Monsoon Reader's Favorite Monthly Picks · May 2026
五月的季風書單，從文革記憶、極權政治、身份認同與女性處境出發，也延伸到台灣、香港、西藏、北韓與東亞政治的歷史現場。中文書單中，文革親歷者的告白、江青與廣西文革研究、秦暉對中國女權問題的重思，以及關於習近平時代身份治理的報導，共同構成一條理解中國現代政治與社會創傷的閱讀線索。
英文書單則與本月及六月多場活動互相呼應：楊双子的 Taiwan Travelogue 以殖民台灣與女性情感打開歷史記憶；Yiyun Li 的 Things in Nature Merely Grow 以極度克制的文字面對失去；Gregg Brazinsky、Andrew Seth Meyer、Joe Jackson 等作品則分別從中朝關係、戰國中國與美國帝國誕生回望歷史如何塑造今日世界。這份榜單既關於書，也關於我們如何理解記憶、權力與個體生命。
The May list moves across Cultural Revolution memory, authoritarian politics, identity, Taiwan, Tibet, North Korea, and global history. From personal testimony and archival research to fiction, memoir, political analysis, and historical narrative, these books ask how power shapes memory — and how individuals continue to speak, remember, and live within history.
【中文書單 Top 10】
《从大饥荒到文化大革命：一个红卫兵的告白》
丁學良 口述；戴志勇 整編／聯經出版
這是一部來自文革內部參與者的個人告白。丁學良從皖南農村的大饑荒記憶寫起，回到自己少年時期如何被革命激情點燃，如何參與成立紅衛兵組織，印傳單、辦戰報、號召群眾，並親眼看見一場政治運動從理想與狂熱逐步走向失控。
本書最重要的地方，在於它不只是回憶個人的青春，而是讓讀者看見群眾政治如何在基層展開。批鬥、派系、武鬥、下鄉與體制內再教育，構成了一條從信仰到幻滅的生命軌跡。作者以親歷者視角重建文革現場，也揭示當權力鼓動群眾、當信仰凌駕一切，人如何被塑造、被利用，甚至被時代吞沒。
《娜拉出走以后（增订版）》
秦晖／读道社
從魯迅1923年的演講「娜拉走後怎樣」出發，秦暉重新梳理中國女性在一百年間的處境變化。書中討論革命時代、改革年代、暴力計生、拐賣婦女與父權制度等問題，追問中國女性真正需要面對的，究竟是單純的「男權」，還是更龐大的國家權力與極權體制。
秦暉的觀點尖銳而有穿透力。他認為，中國女權的真問題首先是人權問題；沒有擺脫大共同體的控制，女性很難真正擺脫壓迫。本書把中國女性經驗放回具體歷史與制度語境之中，提醒讀者在理解女權議題時，不能直接套用西方現成框架，而要看見中國女性特有的制度性苦難。
《江青年谱 Jiang Qing Chronology》
余汝信 編；秦晖 作序／新世纪出版社
《江青年譜》是文革史研究專家余汝信繼《陳伯達年譜》《康生年譜》之後的又一部文革人物年譜。這本書並不意在寫成一部完整的江青傳記，而是以年譜形式整理江青生平與政治活動的基礎史料，為後續研究提供可靠線索。
作為文革研究的重要工具書，本書的價值在於材料的編年整理與反覆考證。從山東、上海、延安到「第一夫人」「文革旗手」與秦城女囚，江青的一生被置於中共政治與文革權力結構之中。對於理解文革核心人物、政治表演與權力運作，本書是一份難得的資料入口。
《论习近平》
陸克文、林玉菁／明白文化事業有限公司
《論習近平》是澳洲前總理陸克文長期研究中國政治後完成的一部習近平思想與權力結構分析。書中試圖拆解習近平的世界觀：對內政治與經濟左傾，對外外交與戰略右傾，並指出「鬥爭」如何重新成為中國內政與外交的核心語言。
這本書的重點不只是分析一位領導人，而是理解習近平時代的中國如何重塑自身與世界的關係。陸克文結合政治實務與學術研究，討論民族主義、黨國體制、外交戰略、蘇聯解體的影響，以及所謂「危險的十年」。對於想理解當代中國權力邏輯與全球影響的讀者，這是一本重要的參考書。
《花开时节（全新修订版）》
楊双子／春山出版有限公司
《花開時節》是楊双子的第一部長篇歷史小說，也可視為其「歷史百合宇宙」的重要起點。小說以日治時期台灣為背景，讓一名現代大學生意外穿越到1930年代台中的望族宅邸，成為六歲的楊雪泥，由此展開一段關於女性命運、家族秩序與歷史選擇的故事。
