
When a Taiwanese American activist calling himself Q.Q. goes abroad in search of his missing friends, he winds up in Taipei. 2014 is the year of the Sunflower Movement in Taiwan, and Q.Q. finds himself drawn into the anti-government protests, navigating both his internal conflicts and battles wit his activists as he tries to establish an online magazine, Daybreak, in order to report the scale of what is happening in Taiwan to the wider world.
Taking place against the backdrop of Occupy Wall Street in America, the anti-nuclear protests in Japan, and the student protests in Taiwan, Taipei at Daybreak is an Asian American coming-of-age novel exploring nihilism, love, art, power, and what drives people to put themselves on the frontlines of conflict.
Brian Hioe (丘琦欣) is a Taiwanese American writer, translator, activist, and DJ based out of Taipei. In 2014, he was one of the founders of New Bloom Magazine (破土), an online magazine covering activism and youth politics in Taiwan and the Asia Pacific that was founded after the Sunflower Movement, which he was a participant in as a student activist. His writing has been published in The Guardian, The Nation, Dissent, Art Forum, and other publications, and media appearances range from Democracy Now to Netflix’s Midnight Asia.
“With so much global interest in Taiwan politics today, Hioe cuts through the noise in a much-needed way. This story presents Taiwan through a fictional lens based in real history that goes far beyond description. Hioe is able to tell the world about Taiwan, its politics, and its activism, without the over-romanticism or glamorization of its dire complexities.”
“Brian Hioe’s Taipei at Daybreak is a brilliant and disturbing depiction of an alienated young Taiwanese American activist as he roams from New York to Japan to Taiwan. Stylistically in the tradition of Camus and Dostoyevsky, this novel makes its own mark by setting the story against the backdrop of a pivotal moment in contemporary Taiwanese history. Hioe is an intelligent and gifted new fictional voice, and Taipei at Daybreak is a critical contribution to multiple literary lineages.”
“Taipei at Daybreak articulates a groundbreaking genre of activist memoir that is both passionate and devastating. It captures the Taiwanese American diasporic voice from Occupy Wall Street to the Sunflower Movement.”
“Taipei at Daybreak offers a deeply personal reflection on the identities of the Taiwanese, grappling with uncertainty both in the world and within the mind. It explores the rise and decline of social movements with a sharp, unflinching eye on the realities of activism at the forefront of the Sunflower Movement. Brian Hioe intertwines disillusionment with liberalism and a critique of urban capitalism, while also reflecting on the existential search for meaning in a world rife with contradictions. An anarchist account at its most mature, this novel delves into the heart of political struggle with both insight and hope.”
“An insightful portrait of a Taiwanese American activist caught between worlds and battling inner turmoil. Set against the backdrop of transformative protest movements, it’s a sombering tale of identity, purpose, and the power of media in turbulent times.”
“If you’ve ever wondered how to take over a government building — and why young people have regularly done so — this book is for you. Taipei at Daybreak is a vivid account of twenty-first century Taiwanese youth activism from the front lines, propelled by rage and ennui. From the perspective of a narrator who is perpetually both an insider and an outsider, Hioe digs deep into the roots and emotions of radical activism and the desire for a different world.”
“You don’t need to live in a foreign land to feel disconnected from the image of yourself you’ve constructed. We might speak the same language as our friends, yet feel like the only listener is the shadow lurking within. This is a book for those who, despite having so much, often feel like orphans of the world.”
“In Taipei at Daybreak, Brian Hioe delivers an arresting narrative of a young man’s search for identity, purpose, and connection. Moving between the dynamic cities of New York, Taipei, and Tokyo, the novel deftly captures the disorienting experience of living between worlds. Hioe’s exploration of immigration, activism, and intellectual life is set against a backdrop of global histories—colonialism, capitalism, and resistance. Taipei at Daybreak is an evocative exploration of identity, belonging, and dislocation. Unlike many contemporary Asian American novels, it refuses nostalgic depictions of Asia, presenting instead a raw, vivid portrayal of life on both sides of the Pacific, offering readers an Asian perspective that is sharp, unromantic, and refreshingly original.”