Li Zi Shu

Li Zi Shu (黎紫書) Li Zi Shu was born in Malaysia in 1971.

Since 1995, she has been awarded many literary prizes across Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and mainland China.

These include the Huazong Literature Prize, the United Daily News Literature Prize, the Wang Moren-Zhou Anyi World Chinese Literature Award, and the Times Literature Prize, as well as the Malaysia Outstanding Young Author Prize, the Yun-lifeng Author of the Year Prize, and the Nanyang Chinese Literature Prize.

Her novel The Age of Goodbyes was a Dream of Red Chambers Novel Recommended Award winner.

She has published more than ten volumes of work that include novels, short story collections, micro fiction, and essays.

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The Age of Goodbyes

Country: Malaysia

Publisner Name: Feminist Press

Original Language: Chinese (Simplified)

In 1969, in the wake of Malaysia's deadliest race riots, a woman named Du Li An secures her place in society by marrying a gangster.

In a parallel narrative, a critic known only as The Fourth Person explores the work of a writer also named Du Li An.

And a third storyline is in the second person; “you” are reading a novel titled The Age of Goodbyes.

Floundering in the wake of “your” mother’s death, “you” are trying to unpack the secrets surrounding “your” lineage.

The Age of Goodbyes—which begins on page 513, a reference to the riots of May 13, 1969—is the acclaimed debut by Li Zi Shu, one of Southeast Asia’s most exciting writers.

The winner of multiple awards and a Taiwanese bestseller, this dazzling novel is a profound exploration of what happens to personal memory when official accounts of history distort and render it taboo.