Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Ha jin left his native china in 1985 to attend brandeis university. Stories still allow him to get to the heart of the matter in a. A good fall by ha jin essay example topics and well. In his first book of stories since the bridegroom, national book awardwinning author ha jin gives us a collection that delves into the experience of chinese immigrants in america. Ha jins new shortstory collection, a good fall, takes readers to. Ha jin lives in the boston area and is a professor of english at boston university. His penultimate novel, a free life 2007, was jin s first book to be set in his adopted land, and marks a clear delineation in his career. He presents a wide range of protagonists from a graduate student and young professor to a presser in a garment factory to a monk and draws their characters so well you feel like you know them, even within the confines of a short story. The immigrants in ha jins latest story collection seem to be in exile not only from the china of their dreams and memories, but from their very. Flushing, queens, is home to one of new yorks largest chinese immigrant communities. This book depicts a dozen stories and interviews of real life experiences of different. Even the children of immigrants, or those who immigrated long ago, still feel the chains tying them to the homeland, whether they parted with it peacefully or feel they escaped a cruel, unfair nation.
All of ha jin s characters struggle in situations that stir their conflicting desires to remain attached to their native land and traditions while also exploring their newfound social and economic freedoms. Ha jin was born xuefei jin in liaoning province, china. In 2009, ha jin published a good fall a collection of 12 short stories that center around a different aspect of the chinese culture the chinese immigrant experience in the united states. Ha jins new book, a good fall, explores chinain america. A good fall by ha jin is a collection of short stories dealing with the lives of chinese immigrants to the u. 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. Ha jin, chinese american writer who used plain, unadorned english prose to explore the tension between the individual and the family, the modern and the traditional, and personal feelings and duty.
The immigrants in ha jin s latest story collection seem to be in exile not only from the china of their dreams and memories, but from their very sense of who they are. He is the author of eight novels, four story collections, four volumes of poetry, and a book of essays. Jin sets all of the stories in a good fall in and around flushing, new york, home to enough chinese immigrants that his characters can go weeks without having to speak english. His premises are gripping, his emotional bedrock hard and truethere is no doubt that in a good fall ha jin captures a new, growing slice of america. A good fall is a departure, in terms of setting, from jins three earlier collections, which focus on the chinese people before the 1990s, when china strengthened its openness and reform efforts. A new york times notable bookone of the best books of the year. Ha jins new shortstory collection, a good fall, takes. Photo of author ha jin from the jacket of his latest book, the fall ran on. Dec 06, 2009 in simple, unadorned declarative sentences, a good fall, ha jins latest collection of short stories limns, once again, the chinese immigrant experience in america. His latest collection, a good fall 2009, continues his american observances. Ha jins a good fall a good fall is a book with dozen stories that delineates on the lives of chinese immigrants whose hope has been crushed in their new homeus. See all books authored by ha jin, including waiting, and war trash, and more on. For all their meticulous attention to the immigrant experience, ha jins books leave little to the imagination. Jin, who has set seven of his nine works of fiction in asia, chose to meet in flushing because that is the setting for the stories in his new collection, a good fall fresh territory for the.
Ha jin is equally good as a novelist and a short story writer. First collection of short fiction in nine years from expatriate novelist ha jin a free life. Author ha jin spins tales of immigrant experience the. Jin currently teaches at boston university in boston, massachusetts. It is updated version and you can get paperback or kindle version easily. Had you always intended these stories to form a collection.
Ha jins new book, a good fall, explores chinain america wsj. Jan 09, 2010 the short stories in a good fall are similarly airy in their structure, and on first reading, many of them feel insubstantial. He presents a wide range of protagonists from a graduate student and young professor. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. Like most immigrant stories, these tales are at once universal and particularmarked by the familiar adjustments needed to survive in a new place, which in this. The lastest from national book award winner and bu professor ha jin is a collection of twelve short stories unfolding in and around queens, new york citys most richly diverse borough.
Yes, i conceived the stories as a collection from the very beginning. The stories themselves all about chinese immigrants in flushing, nyc are not bad, some of them are even very intriguing but the endings. A dozen books into his career, ha jin remains a limited stylist with a faulty. In the crossfire is taken from your forthcoming book, a good fall. Just like the old chinatown, the new chinatown is also a microcosm and the subjects range from the indigent to professional. Jan 03, 2010 the immigrants in ha jins latest story collection seem to be in exile not only from the china of their dreams and memories, but from their very sense of who they are. Chinese immigrants living in flushing new york new york citys new chinatown are caricatured in these short stories. Nov 08, 2015 online extensive reading and writing learn more about the book a good fall by ha jin. A good fall a dozen engrossing, visceral tales about the difficulties faced by chinese immigrants in america.
