Ha Jin

In A Free Life, Ha Jin follows the Wu family father Nan, mother Pingping, and son Taotao as they sever their ties with China in the aftermath of the 1989 massacre at Tiananmen Square and begin a new life in the United States. As Nan takes on a number of menial jobs, eventually operating a restaurant with Pingping, he struggles to adapt to the American way of life and to hold his family together, even as he pines for a woman he loved and lost in his youth. Ha Jin''s prodigious talents are in full force as he brilliantly brings to life the struggles and successes of the contemporary immigrant experience.

In his first book of stories since The Bridegroom was published in 2000 ("Finely wrought . . . Every story here is cut like a stone."—Chicago Sun-Times), National Book Award-winning Ha Jin gives us a collection that delves into the experience of Chinese immigrants in America. With the same profound attention to detail that is a hallmark of his previous acclaimed works of fiction, Ha Jin depicts here the full spectrum of immigrant life and the daily struggles—some minute, some grand—faced by these intriguing individuals. A lonely composer takes comfort in the antics of his girlfriend's parakeet; young children decide to change their names so that they might sound more "American," unaware of how deeply this will hurt their grandparents; a Chinese professor of English attempts to defect with the help of a reluctant former student. All of Ha Jin's characters struggle in situations that stir within them a desire to remain attached to be loyal to their homeland and its traditions as they explore and avail themselves of the freedom that life in a new country offers. In these stark, deeply moving, acutely insightful, and often strikingly humorous stories, we are reminded once again of the storytelling prowess of this superb writer.

From the award-winning author of Waiting and War Trash: an urgent, timely novel that follows an aspiring author, an outrageous book idea, and a lone journalist''s dogged quest for truth in the Internet age.New York, 2005. Chinese expatriate Feng Danlin is a fiercely principled reporter at a small news agency that produces a website read by the Chinese diaspora around the world. Danlin''s explosive exposes have made him legendary among readers--and feared by Communist officials. But his newest assignment may be his undoing: investigating his ex-wife, Yan Haili, an unscrupulous novelist who has willingly become a pawn of the Chinese government in order to realize her dreams of literary stardom.Hailis scheme infuriates Danlin both morally and personallyhe will do whatever it takes to expose her as a fraud. But in outing Haili, he is also provoking her powerful political allies, and he will need to draw on all of his journalistic cunning to come out of this investigation with his careerand his lifeunscathed. A brilliant, darkly funny story of corruption, integrity, and the power of the pen, The Boat Rocker is a tour de force.

For more than seventeen years, Lin Kong, a devoted and ambitious doctor, has been in love with an educated, clever, modern woman, Manna Wu. Every summer, he returns to ask her for a divorce and every summer his compliant wife agrees but then backs out.

Una llegada inesperada y otros relatos ofrece por vez primera en español una selección de trece cuentos de uno de los más prestigiosos escritores de ficción en lengua inglesa de nuestros días.Haciendo gala de un estilo directo, desprovisto de sentimentalismo y con un sutilisimo sentido del humor, Ha Jin nos hace participes, de dos experiencias vitales que han marcado su historia personal: la situacion de desvalimiento del individuo ante la omnipresencia del Estado opresor en la China de Mao y la experiencia migratoria, con sus aspiraciones, dificultades y frustraciones. "A traves de mi escritura intento presentar una nacion... aquella del sufrimiento humano. Si es literatura debe tener un significado universal, que sea reconocible por todos".Los relatos breves de Ha Jin han sido objeto de los mas prestigiosos premios y reconocimientos literarios internacionales, tales como el Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award por Ocean of Words, el Flannery O`Connor Award por Under the Red Flag y el Asian American Literary Award por The Bridegroom.

Una llegada inesperada y otros relatos ofrece por vez primera en español una selección de trece cuentos de uno de los más prestigiosos escritores de ficción en lengua inglesa de nuestros días. Haciendo gala de un estilo directo, desprovisto de sentimentalismo y con un sutilisimo sentido del humor, Ha Jin nos hace participes, de dos experiencias vitales que han marcado su historia personal: la situacion de desvalimiento del individuo ante la omnipresencia del Estado opresor en la China de Mao y la experiencia migratoria, con sus aspiraciones, dificultades y frustraciones. A traves de mi escritura intento presentar una nacion... aquella del sufrimiento humano. Si es literatura debe tener un significado universal, que sea reconocible por todos. Los relatos breves de Ha Jin han sido objeto de los mas prestigiosos premios y reconocimientos literarios internacionales, tales como el Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award por Ocean of Words, el Flannery O`Connor Award por Under the Red Flag y el Asian American Literary Award por The Bridegroom.

A "Christian Science Monitor" Best Book of the Year Lilian Shang, a history professor in Maryland, knew that her father, Gary, had been the most important Chinese spy ever caught in the United States. But when she discovers his diary after the death of her parents, its pages reveal the full pain and longing that his double life entailed and point to a hidden second family that he d left behind in China. As Lilian follows her father s trail back into the Chinese provinces, she begins to grasp the extent of her father s dilemma torn between loyalty to his motherland and the love he came to feel for his adopted country. As she starts to understand that Gary, too, had been betrayed, she finds that it is up to her to prevent his tragedy from endangering yet another generation of the Shangs. A stunning portrait of a multinational family, an unflinching inquiry into the meaning of patriotism, "A Map of Betrayal" is a spy novel that only Ha Jin could write. "

Una hermosa metáfora de un microcosmos social.En contraste con los postulados del supuesto paraíso maoísta, Shoa Bin, que trabaja en la fábrica de una comuna, se ve obligado a vivir con su familia en una incomoda habitacion. Tras seis años esperando un piso, su decepcion es mayuscula cuando ve que el director de la fabrica otorga ese privilegio a trabajadores menos cualificados. Shao Bin toma entonces una arriesgada decision...

