In the Pond

by Ha Jin

Book Overview

National Book Award-winner Ha Jin's arresting debut novel , In the Pond , is a darkly funny portrait of an amateur calligrapher who wields his delicate artist's brush as a weapon against the powerful party bureaucrats who rule his provincial Chinese town. Shao Bin is a downtrodden worker at the Harvest Fertilizer Plant by day and an aspiring artist by night. Passed over on the list to receive a decent apartment for his young family, while those in...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0375709118
• ISBN13: 9780375709111
• Release Date: March 2000
• Publisher: Vintage
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.2" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

A comic and satirical view of Communist China

Deceptively simple, this slim book, set in Communist China, is the story of Shao Bin, a maintenance worker by day and an aspiring artist by night. When denied a larger apartment for his small family, he creates a political cartoon blaming his bosses for corruption. This begins of series of increasingly provocative attacks and counterattacks as the humble man outwits his superiors over and over again.The author, Ha Jin, came to the United States at the age of 29 in 1985, having spent six years serving in the People's Liberation Army. His descriptions of daily life and typical frustrations are refreshing. This is not a book about prison camps or starvation. This is not a book about the tyranny of communism or of escape to freedom. This is simply a book about a man who wants a larger apartment.Anyone who has ever felt frustration by being a little fish in a big pond can identify with Shao Bin who, in spite of setback after setback just keeps on going. There is satire in this book, and very funny slapstick comedy, and I felt myself laughing out loud at times.Do not miss this delightful gem of a book.

Political Lessons in China

In his first published book, Ha Jin, winner of this year's National Book Award for Waiting, has written a fascinating novel about political structure and favoritism in Communist China.Shao Bin and his wife have been passed over for better housing and rather than suffer silently, he sets upon a course of action which he hopes will result in better housing for his family. In a series of well conceived cartoons, Shao Bin, mocks the officials where he works. But instead of better housing the officials become antagonized and Shao Bin is reprimanded and told to stop publicly ridiculing them. Again, in his own fasahion Shao Bin becomes even bolder steaming ahead to a conclusion which is sheer irony.Although this is a short book, it does give the reader a good idea of the political manipulations and ways of dealing with workers prevalent in China.

Definitely one of my top ten best books

Wow, what a book! I read this book three times in four days. The first time, the plot kept me captivated, and the author's style created a current of alternating tension and release that swept me away. Once I'd finished, I couldn't stop thinking about the main character and how his goal had been fulfilled but maybe also frustrated, so I read it the second time to learn more about that. Then on the fourth day, I read it again because I still couldn't stop thinking about the power of the author's storytelling. This ought to be on everyone's bookshelf. This would be a fabulous book club and literature class read.

Read This Book

Normally I wouldn't take the time to do something like this, but this is one of the best books I've ever read. When I read, I tend to be aware of style--that an author is trying to convey something in a certain way. I was swept away by this book. In the book, the main character thinks about what it means to produce a masterpiece; he thinks it means to become one with the artistic piece. "In the Pond" must be a masterpiece. The story is so alive. You live the book as you read it. You feel as if you're there. If you'd like to get outside of yourself completely for awhile, this is the book for you.

A slim, sly and perceptive novel

After first reading Ha Jin's short story collections, like Under the Red Flag, I was very interested in reading a novel. He did not disappoint. One might expect the gut punch his stories like "Emperor" throw at us, but rather Jin did what few can do well. He created a subtle satire that extends beyond Communist China to all the world, just imagine your corporate heirarchy instead of a communist regime. Using humor that is either sly or farcical, he reminded me of another cunning writer, Don Delillo. In studying what makes a hero, he gets closer to such a character, a more real person than any Odysseus could ever be. This is the best book that I have read in the past year, except maybe McCarthy's Cities of the Plain.