He won the national book award and the penfaulkner award for. His notable novels included waiting 2000 and war trash 2004. All of ha jin s characters struggle to remain loyal to their homeland and its traditions while also exploring the freedom that life in a new country offers. Ha jin reads a good fall bostonia winterspring 2010. His opening dedication, to lisha and wen, who lived this book, suggests similarities to jin s own immigration story. National book awardwinner ha jin brings us a collection of stories that delve into the experiences of chinese immigrants in america. He has received the national book award, two penfaulkner awards, the penhemingway award, the asian american literary award, and the flannery oconnor award for short fiction. Feb 17, 2020 ha jin, chinese american writer who used plain, unadorned english prose to explore the tension between the individual and the family, the modern and the traditional, and personal feelings and duty. Buy a good fall vintage international vintage intl ed. The melting pot in ha jins new collection, a good fall, resembles a simmering chinese hot pot, where varied ingredients complement each other in flavor, yet each keeps its distinct taste, rather. Ha jin has 37 books on goodreads with 79991 ratings. He formerly taught at emory university in atlanta, georgia.
The chineseborn american writer, who won the national book award for his novel waiting in 1999, is visiting from boston university, where he. Various characters have been used by ha jin in exploiting various themes about the lives that immigrants goes through. In his first book of stories since the bridegroom was published in 200. Chicago tribune, chicago suntimes, entertainment weekly, slatein 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. Stories with startling clarity, jin explores the challenges, loneliness and uplift associated with discovering ones place in america. National book award winner ha jin gives us a collection of stories that delves into the experience of chinese immigrants in america. Read an excerpt of the first story from a good fall by ha jin. Jin began to educate himself in chinese literature and high school curriculum at sixteen. When i read a collection of short stories, i typically make notes on the table of contents page because i cannot always recall the story based on the.
From national book awardwinner jin waiting comes a new collection that focuses on flushing, one of new york citys largest chinese immigrant commun. At first it was exciting to chat with her every night. Ha jin in his first book of stories since the bridegroom, national book awardwinning author ha jin gives us a collection that delves into the experience of chinese immigrants in america. The narrators and characters in a good fall, his new story collection featuring a cast of chinese immigrants, express their feelings and the reasons for them bluntly. They are all set in flushing, ny, and are about the immigrant life. Stark, deeply moving, acutely insightful, and often strikingly humorous, a good fall reminds us once again of the storytelling prowess of this superb writer. A good fall by ha jin ha jin, in the book a good fall, explores the nature of unease and displacement that chinese immigrants face as they arrive in the united states in search of better lives and escape from the monotonous chinese traditions. A good fall by ha jin share book recommendations with. They make this an annoyingly arty book, hiding more than not behind. Mar 31, 2020 his newest books are a free life 2007, the writer as migrant 2008, a good fall 2009 and nanjing requiem pantheon 2011. National book award winner ha jin writes about the tribulations of life in chinese society with dark humor and an economical but effective prose style. Ha jins new book of short stories, a good fall, is set in one of the most american of cities, new york.
Ha jins latest shortstory collection continues developing one of his favorite themes. He has received the national book award, two penfaulkner awards, the pen. I know ha jin writes them in this ok i just cannot get along too well with ha jin. The characters who inhabit the stories in a good fall, a new collection by national book awardwinner ha jin, are chinese immigrants of various stripes, all living or working in the queens, new york, neighborhood of flushing. Ha jin depicts here the full spectrum of immigrant life and the daily struggles some minute, some grand faced by these men, women, and children. Ha jin simply drops us into his characters lives, then levitates us back out of them. In simple, unadorned declarative sentences, a good fall, ha jin s latest collection of short stories limns, once again, the chinese immigrant experience in america. Ha jin earned his masters degree at shandong university in china, and in 1986 came to the united states to begin his doctoral work at brandeis. Jul 03, 2010 a good fall consists of short stories written by a chineseamerican author, hajin. It may not be as eyeblistering as the perspective he offers in his novels about china, but theres something arresting about the view.
Click download or read online button to get ha jin book now. The stories are about chinese immigrants lifestyles in america and how they struggle to make a living in some stories. He is the author of eight novels, four story collections, three volumes of poetry, and a book of essays. Ha jin, who emigrated from china in the aftermath of tiananmen square, had only been writing in english for 12 years when he won the national book award for waiting in 1999. Ha jin a collection of stories by chineseamerican writer ha jin in which he discusses, among other topics, the experience of chinese immigrants in the united states as they face daily struggles and long to. He has turned out remarkable novels, short stories, and poetry all the more remarkable considering he only began writing in english in the late 1980s.
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