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Taiwan

Kevin Chen

Kevin Chen

Kevin Chen began his artistic career as a cinema actor, starring in the Taiwanese and German films Ghosted, Kung Bao Huhn, and Global Player. Now based in Germany, he is a staff writer for Performing Arts Reviews magazine. He’s published several novels, essays and short story collections, including Attitude, Flowers from Fingernails, Three Ways to Get Rid of Allergies and other titles. 

All Kevin Chen's books

Upcoming events

from April 21 to May 15
Join Kevin Chen on his 2023 tour for Ghost Town, Winner of the Taiwan Literature Award and a New York Times Editors’ Choice.

Latest reviews

  • “Chen knows how to engage and tease his readers. His narratives are riddled with mysteries that exude magic, absurdity, suspense, cruelty, and shame, constantly whetting our curiosity until all the strands of the plot finally come together.”
    — New Southbound Policy Portal, May 13 2024
  • Ghost Town is the literary equivalent of a suitcase jammed full to the point of bursting. Characters, memories, regrets, choices, consequences, secrets, history, politics, real estate, sex: They’re all pressed together close.”

    — The New York Times Book Review, Dec 10 2022
  • “Intense and operatic...reminiscent of the dreamlike narratives of Can Xue and Gabriel Garcia Marquez.”
    — NPR, Nov 13 2022
  • “The book manages to be light and heavy at the same time. The characters, whether deceased or not, seem truly alive. The sadness comes, perhaps, from the living seeming most alive in their past, the dead seeming most alive in their present.”
    — Litro Magazine, Oct 27 2022
  • “Did anyone hear my silent scream? A book tour in America? It’s an understatement to say this is a dream come true.”
    — Astra Magazine, Oct 25 2022
  • “Dark and eerie...a rich and layered reading experience...like a ghost, it lingers.”
    — Bookpage, Oct 25 2022
  • “A story filled with ghosts that demand to be remembered, no matter how much the living want to leave them behind. It’s a hypnotic and unforgettable read.”
    — Buzzfeed, Oct 10 2022
  • ★ “At once vibrant and tartly observant, Chen’s tour de force reveals how we all hold onto the ghosts of the past... A highly recommended story of past, identity, and family.”
    — Library Journal (Starred Review), Oct 5 2022
  • “Author Kevin Chen gives voice to the whole family, living members as well as dead.”
    — A.V. Club, Sep 27 2022
  • “A cinematic, sprawling family epic unfurls with exceptionally crafted characters—living, dead and in between.”
    — Shelf Awareness, Sep 26 2022
  • “An impressive, sweeping tale centered around a large, traditional Taiwanese family.”
    — CrimeReads, Sep 22 2022
  • ★ “Multidimensional characters, a beautifully realized setting, and an apposite surprise ending... This book is excellent.”
    — Booklist (Starred Review), Sep 1 2022
  • “A stunning novel about a small town in the Taiwan countryside and a family haunted by their own ghosts.”
    — Buzz Magazine, Aug 25 2022
  • “Chen offers a haunting... drama.”
    — Publishers Weekly, Jul 20 2022

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