Backed Against the Sea by Wang Wen-Hsing

Written as the ludicrous and disturbing ramblings of an errant, pseudo-intellectual urbanite secluding himself from the underworld in an impoverished coastal village of Taiwan in the early 1960's, this novel prompted the first critical discussion of postmodernism in Chinese fiction and still stands as the most provocative and innovative narrative published in Taiwan over the past two decades.

Published in 1981, this important work portrays Taiwan's post-industrialized society and the accompanying cultural shifts.