The Stolen Bicycle

In Stolen Bicycle, Taiwan author Wu Ming-yi tells the story of generations of fathers and sons as they survive war and its consequences. As the main character searches for the bike his father abandoned when he disappeared from the family, he meets character after character who has struggled with the loss of his own father and suffered through war, often with help of jungle elephants and one orangutan. In searching for the answer of what happened to his father’s bike, the narrator completes the story of his own father’s disappearance and hears the stories of war survivors and a war photographer as they fight through the forests of Burma, with and against Japanese forces. Wu gives us intimate, colorful images of Taiwan through much of the twentieth century, from butterfly collectors to outdoor markets to the role of the bicycle through Taiwan’s development. Cycling enthusiasts in particular may appreciate the intricate detail Wu provides of the history of bikes on the island and the methods of collecting and restoring vintage bikes.

This is a deeply charming book. Intertwined with the plot is a whole raft of history and stories of Taiwan. With several narrators, I found myself getting lost a bit.

The author's terrific book brought back tons of memory growing up in Taiwan. Taiwan, with its own unique history separate from china, has a population that is a melting pot of many cultures. To fully understand one must visit the island of Taiwan and enjoy its unique cultural experience distinct and separate from china.

An amazing story. The author's knowledge is so extensive in history, languages, zoology, entomology, and of course bicycles, and the plots so cleverly aligned, the book blows your mind.

Just reading the last few chapters now. It’s a well written story with several absolute gems of sentences embedded. I like cycling, and I found that history along with Taiwan’s interesting. The characters were well crafted, and the events were easily believable. 4 stars instead of five due to some details becoming tedious.

full of interesting facts about the bicycle and its various ownres.

A good pleasure reading book.

The Stolen Bicycle is the first Taiwanese book I have read and I expected it to have a Chinese feel to it. I didn't previously know that Taiwan had been under Japanese control for fifty years until 1945 and, for me, I felt more of a style affinity to Japanese literature. Author Wu and his imagined protagonist Cheng overlap in several of their interests. Given that The Stolen Bicycle is mainly narrated in the first person by Cheng, this makes it impossible to differentiate between Cheng's fictional life and Wu's real life. I liked this duality and the sense of authenticity it brought to the novel.I wondered if the story had initially started out as several stories which were later intertwined into one work. In tracing the story of Cheng's father's missing bicycle we spend time in present-day Taiwan, but also journey back to the Second World War and across to Malaysia and Myanmar. Wu has Cheng explain the history of bicycle manufacturing in Taiwan and Japanese bicycle army regiments. Other characters discuss intricate butterfly handicrafts or talk in depth about particular zoo animals, their wartime experiences, or their exploration of grotesque underwater scenes. The narrative jumps between different people's points of view by way of speech, emails and letters and, especially at the beginning of the book, I did lose track of whose story was foremost and what their connection was to the bicycle.The Stolen Bicycle has a mystical atmosphere to it. Certain scenes seem unbelievable, but were perhaps true; others start out in mundane detail and gradually become more fantastic. I'm still not sure I know the truth of what happened to Cheng's father, but I enjoyed losing myself in Taiwanese history and piecing together the lost bicycle years.

This is a really beautiful book. Many characters intertwined and set against the backdrop of war and loss. I learnt a great deal about Taiwanese history but I mostly enjoyed the beautiful craft of the writing. I think it deserved to be in the final shortlisted for the international Booker prize this year.

Boring and trite. I regret losing the time I took to read it.

interesting view on taiwan

Great

Interesting stories of a place and time I knew nothing about. I recommend this as a good read, if you love bikes or not.