- Birth Name: 施淑端
- Born: April 7, 1952
- Birthplace: Changhua County (Western Taiwan)
- Behind the Pen Name:
- She chose "Li” to represent her mother's family name, and "Ang” from a Chinese phrase meaning "standing tall and straight (昂首挺胸).” Early readers assumed she was a male writer because of the masculine pen name.
Selected Works:
- 1983 - 'The Butcher's Wife (殺夫)'
- In a small coastal Taiwanese town, the pig butcher's brutality towards his new young wife knows no bounds. Frank in its depiction of gore and public scorn, Li's debut novel skillfully depicts female oppression and vengeance.
- 2004 - 'Visible Ghosts (看得見的鬼)'
- Steering clear of female ghosts in conventional yarns, Li focuses on creating alternative female ghosts exclusive to Taiwan. In this borderless kingdom of ghosts, female specters are let loose to roar, shriek, and make themselves heard.
- 2014 - 'Everyone Takes A Bite out of Roadside Sugarcanes (路邊甘蔗眾人啃)'
- When a political dissident is finally released from prison, he wears his ten years behind bars like a badge. Moreover, he justifies his voracious sexual appetite by declaring, "Taiwan owes me, of course all Taiwanese women are indebted to me as well.”
Biography
Growing up during the transition period of post-war Taiwan, Li's writing is primarily dominated by the transformation of society, reflecting her view on gender, ethics, and politics … (read more)
Reviews:
- ''The Butcher's Wife' may be … the very meanest, most frightening book ever written about women oppressed by men, or any helpless victim snuffed out by an uncaring society.' ―Los Angeles Times
- 'Her bold style and willingness to tackle gender taboos in Taiwan places her work at the forefront of feminist Chinese literature. Her work cannot be reduced to its groundbreaking feminist successes, however, as it draws its distinctive power from a wide spectrum of historical and cultural issues and themes, none of which escape her penetrating insights.' ― Chinese Literature Today
- 'A magnificently gory morality tale … feminism with a vengeance - and pretty gut-wrenching stuff, served up in its razor-sharp prose.” ― Kirkus Reviews
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