作品最迷人之處，在於它以穿越小說的形式重新書寫台灣歷史。昭和時代的摩登風景、地方望族的生活細節、女性之間的情誼與束縛，都在小說中交織成一座記憶花園。楊双子用花草串連人物與篇章，使小說不只是歷史想像，也是一部以女性視角叩問台灣命運的文學作品。
《广西文革痛史钩沉》
曉明／香港田園供書
《廣西文革痛史鈎沉》聚焦文革期間廣西地區發生的暴力與災難。這段歷史長期被遮蔽，也因其殘酷程度而成為文革研究中無法迴避的一章。作者以史料鈎沉方式，試圖還原事件的輪廓，讓被掩蓋的苦難重新進入公共記憶。
這本書的重要性，在於它提醒讀者：文革並不只是北京高層政治鬥爭，也不只是抽象的意識形態運動，而是在地方社會中造成了具體而深重的傷害。透過廣西個案，讀者能更清楚看見群眾暴力、政治動員與地方權力如何交織，並理解反思文革為何仍是今日中國無法迴避的歷史任務。
《高市早苗：我的政治构想》
高市早苗、櫻井良子、門田隆將、山田宏，渚易安、賴英泰／有理文化有限公司
《高市早苗：我的政治構想》呈現高市早苗對日本憲法、國防、經濟安全、烏克蘭戰爭、台灣與印太戰略等議題的思考。書中既有其政治理念與政策方向，也包含對日本國家觀、保守主義路線與安倍晉三政治遺產的回顧。
這本書可作為理解日本保守政治與安全戰略的一個窗口。高市早苗強調國防體制重建、國家主權、經濟安全與印太局勢，尤其在台海與中國軍事擴張問題上立場鮮明。對關注日本政治、台日關係與東亞安全格局的讀者而言，本書提供了理解日本政治右轉與戰略焦慮的重要材料。
《唯红花绽放：习近平时代的认同与归属》
馮哲芸、洪慧芳／衛城出版
《唯紅花綻放》從作者在北京首都機場被盤查的經歷寫起，展開一場關於「何謂中國、何謂華人」的追問。馮哲芸透過二十位人物的故事，呈現習近平時代中國如何用民族復興、國家統一與政治忠誠來重新塑造身份邊界。
本書最有力量之處，是它把宏大的國族敘事拆解為一個個具體生命。維權律師、小粉紅、封城日記作者、香港書商、徐州鐵鍊女、流亡維吾爾父親等人物，共同構成一部關於多元性被壓縮、身份被剪裁、聲音被噤聲的報導作品。它既是一部中國身份政治的觀察，也是一首獻給異色花朵的輓歌。
《吃佛：從一座城市窺見西藏的劫難與求生》
芭芭拉・德米克／麥田
《吃佛》聚焦青藏高原東部的藏族小鎮阿壩。這裡既是藏人與中共最早交手的地方之一，也是今日中國高壓治理與密集監控之下的重要現場。芭芭拉・德米克從紅軍長征時「吃佛」的歷史細節寫起，追溯西藏人在中國統治下的信仰、抵抗與求生。
這本書的力量，在於它用具體人物打開西藏的現代史。從文革期間遭難的公主，到自焚抗議的年輕人，再到在家庭、信仰與中國國家力量之間艱難選擇的普通藏人，德米克呈現的不只是政治壓迫，也是文化、宗教與日常生活如何在高壓之下被重塑。現下新疆與香港面對的處境，藏人早已親身經歷。
《台灣製造：MIT台菜與台灣味，台灣人的飲食故事》
魏貝珊 Clarissa Wei／二十張出版
《台灣製造》以逾一百二十道台菜食譜為入口，書寫台灣人的飲食故事。早餐、家常菜、熱炒、夜市小吃、點心、醃菜與節慶糕點，在魏貝珊筆下不只是料理分類，而是台灣歷史、族群融合與日常生活的具體呈現。
作為美籍台裔記者，魏貝珊以跨國成長經驗重新理解台灣味。她透過研究、訪談與食譜，將菜餚背後的歷史脈絡、地方情感與身份認同寫入書中。這不只是一本食譜書，也是一封獻給台灣的情書：讓世界透過食物看見台灣，也讓台灣讀者重新理解自己的日常。
【English Top 10】
Taiwan Travelogue
Yáng Shuāng-zǐ, translated by Lin King / Graywolf Press
Taiwan Travelogue is a layered historical novel set in 1938, during Japan’s colonial rule of Taiwan. A young Japanese novelist, Aoyama Chizuko, arrives on the island hoping to escape official colonial banquets and experience real local life. Her interpreter, Chizuru, becomes her guide through Taiwan’s landscapes, food, language, and hidden histories — and gradually the object of Chizuko’s fascination.
