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| Content | | | | A Free Life | Author: Ha Jin
Publisher: Pantheon, October 2007
In his latest novel, Ha Jin, who emigrated from China in the aftermath of Tiananmen Square, describes the struggles of a Chinese emigrant family that tries to establish their life in the US. The book follows the fortunes of Nan Wu, who drops out of a U.S. grad school after the repression of the democracy movement in China, hoping to find his voice as a poet while supporting his wife, Pingping, and son, Taotao. Nan wants to be a good provider for his family, but even more, he wants to find meaning for his own being. After having his passport taken away by the Chinese consulate, Nan turns to the written word to help relieve his anxieties. However, he does not turn to writing in his native tongue; instead, he turns to the language of his adopted country, devouring book after book of English poetry and spending spare moments at work studying an English dictionary.
Despite being a 670-page novel, A Free Life is fast, enjoyable read that is difficult to put down. Perhaps this is because the chapters are rarely longer than five pages and, instead of being one long story, the novel seems more like a collection of vignettes concerning the lives of one man, his family, and the lives of other Chinese expatriates. The magic of A Free Life is that each short vignette is carefully chosen to cast light on one of the familys small victories and defeats. These events are not major, but they paint a very real life. Though younger generations such as Taotao`s are spared the long threads of political intrigue that bind many Chinese expatriates to mainland China, Nan`s entire being is ensnared by these threads that threaten to strangle him. However, through his family and his desire to write, Nan might be able to experience "a free life" unhindered by the past.
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