Taipei, June 10 (CNA) The English translation of ‘Banana King Ngoo Tsin-sui’ (蕉王吳振瑞), a historic novel by Taiwanese writer Lee Wang-tai (李旺台), has gained the bronze prize within the historic fiction class on the Foreword Evaluations journal Indies Book of the 12 months Awards 2024.
Lee’s book, revealed in English by Shadelandhouse Trendy Press, recounts the true story of Ngoo Tsin-sui, who “massively expanded Taiwan’s banana commerce throughout darkish days of martial regulation,” in line with Kirkus Evaluations.
“Lee’s depiction of Tsin-sui as an innovator who put money within the fingers of small farmers is inspiring, and his story affords life classes in addition to apparent warnings about authoritarian authorities,” the American book evaluate journal mentioned.
After receiving the award, Lee mentioned, “I really feel fortunate to current life tales from this island and present the character of its individuals.”
“I wish to write Taiwan effectively, write Taiwanese individuals effectively, in order that foreigners can really perceive the spirit of this land,” he added.
Translator Timothy Smith mentioned he was motivated by the book’s portrayal of Taiwan’s political journey by way of the authoritarian Kuomintang (KMT) interval.
Smith mentioned the book reminded him of Taiwanese buddies whose households skilled cultural and linguistic suppression.
To protect the novel’s linguistic range when translating into natural-sounding English, Smith mentioned he retained phrases within the Taiwanese (Hokkien), Hakka and Japanese languages.
In line with Foreword Evaluations, the annual awards have fun excellent books revealed by small, unbiased and college presses.
“Foreword’s devoted editors fastidiously chosen roughly 12 finalists per style, which have been then offered to particular person librarians and booksellers entrusted with the difficult process of figuring out the Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Honorable Point out winners,” the journal mentioned.
Alongside ‘Banana King Ngoo Tsin-sui’ within the historic fiction class, Donna Coffey Little’s ‘Wofford’s Blood’ gained gold whereas David Ciminello’s ‘The Queen of Steeplechase Park’ gained silver.
