"Murder is like any other act. It can be as simple as a nudge. If I had not nudged him he would not have died there and then. Such a simple act can change your life—suddenly you’re a different person."
New.
Death can be mundane. In the seemingly quiet, orderly Netherlands Lan’s unspeakable secret recedes from consciousness - but not for long. Constrained by poverty and cultural alienation, she is a single mother with debts piling up and no roof overhead. So she turns to the same man from China she tried to flee, taking the risk that her secret will be exposed. Yue Tao's new book OP EEN HAAR NA is a galloping psychological thriller about shame, fear, and hope.
Author.
Yue Tao is a novelist, essayist, business storyteller, and intercultural trainer. Born and raised in Shanghai, she has lived in Amsterdam since 2000. Tao studied literature and social sciences. Her work regularly appears in English and Chinese newspapers, magazines, and internet media. Contact her for interviews or follow her Facebook Page: yuetaowriting.
Works.
SHANGHAI BLUE (2015) is Yue Tao's debut novel. It is also available in Chinese 红蟋蟀 (2012) and Dutch SCHEMERING BOVEN SHANGHAI (2015, 2019). Her second novel 一夜之差 is published in China in January 2019. The Dutch translation OP EEN HAAR NA is expected to appear in October 2020.
Reviews.
Annelous Stiggelbout, translator.
Yue Tao’s complex, intricate plot takes the narrator—and reader—on an odyssey through Amsterdam subcultures, high and low. Like her first book Schemering boven Shanghai, this, the sequel kept me on the edge of my seat. Highly recommended!
Sun Mengjin, literary critic.
Yue Tao evokes repressed pain—the homesickness felt anytime, anywhere by estranged outsiders. Her strength is cross-cultural understanding, subtly highlighting the unpredictability and absurdity of life through a tight story with a rich—almost sensual—texture.
Meng Chang, journalist.
Yue Tao swings back and forth, effortlessly, between Chinese psychology and Dutch mentality. Her sharp observation, unsentimental storytelling, and suspenseful plot excite the reader’s imagination as well as emotion.
Peter Potman, diplomat.
In her debut novel, Yue Tao weaves a fascinating tapestry whose threads are modern metropolitan China and the dark unconquered past of the Cultural Revolution everyone wants to forget while it keeps creeping back.
"Page-turners. Clear and forceful, intricate and gripping, sensitive and utterly convincing. Dry, delicious humor."
Author
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I have found a balance between my home and host countries—visiting China is a stimulus; living in Holland allows reflection, concentration, application. I need both.
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Writing lets me understand myself and my culture better. Wherever I go, I am thoroughly Chinese; the farther I go and the longer I stay away, the more Chinese I feel.
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It was only when I went abroad that I realized writing also entails disengagement, observation, empathy, and reflection—writing needs distance.
Blog.
Translate and Relate
Good stories cannot attract readers across cultures without good translations. But translations are seldom fully appreciated.
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Book Launch 《一夜之差》The Hague, the Netherlands
On a sunny weekend afternoon in May, there I was - in the bright open space of China Circle, surrounded by about 50 smiling, curious faces - talking about my new book《一夜之差》. I was happy that my new book was launched in the Netherlands even before China.
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On Shanghai TV Tonight Show
The Tonight Show (Shanghai TV's, not NBC Jimmy Fallon's) interviews a writer or artist every evening, 365 evenings a year - no break. I'm honoured to be on the show to talk about my novel and cultural differences in literature.
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