Poetry Books
A Free Life: A Novel
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Manufacturer: Pantheon
Author: Ha Jin
Publisher: Pantheon
Average Customer Rating:
Our Price: $17.16
You Save: $ 8.84 ( 34% )
Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Pantheon
Author: Ha Jin
Publisher: Pantheon
Average Customer Rating:
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A Free Life: A Novel Description
Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780375424656
ISBN: 0375424652
Label: Pantheon
Manufacturer: Pantheon
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 672
Publication Date: 2007-10-30
Publisher: Pantheon
Product Release Date: 2007-10-30
Studio: Pantheon
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780375424656
ISBN: 0375424652
Label: Pantheon
Manufacturer: Pantheon
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 672
Publication Date: 2007-10-30
Publisher: Pantheon
Product Release Date: 2007-10-30
Studio: Pantheon
Editorial Review of A Free Life: A Novel
From Ha Jin, the widely-acclaimed, award-winning author of Waiting and War Trash, comes a novel that takes his fiction to a new setting: 1990s America. We follow the Wu family--father Nan, mother Pingping, and son Taotao--as they fully sever their ties with China in the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre and begin a new, free life in the United States.
At first, their future seems well-assured--Nan’s graduate work in political science at Brandeis University would guarantee him a teaching position in China--but after the fallout from Tiananmen, Nan’s disillusionment turns him towards his first love, poetry. Leaving his studies, he takes on a variety of menial jobs while Pingping works for a wealthy widow as a cook and housekeeper. As Nan struggles to adapt to a new language and culture, his love of poetry and literature sustains him through difficult, lean years.
Ha Jin creates a moving, realistic, but always hopeful narrative as Nan moves from Boston to New York to Atlanta, ever in search of financial stability and success, even in a culture that sometimes feels oppressive and hostile. As Pingping and Taotao slowly adjust to American life, Nan still feels a strange, paradoxical attachment to his homeland, though he violently disagrees with Communist policy. And severing all ties--including his love for a woman who rejected him in his youth--proves to be more difficult than he could have ever imagined.
Ha Jin’s prodigious talents are evident in this powerful new book, which brilliantly brings to life the struggles and successes that characterize the contemporary immigrant experience. With its lyrical prose and confident grace, A Free Life is a luminous addition to the works of one of the preeminent writers in America today.
At first, their future seems well-assured--Nan’s graduate work in political science at Brandeis University would guarantee him a teaching position in China--but after the fallout from Tiananmen, Nan’s disillusionment turns him towards his first love, poetry. Leaving his studies, he takes on a variety of menial jobs while Pingping works for a wealthy widow as a cook and housekeeper. As Nan struggles to adapt to a new language and culture, his love of poetry and literature sustains him through difficult, lean years.
Ha Jin creates a moving, realistic, but always hopeful narrative as Nan moves from Boston to New York to Atlanta, ever in search of financial stability and success, even in a culture that sometimes feels oppressive and hostile. As Pingping and Taotao slowly adjust to American life, Nan still feels a strange, paradoxical attachment to his homeland, though he violently disagrees with Communist policy. And severing all ties--including his love for a woman who rejected him in his youth--proves to be more difficult than he could have ever imagined.
Ha Jin’s prodigious talents are evident in this powerful new book, which brilliantly brings to life the struggles and successes that characterize the contemporary immigrant experience. With its lyrical prose and confident grace, A Free Life is a luminous addition to the works of one of the preeminent writers in America today.
Customer Reviews of A Free Life: A Novel
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: A Charming Portrayal of Immigrant Life
Review: Jin's superb writing skill is what makes this book so charming. It is a straightforward and often emotional narrative about Nan Wu, his wife Pingping, and their son Taotao, who emigrate from China to America after the Tiananmen Square massacre. Nan struggles to disengage himself from his former nationalism while pursuing the American dream for his family. He finds menial success doing different jobs in Boston and New York before relocating his family to Atlanta where he owns his first home and a business running a Chinese restaurant. His achievements are significant but Nan often considers himself a failure.
There are several reasons Nan is disillusioned with the life he created for himself. One is his reticence among other Chinese immigrants, whom he chooses to isolate himself from. Another is his unrequited former love, who still plagues his thoughts and prevents him from fully and passionately loving Pingping. But the true struggle is his writing. Nan wishes to be a poet more than anything, but finds his dissatisfaction of life a hindrance to his creativity. While he remains an ardent observer and marginal participant of literary life, he is often too harsh a critic of himself, especially in comparison to some of his fellow Chinese who have found some modest literary success. In the end, he chooses to abandon his native tongue and write solely in English, despite the criticism he receives.
