Books from Taiwan

Last Words from Montmartre is an experimental, semi-autobiographical novel told through a series of letters written by a young Taiwanese writer named Zoë. Addressing friends and loved ones, Zoë reflects on her relationships, sexuality, artistic ambitions, and growing sense of alienation while moving between Taiwan and Paris. As her emotional world becomes increasingly unstable, the letters reveal the difficulties of reconciling romantic desire with personal freedom and the longing to be understood by others. Blending fiction, autobiography, philosophical reflection, and intimate confession, Qiu Miaojin explores the complexities of queer identity, heartbreak, and the search for meaning in a world that can feel profoundly isolating. The fragmented structure mirrors the narrator’s shifting emotional states, allowing memories, dreams, and observations to coexist without a conventional narrative progression. Written with remarkable intensity and vulnerability, the novel captures the transformative and sometimes destructive power of love while questioning the boundaries between life, art, and self-expression.