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The Itchy Translator is Taiwanese blogger Sunflower's third collection of literary essays. Written during June 2010 and December 2012, these are her comments on all aspects of Chinese and Western literature and arts. These writings stand the test of time because their subjects do.
Compared to her two previous books, The Secret of Time and Blog Therapy, the 40 essays collected in The Itchy Translator are far more ambitious in their scope of research and analytical exploration of contemporary literary and arts trends in both Chinese and English worlds. To start with, there are observations on working as a professional translator and Sunflower's personal "journey" between the Chinese and English languages. Then there are essays exploring various famous and/or controversial books, movies, mucials, authors and even art critics. Finally, Sunflower investigates the cultural significance of various literary and Internet phenomena across the globe, such as the "old-fashioned" art of letter writing, criticism against capital punishment in John Grisham's novels, the obstacles faced by Taiwan's publishing industry, and the continuous rise of digital publishing and reading, just to name a few.
In short, The Itchy Translator showcases Sunflower's rich experience as a professional translator and independent scholar. Her interdisciplinary and cross-cultural approach to study literature and arts is refreshing and serves as a model to those who are interested in learning the art and craft of being a critic.
About the author
Born in Taipei, Taiwan and now based in Melbourne, Australia, Sunflower is a writer, translator, reader, reviewer, journalist, independent scholar and publisher of digital and print books in both Chinese and English languages.
