The Age of Goodbyes

September 12, 2022
Li makes a beguiling metafictional English-language debut with a kaleidoscope of stories about and perspectives on Malaysian life over the past 50 years. The novel begins on page 513, a reference to post-election celebrations on May 13, 1969, that led to a wave of political and racial violence. In the aftermath, 20-something movie theater employee Du Li An marries mafioso Steely Bo, becomes a stepmother to his children, and opens a popular coffee shop. However, Du Li An is revealed to be a character in a novel titled The Age of Goodbyes by Shaozi, the pen name of a writer also named Du Li An. This novel is being read in the present day by an unnamed teenager who lives in a cheap hotel with his uncle and mourns his mother’s recent death, and whom Li addresses in second-person narration. This “you” also reads evaluations of Shaozi’s work by a critic called “The Fourth Person,” published in the 2000s. As Li zigs back and forth between the multiple Du Li Ans, the “you” character, and The Fourth Person, a semblance of truth becomes increasingly elusive, making for a frustrating though provocative endeavor. It’s a singular outing, though also a forbiddingly esoteric one.

October 1, 2022
In this debut, a best-seller in Taiwan, three narratives weave a story of turmoil and grief after Malaysia's deadly race riots of 1969. In the first, "you" cope with the death of your mother, a mysterious woman who only leaves behind more questions, even in her final moments. Still guided by her presence, you ponder the identity of your father while keeping an eye on a boy you believe is your brother. Meanwhile, you also discover a little-known book titled The Age of Goodbyes, in which a movie-theater worker named Du Li An marries a gang member who's 20 years older and has a pompadour, much to the bewilderment of her family. And lastly, a literary critic only known as The Fourth Person delves into the historical context and work of a writer also called Du Li An, all the while facing criticism of their own. The novel intertwines these accounts in such rich detail, at times a little too seamlessly. But at the heart is a lesson on the haunting nature of history, both personal and political.

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