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A review by bookishuniverse
A Free Life by Ha Jin
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.