Disguised as a rediscovered translation, the novel uses food, travel, romance, and linguistic play to examine colonial power and intimacy. What begins as a story of appetite and attraction becomes a deeper meditation on unequal relationships, erased histories, and the political meanings embedded in language. After winning major recognition in translation, the book has become essential reading for those interested in Taiwan, colonial memory, queer desire, and literary form.
The Lost Torah of Shanghai
Linda Frank / Linda Frank
The Lost Torah of Shanghai begins with the disappearance of a precious Torah from the home of a Chinese government official in Shanghai. Lily Kovner, nicknamed the “Jewish Miss Marple,” is at first reluctant to involve herself, but her connection to a newly discovered Chinese-Jewish cousin pulls her into a dangerous search marked by threats, violence, and political intrigue.
The novel uses a mystery plot to uncover the little-known history of Jewish communities in China, from Baghdadi Sephardim and Russian Jews to European refugees and the Jews of Kaifeng. Behind the missing Torah lies a larger story about diaspora, memory, family, and the political afterlives of pre-Communist China. It is both a historical mystery and an invitation to rediscover a forgotten chapter of Jewish life in Asia.
Things in Nature Merely Grow
Yiyun Li / Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Yiyun Li’s Things in Nature Merely Grow is a stark and devastating work of memoir. Written after the death of her son James, six years after the death of her older son Vincent, the book refuses easy consolation. Li begins with facts that language can barely hold, and then turns to thinking, reading, gardening, piano practice, and the discipline of living beside death.
This is not a conventional book about grief. Its power lies in its refusal to turn loss into narrative closure. Li writes with philosophical precision about presence, time, and the verb “to be”: her sons were, are, and will remain her sons. The book is austere, unsentimental, and deeply moving — a testament to attention, thought, and the persistence of life when ordinary language fails.
Cold War Comrades: An Emotional History of the Sino-North Korean Alliance
Gregg A. Brazinsky / Cambridge University Press
Gregg A. Brazinsky offers a major new interpretation of Sino-North Korean relations by placing emotion at the center of Cold War diplomacy. Rather than viewing the alliance only through strategic calculation, Cold War Comrades shows how Chinese and North Korean leaders promoted feelings of friendship, sacrifice, and mutual empathy between their citizens.
Drawing on Chinese and North Korean sources, Brazinsky argues that these emotional bonds were crucial to socialist state-building and to the survival of both regimes during fragile historical moments. The book reveals how war, ideology, propaganda, and shared struggle produced a lasting political language of brotherhood. It is essential reading for understanding not only the Korean War and Cold War socialism, but also the emotional foundations of alliance politics in East Asia.
