This collection of six short stories delightfully sifts through the dreams and miracles that, still, discretely persist in modern Taiwan’s “everyday”.

Despite the myriad of temples still dominating both rural and urban landscapes, many in Taiwan’s younger generations today feel disconnected from traditional beliefs. Drawing on her love of temple culture, author Kuang Feng brings to her readers this warmly personal collection of fantasy fiction short stories rooted in the reputed characteristics, powers and personalities of the gods that inhabit Taiwan’s folk religious pantheon.

The two stories written from a deity’s perspective present celestials with personalities not dissimilar to modern-day professionals in search of acknowledgement and respect. As a home guardian deity, Tē-ki-tsú wants nothing more than for a mortal supplicant to set a chicken leg lunchbox on the altar, while a movie-crazed deity enamored with Shawshank Redemption flies into a jealous rage over Marvel Studio’s Thor.

Another two of the stories insert deities into family drama. In one, a single father perplexed by his daughter’s refusal to return to school turns to the Divine Farmer for heavenly advice, while in the other, a reclusive family of four find themselves the unwitting host of the itinerant Nine-Village Mazu. Although these celestials don’t directly resolve these mortals’ everyday problems, the changes induced have undeniably soothing effects.

For the skeptic in all of us, the remaining two stories center on the offbeat journeys of two timeworn individuals. The first embarks on an adventure to repay a debt of gratitude, while the second centers on the experiences of a temple abbot who has never once witnessed what he could call a “miracle”. Straightforward without being “preachy”, these stories are honest and poignant.

Taiwan’s plethora of deities reflect the manifold hopes and dreams of its people. In this collection, Taiwan’s folk religious heritage is shown to be far more than a means to an end. Indeed, compassionate heavenly oversight is to be welcomed as long as human kindness and empathy persist. Kuang Feng looks forward to further developing Island of a Thousand Deities into a multivolume series.