A review by isabellesbooks
Taipei by Tao Lin

0.0

I’m not joking when I say this is literally the worst book I have ever read in my entire life. It was required reading for a college course on the topic of happiness, and ironically, this brought me just the opposite. I started reading the first chapter of Taipei and knew right from the start that I couldn’t stand it—I bought the audiobook so that at least I wouldn’t have to read it with my own eyes (yes, I bought it twice and I’m not proud, but a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do). My dad and I share an Audible account, so he was like, hey, a free audiobook! It didn’t take long for him to ditch it and start ranting to me (trust me dad, I know—I had to read the entire thing). We were not fans, and neither was the majority of my class. It was actually agonizing for me to read. You might love this book if you can relate to being high on psychedelics every moment of every day, but other than that there’s barely any plot, lessons, or general appeal. 

I feel so mean now. But I read this book years ago and it still evokes a rage in me that I can’t quite describe.