The trash I once loved

A love letter to souvenirs,
To the unthrowable junk between love and past love.
 

Two-time nominee for the Angoulême International Comics Festival Revelation Award
Winner of the 2020 Golden Comic Award for Best Comic and the 2021 Taipei International Book Exhibition Non-Fiction Grand Prize
Chen Pei-hsiu's first new work in 5 years since "Just Like That For Now"

In "Just Like That For Now," published in 2019, author Chen Pei-hsiu chronicled moments in the daily lives of post-80s women living in Taipei, drawing from her own rental experiences. In her new work, "Beloved Junk," the author places the temporary solace and self-sufficiency from "Just Like That For Now" within the gradual changes of urban space, intimate relationships, and material possessions over time.

Among the 9 short stories collected in this book, the first half—"Fine Weather," "Friday Night," "4-5pm," and "Outsider"—appear independent but subtly and sharply highlight the discord, weariness, and renewal in intimate relationships, delicately depicting the approach and departure in each connection. The latter half of the book, beginning with "Weekend Itinerary," introduces the metabolism of the city. "The Last Few Miles" and "Souvenir" then focus on the emotions and memories entrusted to bodies and material possessions, both precious and seemingly fleeting. The final story in the book, "Before Sunset," portrays an older person's subtle cynicism towards pure love and eternity, observed in another city.

This is a love letter to souvenirs, to the unthrowable junk between love and past love.