I just finished A Free Life by Ha Jin.
Review: Covering 10-ish years in the life of Nan, an almost-middle-aged Chinese immigrant, and (tangentially) his wife and son, A Free Life is a study in the glacial yet incremental pace of life. When taken as a whole, the protagonist has traversed a great distance emotionally, spiritually, financially, physically, and politically.
My beef is that the style is so dull. Ha Jin is not a native speaker of English, but I'm not sure that that's the problem. The writing is just excruciatingly expository. I've perused some reviews of the book and you'll find either condemnation or gushing excuses for the style in all of them ("Jin's simple sentences" "stunted and astoundingly boring" "irony-free...unadorned...dull"). This happened. That happened. He thought this. Which made him think this.
Seriously. Read a bit and you'll see what I mean. Ostensibly, it's supposed to be about how life just comes at you one thing at a time and never stops. I can see how Ha Jin is contrasting the non-poetic nature of life with the poetic aspirations of the main character. 600 pages later, though, I found myself glad to be nearing the end.
On the positive side, the book offers an engaging look inside the head of a first-gen immigrant family. The hardships are not just financial. The book mentions more than once how Chinese immigrant men have trouble keeping their families together in a culture that fetishises Asian women. The descriptions of Nan's return to China, his dreams about and later meeting with an unrequited love, and how keeps his restaurant going--denying himself everything in order to achieve financial stability are interesting, if not gripping.
Final word: I wish I had read a different novel by Ha Jin. If I were to give him a second chance. I'd try some of his work set in Korea or China.
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