Chu T'ien-hsin's The Old Capital is a brilliant evocation of Taiwan's literature of nostalgia and remembrance. The novel is centered on the question, "Is it possible that none of your memories count?" and explores the reliability of remembrances and the thin line that separates fact from fantasy. Comprised of four thematically linked stories and a novella, The Old Capital focuses on the cultural and psychological realities of contemporary Taiwan. The stories are narrated by individuals who share an aching nostalgia for a time long past. Strolling through modern Taipei, they return to the lost, imperfect memories called forth by the smells and sensations of their city, and try to reconcile themselves to their rapidly changing world. The novella is built on the memories and recollections of a woman trying to make sense of herself and her homeland. After a trip to Kyoto to meet with a friend, she returns to Taipei, where, having been mistaken for a Japanese tourist, she revisits the sites of her youth using a Japanese colonial map of the city. Seeing Taipei anew, the narrator confronts the complex nature of her identity, embodied in the contrast between a serene and preserved Kyoto and a thoroughly modernized and chaotic Taipei. The growing angst of these narrators reflects a deeper anxiety over the legacy of Japan and America in Taiwan. The titles of the stories themselves-"Death in Venice," "Man of La Mancha," "Breakfast at Tiffany's," "Hungarian Water"-reveal the strong currents of influence that run throughout the collection and shape the content and texture of the writing. In his meticulous translation, Howard Goldblatt captures the casual, intimate feel of Chu T'ien-hsin's writing while also maintaining its multiple layers of meaning. An intertextual masterpiece, The Old Capital is a moving and highly sensual meditation on the elasticity of memory and its power to shape personal identity.

朱天心（1958-），作家朱西宁与翻译家刘慕沙之女，当代台湾作家。祖籍山东临朐，一九五八年生于台湾高雄凤山，先后就读于北一女，台湾大学历史系。在北一女就读时就因《击壤歌》成名，大学毕业后专职写作。曾任三三集刊主编，其作品多次荣获时报文学奖及联合报小说奖等多项文学奖，现专事写作，为台湾文坛上重要的作家。著有《方舟上的日子》、《击壤歌》、《昨日当我年轻时》、《未了》、《时移事往》、《我记得》、《想我眷村的兄弟们》、《小说家的政治周记》、《学飞的盟盟》、《古都》、《漫游者》、《二十二岁之前》等。