Notes of a Crocodile

Formatted as a series of journal entries across eight notebooks, Notes of A Crocodile follows an unnamed lesbian university student as she struggles with forming and maintaining relationships with others while she goes to school in Taipei, Taiwan. Alongside these entries about her friendships and love life are sections about the country's obsession with crocodiles—elusive creatures that wear human suits to blend in. Though I'm still unclear on what exactly crocodiles are meant to represent, it's clear they are related to the experiences of queer people in 1987 Taiwan.

Miaojin's prose is an interesting combination of straightforward and poetic, and rather beautifully captures the confusion, heartache, and drama of the college years. This is a book I'd love to read again, as I'm sure I've missed much of the nuance in the dialogue and setting. 

I wouldn't recommend this book to everyone, but I enjoyed reading it and learned more about what it's been like for young people to be queer around the world. I think having a deeper understanding of the state of Taipei in the late ‘80s would be beneficial in reaching a better understanding of this novel. 

despair alone, despair in love.