Reading Ha Jin

So far, I've read four books from the famous Chinese author who wrote in

English. Mid Feb, someone posted in the online forum, MYSJ, a short bio of Ha

Jin and the next week I finished 'Waiting,' Mr. Jin's National Book Award

winning piece. Its backdrop is set in the northeast China and I could definitely

relate. I don't exactly like the main characters, some reviews criticized them

as 'wooden,' but that was how I remembered people from that era. It was a good

read.

 

I went on to 'The Boat Rocker' which was a bit of a flop. The hero was not

defending journalistic integrity or protecting the public when he was bent on

getting even with his ex-wife by exposing hyperboles she used in flogging her

new book. Calling her a 'bitch' is not self-respecting(IMO) at all, having an

Irish girlfriend, an NYU professor, does not validate himself, and the story

felt like much ado about nothing. (Later the day I wrote this post, I chanced

upon a remark from Stephen King: "Every book you pick up has its own lesson or

lessons, and quite often the bad books have more to teach than the good ones.")

 

In 'The Writer as Migrant,' Mr. Jin talked about giving up his savior complex

where he aspired to speaking for the downtrodden Chinese. It felt authentic. I

learned interesting facts about a few writers (Lin, Sozhenitsyn, Conrad,

Nabokov, etc.) whose first langauges were not English. I admired Nabokov

for his tenacity in inventing humor in his fiction although I had lost interest a

quarter through 'Lolita.' (Maybe I should pick it up again.) In the end, I

borrowed 'A Bend in the River' by V. S. Naipaul which was quoted a few times.

 

I chose 'War Trash' for its rating (3.8/5 at goodreads) and was not

disappointed. I strongly identify with Yuan, the hero, who joined neither the

Nationalist or Communist camp, was volunteered to fight in Korea, and later as a

POW, just wanted to go home to his mom and fiancee. I wished for less prison

stories and more on the Chinese POWs' fates post-repatriation. A list of works

is given at the end of the book, which reminds me of the articles I wrote as a

PhD student. So the novel-creating process might share something with publishing

scientific papers.

 

I like Mr. Jin's vocabulary for everyday Chinese village and small-town life.

Words and phrases like puttee, loamy, ducks and drakes, and Tower Candy, speak my

childhood memories. On the other hand, sometimes words feel coming directly from a

list of synonyms and can block me for a minute or two.

 

His 2023 'The Woman Back from Moscow' already hit the libraries. I was little

interested in the internecine struggles within the party (I'd say leave it

alone), but the book earned an astounding 4.3 out 5 in goodreads ratings (In

comparison, they give 'David Copperfield' 4.0). So I might get around to it some

day after all.

[7grizzly]

回复 '暖冬cool夏' 的评论 : Thanks again for the vote of confidence. In writing, Mr. Jin sticks with what he knows and explores based on his own experiences, which I think is very smart of him. It's no easy task to craft a novel, let alone a good one. Like in long-distance running, I try to enjoy the journey and not to force things. The path will reveal itself as I walk.

[暖冬cool夏]

Remember what I once said that your English writing is better than his? I am not flattering. You just need more unique or inciting stories or life experience:)) Of course his mastery of English is good enough, or I am not in a position to comment:)

[7grizzly]

回复 '暖冬cool夏' 的评论 : Thanks, my friend, for dropping by and your comments!

His work has a distinct Chinese flavor to it as far as I can tell. Not that there's anything wrong with it. I actually like most of his delivery of things uniquely Chinese. Some passages could be smoother and some can be crossed out for a faster pace, but he might be paid by words :-)) Overall, I like the person through his works.

[暖冬cool夏]

Good to know that you like Hajing, and can relay to some of his stories. I might have read a part of a book by Hajin but never finished it. Not very impressed though. But there must be a reason that he is so well-known. The name Lolita looks familiar. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.