On the Ketagalan Project, we have long been interested in the idea of crossing cultures and overlapping identities, as expressed through art and civic action. Today we continue down that path, and look at an American novel that has recently come out called the Third Son, that tells the story of a boy who grew up in between the Japanese colonial period, and the early years of Chinese Nationalist rule in Taiwan.

Jonathan Lee and Chieh-Ting Yeh caught up with the book’s author Julie Wu as she tours around the US talking to audiences about her book. Julie is Taiwanese American herself, and has gone through being a literature major, opera singer, and yes—-becoming a doctor. Throughout all this, she managed to write a novel that not only introduces American readers to Taiwan’s history, but also is just a great story. Here is our conversation with Julie:

The Third Son (available from Amazon.com) 

(Feature photo of The Third Son book cover)

History and culture are the frames that prescribe how we understand the world around us. Our co-hosts present in-depth interviews on how art, culture, history and politics intertwine throughout time and space to connect us. Find out about the cosmopolitan modern Taipei downtown in the 1920s, regional trade, the future of aboriginal culture and more.
The Ketagalan Project