When Exiles at Home first appeared in 1986, Ch'en Ying-chen was already hailed as a central figure in the Native Literature movement in Taiwan. Ch'en, who spent seven years in prison on political "subversion" charges, is known for his often brutal honesty about rural poverty and the bland hypocrisies of the middle class. Deeply moral, Ch'en's nine stories here capture his personal alienation, touching on issues of racism, business ethics, and social...