by Ha Jin
The writing seems very spare. It's not a translation by the way, but by a man whose native language is Chinese writing in English. The characters often exasperated me with their varieties of passivity: Lin in not insisting on divorce or letting Manna go; his wife Shuyu in her submissiveness and pas...
Found this quick read frustrating. Critics cited the wit and humor, which I didn't see. I found the ending rushed, unconvincing, and thus, unsatisfying.Amazing portrait of modern-day China, however.
I'm going to start this with the caveat that I know very little about China, and even less about Chinese culture. I've read reviews where the author has been lambasted for creating a book about China that white people would be happy with, and I can see how the accusations might be correct... sadly,...
I read this after having read "Ocean of Words". I thought I would like to read a novel by him, but to me this just felt like a short story that got elongated. Some of the things I like about his writing are there, it's not elegant prose by any stretch of the imagination, but there is something ver...
Wooden writing and shallow characters, but an interesting story that could only be set in mid/late 20th century China: about discipline, longing coupled with detachment, lost opportunities and more.
This was the first Ha Jin book I read and is also my favorite. Great story and so true to the human character - in Chinese circumstance. I find it extremely difficult to find Chinese fiction writers that I like (is Ha Jin technically American?), but I love reading about China, so, filet mignon for e...
Still thinking about this book...wonderful.
yeah, i'm waiting all right...waiting for this book to be good!!
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