We’re back on the streets of Taipei with Jing-nan, the owner of Unknown Pleasures, a night market food stall. Taipei native Jing-nan spent a couple of years at UCLA only to be called home when his parents died, leaving him to run the take-out—a bittersweet turn of events. Here he’s initially accused of two murders: of a small-time criminal who dates his girlfriend’s mother, and of a police captain. With little effort, Jing-nan manages to worm his way out of the accusations, only—along with girlfriend Nancy, her mom, and his food-stall employees—to get sucked into the search for the real criminals. While the mystery, such as it is, chugs along on the back burner, we’re treated to Lin’s always wonderful array of characters, bits of Taiwanese history, and explanations of the current political scene—all without feeling like we’re in school. Lin is definitely a satirist, but this novel is deeply poignant at the same time. While this book can be read on its own, Lin’s books benefit from reading them in series, as so much of the writing is focused on character development.
