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A review by marissalobot
The Bridegroom by Ha Jin
4.0
I'm definitely a huge fan of Ha Jin's writing - their dreamy but deadpan writing style easily transported me to 1970s-1980s China. I do have a personal interest in the subject (due to having a parent who moved away from China after the cultural revolution) but I still think this book is enjoyable for anyone with even a slight interest in China's history.
Many aspects of every day life are covered, as well as topics like jealousy, racism, sexism, the treatment of homosexuals, and slut shaming.
Like his novel 'Waiting', all of the short stories have a fairytale-/fable-like quality to them. So even though a few of the stories do have slightly contrived plot points (the policemen who throw soup at people's feet without explanation in 'Saboteur'; the man who spends all his money on fish for his wife's hospital patient in 'Flame') it is excusable because it's used to highlight some kind of moral.
My favourite stories were 'Alive', 'The Bridegroom', or 'After Cowboy Chicken Came to Town'. I probably took the least from 'A Tiger-Fighter is Hard to Find' or 'A Bad Joke'.
Many aspects of every day life are covered, as well as topics like jealousy, racism, sexism, the treatment of homosexuals, and slut shaming.
Like his novel 'Waiting', all of the short stories have a fairytale-/fable-like quality to them. So even though a few of the stories do have slightly contrived plot points (the policemen who throw soup at people's feet without explanation in 'Saboteur'; the man who spends all his money on fish for his wife's hospital patient in 'Flame') it is excusable because it's used to highlight some kind of moral.
My favourite stories were 'Alive', 'The Bridegroom', or 'After Cowboy Chicken Came to Town'. I probably took the least from 'A Tiger-Fighter is Hard to Find' or 'A Bad Joke'.