Searching for Billie: A Journalist's Quest to Understand His Mother's Past Leads Him to Discover a Vanished China
Ian Gill / Blacksmith Books
Ian Gill’s Searching for Billie begins with a personal mystery and expands into a family history that crosses Shanghai, Hong Kong, Changsha, wartime Asia, and the British Empire. Gill’s mother Billie had lived an extraordinary life: a controversial adoption, a career as a radio broadcaster in wartime Shanghai, imprisonment in a Japanese internment camp, and later a decoration by Queen Elizabeth II.
What makes the book compelling is how private memory opens onto a vanished China. Gill reconstructs his mother’s world through interviews, travel, family traces, and historical research, revealing connections that stretch back to the nineteenth century. The result is a memoir about identity, empire, war, and the fragile ways families preserve — or conceal — the past.
Splendid Liberators: Heroism, Betrayal, Resistance, and the Birth of American Empire
Joe Jackson / Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Splendid Liberators revisits the Spanish-American War, the conflict through which the United States presented itself as a liberator while emerging as an imperial power. Joe Jackson tells the story across Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, Washington, and the battlefield, bringing together figures such as Theodore Roosevelt, José Martí, Emilio Aguinaldo, Clara Barton, Mark Twain, and David Fagen.
The book’s central question is moral as much as historical: how did a war fought in the language of freedom become a story of betrayal and occupation? Jackson shows how disease, racial ideology, military ambition, resistance, and anti-imperial dissent shaped the birth of American empire. It is a sweeping narrative history of a war that still echoes in debates about intervention, liberation, and power.
To Rule All under Heaven: A History of Classical China, from Confucius to the First Emperor
Andrew Seth Meyer / Oxford University Press
Andrew Seth Meyer’s To Rule All under Heaven offers a comprehensive English-language history of China’s Warring States period. Beginning in 481 BCE, the book follows a world in collapse and transformation, as the old Zhou order disintegrated and new states, institutions, philosophies, and technologies emerged from war and competition.
This was the era that gave rise to Confucianism, Daoism, Legalism, The Art of War, the codification of Chinese script, major military innovations, and the political foundations of imperial China. Meyer presents the Warring States not as a distant prelude, but as one of world history’s most consequential periods — a time when China reinvented itself and created forms of governance that would shape East Asia for centuries.
Dictionary of Fine Distinctions: Nuances, Niceties, and Subtle Shades of Meaning
Eli Burnstein, illustrated by Liana Finck / Union Square & Co.
Dictionary of Fine Distinctions is a witty and visually charming guide to words and concepts that are often confused. What is the difference between a maze and a labyrinth, a proverb and an adage, a clementine and a tangerine? Eli Burnstein approaches these subtle distinctions with humor, precision, and delight.
With illustrations by Liana Finck, the book is both a reference work and a celebration of language. It gives readers mnemonic aids, examples, and playful explanations that make fine distinctions memorable. For word lovers, teachers, translators, writers, and everyday readers, this is a small but intelligent book about the pleasure of thinking clearly.
How to Be a Dissident
Gal Beckerman / Crown Publishing Group
Gal Beckerman’s How to Be a Dissident is part intellectual history, part moral guide, and part manual for living with integrity under pressure. Drawing on figures from Socrates to Ai Weiwei, and thinkers such as Hannah Arendt and Iris Murdoch, Beckerman asks what makes people resist conformity, fear, and authoritarian drift.
The book is structured around qualities of dissidence, including pessimism, humor, recklessness, and the desire to leave something that outlasts one’s life. Its argument is not that everyone must become a martyr, but that dissidence is a human capacity: the refusal to betray one’s inner voice, even in small daily compromises. In an age of fear, surveillance, and conformity, this is a timely book about conscience and courage.
If Cats Disappeared from the World
Genki Kawamura, translated by Eric Selland / Flatiron Books
If Cats Disappeared from the World is a short, moving fable about life, death, and what truly matters. A young postman learns that he has only a short time to live. Then the devil appears with a strange bargain: for each extra day of life, one thing must disappear from the world.
As phones, movies, clocks, and other ordinary things vanish, the postman is forced to reflect on memory, love, regret, family, and the small attachments that make life meaningful. At the center of the story is his cat, Cabbage, whose presence gives the book its emotional weight. Gentle, funny, and quietly profound, this novel asks how much of the world we can lose before we lose ourselves.