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Jin, Ha.
OCEAN OF WORDS: ARMY STORIES.
Cambridge, MA: Zoland Books, 1996. Softcover. First Edition/Second Printing. 205 pages. As New. The author's debut collection of short stories. Published in an extremely small and limited print run as a paperback original only by a small press. The hardcover edition (with misleading indications as a first edition) was published four years later by Vintage, after the writer became internationally famous. Presents twelve moving stories about life in the Chinese Army that have been compared to the work of Isaac Babel, the greatest Russian short-story writer of the 20th century. Ha Jin came to the United States as a mature adult who did not speak a word of English. By his own admission, he has never written in his native Mandarin. Gradually, patiently, and painstakingly, he learned the language and began to write in it. Through what can only be called a stroke of linguistic genius, he mastered it as few native speakers and writers have. He has successfully melded historical fact with personal experience. The weight of History impinges upon his characters, often unbearably so, but the historical canvas never overwhelms what is most gripping about any story, the destiny of every particular human being or as Harold Bloom once put it, "every particular human suffering, which is the true subject of literature". "Ha Jin profoundly understands the conflict between the individual and society, between the timeless universality of the human heart and constantly shifting politics of the moment. With wisdom, restraint, and empathy for all his characters, he vividly reveals the complexities and subtleties of a world and a people we desperately need to know" (Award Citation, National Book Award). A masterly collection, this is a "must-have" title for Ha Jin collectors. This title has been out-of-print for a very long time. This copy of the First Edition/Second Printing has no flaws, a pristine beauty. A scarce copy thus. Winner of the PEN/Hemingway Award for "Ocean of Words". Winner of the Flannery O'Connor Award For Short Fiction for "Under the Red Flag". Winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award and the National Book Award in 1999 for "Waiting". One of the finest living American writers. A flawless copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER HA JIN TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 0944072585. $40.00 |