This was a great story, documenting the day-to-day lives of the Wu family and their immersion into American society. Yes there were struggles, but many of these had more to do with Nan's perception than actual hardship. They do encounter some tragedy, but overall, their lives are full and they find solace in their devotion and loyalty to each other. Nan grows throughout the narrative, learning how to overcome his ineptitude at writing and even learning to love Pingping wholeheartedly. The novel flows and I couldn't help but be engaged with the Wu's story. I was touched by their lives and was given a new perspective on Chinese culture.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Not his best
Review: This may be Ha Jin's "first American novel" but he is already well-established as a master of the English language. There can be no doubt that the storyline of this book must echo a substantial part of Jin's own life, especially the literary references he often makes. The weakness of this novel is that it lacks dramatic tension, unlike "Waiting" which was gripping and "War Trash" which was harrowing.
I am a huge fan of Ha Jin's writing, but I submit he is not being well served by his editor. I don't think it's necessary to dissect the problems in this review, but both "War Trash" and "A Free Life" are much longer than need be.
Do I recommend this? Most definitely. But Jin needs to reflect on what made "Waiting" such a magnificent novel.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: a story that doesn't really end
Review: I picked up this book based upon reading reviews. While the first portion of the book is interesting and reminds me of the many struggles of immigrant Chinese in America, the later part of the book just stops without a true ending. This might be ok in some circumstances but then the epilogue doesn't really seem to make much of a difference.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Endlessly Interesting and Beautifully Written
Review: I love how this book works through the immigrant experience on several levels. The main character worries about the details of everyday life in America, but he's also dealing with mixed emotions about his homeland and his dream of becoming a writer. The book is painfully honest about the choices he has to make to provide a better life for his family and adapt to a new homeland. It also goes into depth about his creative process and his struggle to balance monetary stability with his artistic impulses. Just an engrossing story all around.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Everybody Whines
Review: That Ha Jin is a master of prose is undisputed. That he chose to use his talent to painstakingly chronicle the quotidian lives of an immigrant couple from China is unfortunate. That his characters whine about many of the same things as other Americans is noteworthy in the first three chapters. But an entire novel?
Review Summary: A Charming Portrayal of Immigrant Life
Review: Jin's superb writing skill is what makes this book so charming. It is a straightforward and often emotional narrative about Nan Wu, his wife Pingping, and their son Taotao, who emigrate from China to America after the Tiananmen Square massacre. Nan struggles to disengage himself from his former nationalism while pursuing the American dream for his family. He finds menial success doing different jobs in Boston and New York before relocating his family to Atlanta where he owns his first home and a business running a Chinese restaurant. His achievements are significant but Nan often considers himself a failure.
There are several reasons Nan is disillusioned with the life he created for himself. One is his reticence among other Chinese immigrants, whom he chooses to isolate himself from. Another is his unrequited former love, who still plagues his thoughts and prevents him from fully and passionately loving Pingping. But the true struggle is his writing. Nan wishes to be a poet more than anything, but finds his dissatisfaction of life a hindrance to his creativity. While he remains an ardent observer and marginal participant of literary life, he is often too harsh a critic of himself, especially in comparison to some of his fellow Chinese who have found some modest literary success. In the end, he chooses to abandon his native tongue and write solely in English, despite the criticism he receives.
This was a great story, documenting the day-to-day lives of the Wu family and their immersion into American society. Yes there were struggles, but many of these had more to do with Nan's perception than actual hardship. They do encounter some tragedy, but overall, their lives are full and they find solace in their devotion and loyalty to each other. Nan grows throughout the narrative, learning how to overcome his ineptitude at writing and even learning to love Pingping wholeheartedly. The novel flows and I couldn't help but be engaged with the Wu's story. I was touched by their lives and was given a new perspective on Chinese culture.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Not his best
Review: This may be Ha Jin's "first American novel" but he is already well-established as a master of the English language. There can be no doubt that the storyline of this book must echo a substantial part of Jin's own life, especially the literary references he often makes. The weakness of this novel is that it lacks dramatic tension, unlike "Waiting" which was gripping and "War Trash" which was harrowing.
I am a huge fan of Ha Jin's writing, but I submit he is not being well served by his editor. I don't think it's necessary to dissect the problems in this review, but both "War Trash" and "A Free Life" are much longer than need be.
Do I recommend this? Most definitely. But Jin needs to reflect on what made "Waiting" such a magnificent novel.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: a story that doesn't really end
Review: I picked up this book based upon reading reviews. While the first portion of the book is interesting and reminds me of the many struggles of immigrant Chinese in America, the later part of the book just stops without a true ending. This might be ok in some circumstances but then the epilogue doesn't really seem to make much of a difference.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Endlessly Interesting and Beautifully Written
Review: I love how this book works through the immigrant experience on several levels. The main character worries about the details of everyday life in America, but he's also dealing with mixed emotions about his homeland and his dream of becoming a writer. The book is painfully honest about the choices he has to make to provide a better life for his family and adapt to a new homeland. It also goes into depth about his creative process and his struggle to balance monetary stability with his artistic impulses. Just an engrossing story all around.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Everybody Whines
Review: That Ha Jin is a master of prose is undisputed. That he chose to use his talent to painstakingly chronicle the quotidian lives of an immigrant couple from China is unfortunate. That his characters whine about many of the same things as other Americans is noteworthy in the first three chapters. But an entire novel?