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mikolee's review
2.0
Interesting melancholy novel based on a Chinese family who must adapt to life in America following the massacre at Tianamen square. Dad Nan goes from being a student poet to small restaurant owner in Georgia. Constantly artistically frustrated and pining for his lost love. Mom Pingping is the classic suffering, frugal, hardworking lovelorn wife. Son Taotao is sort of a stereotyped somewhat selfish kid trying to adjust to two different cultural experiences.
The writing is fine and the novel has been celebrated. I listened to the audiobook whose speaker does the lead Nan's voice and accent perfectly. The women characters and particularly the white southern ones are hard to listen to.
The overall moody sad melodramatic feel was disappointing and not what I expected. And I think upon reflection that the number of stereotypes was disturbing to me - the hardworking fobs, the suffering, frugal wife, the repressed gay husband, the tiger mama, the frustrated artist, the whining teen in between.
The writing is fine and the novel has been celebrated. I listened to the audiobook whose speaker does the lead Nan's voice and accent perfectly. The women characters and particularly the white southern ones are hard to listen to.
The overall moody sad melodramatic feel was disappointing and not what I expected. And I think upon reflection that the number of stereotypes was disturbing to me - the hardworking fobs, the suffering, frugal wife, the repressed gay husband, the tiger mama, the frustrated artist, the whining teen in between.
sylviareads's review
5.0
I really enjoyed how this book focused on the everyday life of an immigrant coming to the states to make a life. Whereas a lot of Jin's books are pretty heady, it was interesting to watch him slow down an take the steps of building a life one by one. I think having a personal connection to the immigrant experience makes this book more interesting as well.
scherzo's review
3.0
On page 516, Nan Wu wished that Boris Pasternak "had shown how Dr. Zhivago managed to write poetry when forced to serve the Bolsheviks. The poet in the story wasn't shown trying hard to devlop his art."
For 630 pages, Ha Jin parallels the Wu family's efforts to achieve the American Dream with Nan Wu's unflagging immersion in dictionaries and books of poetry. Reading a quotation from Faulkner, "The writer must teach himself that the basest of all things is to be afraid; ..." spurs Nan Wu to see himself honestly so he can begin to write poetry.
The last 30 pages are poems -- I read seven.
For 630 pages, Ha Jin parallels the Wu family's efforts to achieve the American Dream with Nan Wu's unflagging immersion in dictionaries and books of poetry. Reading a quotation from Faulkner, "The writer must teach himself that the basest of all things is to be afraid; ..." spurs Nan Wu to see himself honestly so he can begin to write poetry.
The last 30 pages are poems -- I read seven.
bookishuniverse's review
4.0
I listened to this one in my car on the way to and from work every day, which is always a different experience from sitting down and reading a 600-plus novel. The book follows a Chinese immigrant family trying to make it in America, mainly from the viewpoint of Nan, the patriarch.
My favorite sections of the novel were those taking place in Atlanta, where the Wu family was running the Gold Wok and becoming financially independent. This part had the best plot and was where the family had the strongest relationships with good demonstrations of the difficulties of immigrant life. However, I wish Jin would have done more with the perspective of Pingping and Taotao, the wife and son of the family.
The style of the novel was a little weird. The organization of the chapters seems abrupt, and I got annoyed with the dialogue that was obviously a vehicle for expressing Jin's opinions on Chinese and American politics. In addition, Nan's inner monologue was often used to beat the reader over the head with explanations of symbolism, as if we couldn't figure it out ourselves.
If I could give 3 1/2 stars, this would be my rating. The epilogue and section of Nan's poetry at the end were what ultimately made me round up--that was a really nice end to everything.
Oh, and this book made me crave Chinese food ALL the time, so try not to read it hungry.
My favorite sections of the novel were those taking place in Atlanta, where the Wu family was running the Gold Wok and becoming financially independent. This part had the best plot and was where the family had the strongest relationships with good demonstrations of the difficulties of immigrant life. However, I wish Jin would have done more with the perspective of Pingping and Taotao, the wife and son of the family.
The style of the novel was a little weird. The organization of the chapters seems abrupt, and I got annoyed with the dialogue that was obviously a vehicle for expressing Jin's opinions on Chinese and American politics. In addition, Nan's inner monologue was often used to beat the reader over the head with explanations of symbolism, as if we couldn't figure it out ourselves.
If I could give 3 1/2 stars, this would be my rating. The epilogue and section of Nan's poetry at the end were what ultimately made me round up--that was a really nice end to everything.
Oh, and this book made me crave Chinese food ALL the time, so try not to read it hungry.
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