Impossible to Swallow

A Collection of Short Stories about the White Terror in Taiwan, C.J. Anderson-Wu’s collection of short stories about the White Terror in Taiwan (1949-1987/1990) at once provides sensitive treatments of personal experiences under authoritarian rule and broader meditation about the effects of excessive, unrestrained, arbitrary state violence. In this respect, the collection of stories is both about Taiwan and the people there who lived through the White Terror and its consequences, as well as the more general phenomenon of authoritarian rule. The stories are reminiscent of so many of the personal stories about the White Terror in Taiwan and living under authoritarian rule elsewhere. They echo the anguish, sadness, and courage found in recently released letters from actual victims of the White Terror. ~Ian Chung, Associate Professor, National University of Singapore