Jin, Ha. A free life

Kliatt, July, 2008 by Carol Kellerman

JIN, Ha. A free life. Read by Jason Ma. 17 cds. 22 hrs. BBC Audiobooks America. 2007 978-07927-5043-7 $124.95. Vinyl; plot, author, reader notes. S A

This semi-autobiographical work is Ha Jin's 7th work of fiction. This one features the observations of an immigrant to this "lonesome, unfathomable, overwhelming land" where life offers endless opportunities to be free. Nan Wu has a student visa to work on a master's degree in political science at Brandeis University when the violence breaks out at Tiananmen Square in his homeland. He is allowed to stay in the US and to have his young son sent to join him and his wife Ping Ping. Nan quits his studies when he admits that his real interest is writing poetry and not political science. As the family struggles to understand and adjust to American life, Nan and Ping Ping take on a series of menial jobs to support themselves, including working in a restaurant where Nan learns to be a chef. Eventually they manage to save enough to buy a restaurant of their own. Their observations of what life is like in the US form the major portion of the novel while the plot follows their daily routine with its successes and failures. Jason Ma reads with a slight Asian accent that provides atmosphere for the story. He fully voices all the many characters who are part of the Wus' life, eliminating the accent completely for the voices of the native-born Americans. Having experienced most of these unique American customs himself as a first-generation Chinese American, Ma captures in his voice the confusion caused by numerous topics and how they are dealt with in our culture: organ transplants, mortgages and home buying, bullying, lawyers and litigation, and surrogate motherhood are only a few. Ha Jin has won several awards for his writing, including the National Book Award for fiction in 1999. He has also published three books of poetry. Carol Kellerman, ret. Lib/ Media Spec., Santa Fe, NM