Fang Si-Chi’s First Love Paradise provides both a scathing account of the ways strong communities can simultaneously love and fail to protect their girls, and a tender portrayal of the ways girls learn to survive within these spaces. Lin Yi-Han’s only novel is not merely about the psychological effects of grooming and abuse, but also the mysteries and peculiar powers of girlhood and female friendship. In Jenna Tang’s precise and lyrical translation, each paragraph contains a jewel of language; I kept underlining passages that contained thoughts I’d had as a teenager that I’ve never seen rendered on the page before. In a time when still too few take girls seriously in both literature and life, this novel showcases how ‘their excitement… was also tinged with desire; that this desire was actually despair.’ I loved Fang Si-Chi’s First Love Paradise and am thrilled English-speaking audiences can now access Lin Yi-Han's moving novel.” — Jami Nakamura Lin, author of The Night Parade
“Fang Si-Chi’s First Love Paradise is a powerful and unflinchingly told story from the unforgettable voice of Lin Yi-Han. Deftly and sensitively translated by Jenna Tang, this book shatters the stifling silence that is so often forced on survivors. A searing exploration of the impact of abuse, this is a riveting account of resilience and the importance of language and narrative in shaping our understanding of violence and trauma.” — Gina Chung, author of Sea Change and Green Frog
“Fang Si-Chi’s First Love Paradise is a harrowing portrait of sexual violence and its thunderous reverberations. Through Jenna Tang’s incisive translation, the reader is brought along a heartbreaking and unflinching journey. A dark, vivid, and important read that stewarded the #MeToo movement in Taiwan.” — Crystal Hana Kim, author of If You Leave Me
“Fang Si-Chi’s First Love Paradise is not only a heroine’s epic...but also a coming-of-age story that puts forward a blistering critique of the social norms that enable abuse and corruption” — Words Without Borders
"[A] haunting novel...lyrically translated." — Kirkus Reviews
"Lin Yi-Han reckons with the loss of innocence, abuse of power, and the legacy of trauma in her exceptional, award-winning debut...[Lin's] unflinching determination to write about 'a group of girls . . . who had really lost it all' led to this powerful, haunting novel, adeptly translated by Tang...A tour de force." — Booklist (starred review)
