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A review by zelbel2016
The Crazed by Ha Jin
4.0
Honestly, I truly loved this book.
Thirty years past Tiananmen and several weeks into the Hong Kong protests, this book felt appropriate. I encourage any individual who has an interest in China's history (or even Hong Kong's recent fight for autonomy) to read this incredible novel.
Here are the basics.
Ha Jin's The Crazed centers on Jian, a nearly thirty-year-old academic studying literature in a rural town. Things are going pretty well for Jian who, despite failing his TOEFL, is poised to enter a prestigious Beijing university. Beyond that, he's already found a partner in Meimei, the daughter of his professor Mr. Yang. If all goes well, Jian will ace his exams and take up a post in Beijing, joining his fiance and starting their nest.
But then everything goes awry.
Mr. Yang suffers a stroke, and the school assigns Jian and a few of his classmates to care for their ailing teacher. During Jian's shifts, Mr. Yang begins to rave and rant, disclosing secrets from his experience during the cultural revolution. As an intellectual, Mr. Yang saw his life completely upended and laments what his country has become.
Watching his teacher fall apart, Jian begins to doubt his own life, wondering whether the job he seeks and the life he is working for are worth it. Building alongside Jian's self-doubt is dissent among the students of China, who are rising up against their government and demanding democracy. Whispers of dissent quickly become raging protests as students take to the streets around the country. These protests led to arguably the most infamous event in modern Chinese history: the slaughter of thousands of students in Tiananmen Square.
Ha Jin is an incredibly gifted writer.
I've only read snippets of his writing up to this point, but each time he is able to use simple language to evoke emotions and create relatable scenarios. This is so critical when expressing the struggles of China, both past and present, seeing as China is a nation that many people around the globe struggle to understand in the context of modern history.
Four stars. It wasn't a fast read (and it wasn't a light read), but it was well worth it.
Thirty years past Tiananmen and several weeks into the Hong Kong protests, this book felt appropriate. I encourage any individual who has an interest in China's history (or even Hong Kong's recent fight for autonomy) to read this incredible novel.
Here are the basics.
Ha Jin's The Crazed centers on Jian, a nearly thirty-year-old academic studying literature in a rural town. Things are going pretty well for Jian who, despite failing his TOEFL, is poised to enter a prestigious Beijing university. Beyond that, he's already found a partner in Meimei, the daughter of his professor Mr. Yang. If all goes well, Jian will ace his exams and take up a post in Beijing, joining his fiance and starting their nest.
But then everything goes awry.
Mr. Yang suffers a stroke, and the school assigns Jian and a few of his classmates to care for their ailing teacher. During Jian's shifts, Mr. Yang begins to rave and rant, disclosing secrets from his experience during the cultural revolution. As an intellectual, Mr. Yang saw his life completely upended and laments what his country has become.
Watching his teacher fall apart, Jian begins to doubt his own life, wondering whether the job he seeks and the life he is working for are worth it. Building alongside Jian's self-doubt is dissent among the students of China, who are rising up against their government and demanding democracy. Whispers of dissent quickly become raging protests as students take to the streets around the country. These protests led to arguably the most infamous event in modern Chinese history: the slaughter of thousands of students in Tiananmen Square.
Ha Jin is an incredibly gifted writer.
I've only read snippets of his writing up to this point, but each time he is able to use simple language to evoke emotions and create relatable scenarios. This is so critical when expressing the struggles of China, both past and present, seeing as China is a nation that many people around the globe struggle to understand in the context of modern history.
Four stars. It wasn't a fast read (and it wasn't a light read), but it was well worth it.