A Ph.D. candidate at a Chinese university tends the bedside of one of his professors, who is also his girlfriend's father and who in his illness and delirium rants about his past: his counterrevolutionary activities, his adulterous affairs, his dissatisfaction with his scholarly career. Inspired by the old man, the student gives up his own ambitions--and becomes one of the protestors in Tiananmen Square. A New York Times Notable Book for 2002.

In a small town in China, Shao Bin is feeling his powerlessness when he is denied a larger apartment, and his solution is to publish a satire in the local newspaper--an act whose repercussions go far beyond what he had expected. IN THE POND is the first novel by Ha Jin, who received the National Book Award in 1999.

Through the life of a remarkable womanbased on pioneering stage director Sun Weishi (19211968)this epic novel immerses us in the multifaceted history of Chinas Communist Party. A powerful, insightful account from the National Book Awardwinning author, who came of age during the Cultural Revolution.As a promising young actress, Sun Weishi made the critical decision to pursue her studies in Moscowwith the blessing of her influential adoptive father, Zhou Enlai, and Mao himself. The valuable insights she gained there during World War II, most notably the significance of characters inner lives, would enable her to excel back in China, where she produced works by Chekhov and Gogol, and other socially progressive dramas, such as an adaptation of Uncle Toms Cabin. Her striking career as Chinas first female director of modern spoken drama (Huaju) would be derailed with the advent of the Cultural Revolution in 1966, however, which put her once again at odds with an old enemyJiang Qing, a fellow actress who schemed her way to the top as Maos fourth and final wife.Through the decades-long rivalry between these two complex women, and their differing approaches to the men in power who shaped their lives, Ha Jin deftly explores the ideals of communism and the reality of the Chinese Communist Party. At the same time, the novel captivates us with Sun Weishis personal struggles and triumphs, as she navigates friendship, love, art, and politics amidst the great events of the twentieth century.

From one of our most celebrated contemporary writers, winner of the National Book Award and PEN/Faulkner Award: Ha Jins staggering story Alive, from the collection The Bridegroom. Tong Guhan is a regular businessman, husband, and father, trying to find a job for his daughter and an apartment for his son in rural China. Hes next in line to be Vice Director of the cannery where he works. One morning in late July he makes the eleven hour train trip from Muji City to Taifu, to conduct business for his company that he hopes will finally lead to a promotion and the easy life. The events that follow are nothing short of astonishing, as the very earth shifts under Guhans feet. This is Ha Jins moving, strange, captivating story of an earthquake and a common man, the ties of family and the powers of circumstance: the perfect introduction to an internationally acclaimed modern master. An eBook short.

In his first book of stories since The Bridegroom, National Book Award-winning author Ha Jin gives us a collection that delves into the experience of Chinese immigrants in America.A lonely composer takes comfort in the antics of his girlfriends parakeet; young children decide to change their names so they might sound more "American," unaware of how deeply this will hurt their grandparents; a Chinese professor of English attempts to defect with the help of a reluctant former student. All of Ha Jins characters struggle to remain loyal to their homeland and its traditions while also exploring the freedom that life in a new country offers.Stark, deeply moving, acutely insightful, and often strikingly humorous, A Good Fall reminds us once again of the storytelling prowess of this superb writer.

From the universally admired, National Book Award-winning, bestselling author of Waitinga timely novel that follows a famous Chinese singer severed from his country, as he works to find his way in the United States At the end of a U.S. tour with his state-supported choir, popular singer Yao Tian takes a private gig in New York to pick up some extra cash for his daughters tuition fund, but the consequences of his choice spiral out of control. On his return to China, Tian is informed that the sponsors of the event were supporters of Taiwans secession, and that he must deliver a formal self-criticism. When he is asked to forfeit his passport to his employer, Tian impulsively decides instead to return to New York to protest the governments threat to his artistic integrity. With the help of his old friend Yabin, Tians career begins to flourish in the United States. But he is soon placed on a Chinese government blacklist and thwarted by the state at every turn, and it becomes increasingly clear that he may never return to China unless he denounces the freedoms that have made his new life possible. Tian nevertheless insists on his identity as a performer, refusing to give up his art. Moving, important, and strikingly relevant to our times, A Song Everlasting is a story of hope in the face of hardship from one of our most celebrated authors.

A New York Times Notable Book One of the Best Books of the Year: Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Entertainment Weekly, Slate In A Free Life, Ha Jin follows the Wu family father Nan, mother Pingping, and son Taotao as they sever their ties with China in the aftermath of the 1989 massacre at Tiananmen Square and begin a new life in the United States. As Nan takes on a number of menial jobs, eventually operating a restaurant with Pingping, he struggles to adapt to the American way of life and to hold his family together, even as he pines for a woman he loved and lost in his youth. Ha Jins prodigious talents are in full force as he brilliantly brings to life the struggles and successes of the contemporary immigrant experience.