Puppet Flower: A Novel of 1867 Formosa by Yao-Chang ChenMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
If you've been in Taiwan long enough, you will hear about the Rover incident. Unfortunately, it, like much of Taiwanese history, isn't studied or known very well by Taiwanese (who grew up learning more about Chinese history than Taiwanese), so it is difficult to get a feel for what happened exactly.
This book did exactly that. Many familiar names (Pickering, LeGendre and Tauketok, among others) and many new names. I guess I only wish it specified who was a real historical figure and who wasn't. Were they all real? If so, I wish it talked more about Butterfly and her family and their fate.
The story itself was great, although I can't say I liked the ending as much. I see how it was trying to tie several things together, but it seemed to rush a lot of history and make it fit an odd narrative.
Anyway, that is sort of nitpicking. All in all it was a great book.
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