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Vignettes of Taiwan
When Joshua Samuel Brown first stepped out of the passenger terminal at Chiang Kai-shek International Airport in Taiwan, he was a stranger in a humid land with insufficient funds, zero job prospects and an over-packed suitcase. Like much else in his life up to that point, his decision to move to Taiwan was based largely on random occurrence and cosmic coincidence. He was twenty-four years old, thousands of miles away from home, and at that moment the happiest man alive. This anthology of short stories, travel essays, photographs, random meditations, and political meanderings grew out of his years on the island formerly known as Formosa.
- GenresTravelShort Stories
166 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
55 people want to read
About the author
Joshua Samuel Brown
18Ìýbooks13Ìýfollowers (copyedited):
Joshua Samuel Brown is the author of two books of short stories, How Not To Avoid Jet Lag & other Tales of Travel Madness (2014) and Vignettes of Taiwan (2005). He’s also authored or co-authored over a dozen travel guides, including two editions of Lonely Planet Taiwan (2007 & 2010), two editions of Lonely Planet Belize (2008 & 2011) and the Singapore City Guide (2008).
His work has appeared in numerous publications, including Bicycle Times, the South China Morning Post, the Hong Kong Standard, the China Post, the Taiwan News, the Colorado Daily, Beijing Scene, City Weekend, Business Traveler Asia, Cat Fancy, Dim Sum Literary Journal, Destination Belize, Travel in Taiwan & many others.
A passionate amateur chef, Joshua is also regular contributor to Lonely Planet’s annual trade publications, having researched, prepared & written up a dozen recipes for books with titles like The World’s Best Street Food, The World’s Best Spicy Food & The World’s Best Brunches. He contributes regularly to the Lonely Planet Website has maintained a blog called Snarky Tofu since 2006.
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Joshua Samuel Brown is the author of two books of short stories, How Not To Avoid Jet Lag & other Tales of Travel Madness (2014) and Vignettes of Taiwan (2005). He’s also authored or co-authored over a dozen travel guides, including two editions of Lonely Planet Taiwan (2007 & 2010), two editions of Lonely Planet Belize (2008 & 2011) and the Singapore City Guide (2008).
His work has appeared in numerous publications, including Bicycle Times, the South China Morning Post, the Hong Kong Standard, the China Post, the Taiwan News, the Colorado Daily, Beijing Scene, City Weekend, Business Traveler Asia, Cat Fancy, Dim Sum Literary Journal, Destination Belize, Travel in Taiwan & many others.
A passionate amateur chef, Joshua is also regular contributor to Lonely Planet’s annual trade publications, having researched, prepared & written up a dozen recipes for books with titles like The World’s Best Street Food, The World’s Best Spicy Food & The World’s Best Brunches. He contributes regularly to the Lonely Planet Website has maintained a blog called Snarky Tofu since 2006.
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 14, 2019
Travel narrative is probably my favorite genre, but there is little available covering Taiwan, so I was very pleased to purchase this essay collection by an expat. Added the book to my phone for material to use when I wanted to pick up and put down reading during limited downtime - works very well for that function!
Overall, the essays held my interest quite well. A couple of them really didn't work out, including a controversial one that some reviewers have found a sexist, but which I felt was making a larger point that I didn't completely get. Might take away at the end was that Taiwanese culture seems like a cross between post-war Japan with its Western orientation, but also definitely ethnically Chinese.
Purchased the "sequel" , which should be a pretty good read.
Overall, the essays held my interest quite well. A couple of them really didn't work out, including a controversial one that some reviewers have found a sexist, but which I felt was making a larger point that I didn't completely get. Might take away at the end was that Taiwanese culture seems like a cross between post-war Japan with its Western orientation, but also definitely ethnically Chinese.
Purchased the "sequel" , which should be a pretty good read.
May 29, 2019
The book is to a large part about the author’s personal experience in Taiwan from 1994 to around 2005. Other stories are from people whom he knew very well. The author also has a solid knowledge on the modern Chinese and Taiwanese history and his own opinion. Many Taiwanese may not want to hear the stories he revealed but they were all paint a very accurate imagine of the society in Taiwan back then.
February 14, 2021
Enjoyed the atmosphere and antidotes of these stories, some details I remember years after the reading. It leaves me with some of the same feelings I have from travel-of stimulation, inspiration, perspective and longing. As "Vignettes..." shows, nothing helps you understand your own country like travel. Taiwan feels like fantastic foil.
March 26, 2018
This is a short book of approximately 160 pages printed on thick glossy paper. Half the pages are photos while the other half are short stories, reflections, and essays by the author about his experiences while living in Taiwan in the early 2000s. There is no common theme or a chronological flow between the entries, and for most part the photos provided have nothing to do with whatever is written on the opposite page. In essence, this is a very short book. You may think of it as a collection of very short stories about living in Taiwan. The author seemed upbeat about his experiences and for most part the entries have a positive tone and are void of vulgarities that are prevalent in many travel memoirs. Not a bad read if you are interested in expat memoirs or simply want to know a bit about Taiwan ...
June 24, 2016
Tried to read it but stopped after the chapter titled, "Skinny Asses." If I had any doubt before about his yellow fever prior to this chapter, it was cemented here. Aside from the writing being ordinary and better suited for a blog, his sexism, ignorance, and Asiaphilia were very off putting for me.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
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