The Bridegroom
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Amazon.co.uk Review
In The Bridegroom, a vibrant collection of 12 stories, Ha Jin returns to Muji City, post-Cultural Revolution, where the confusions and excitements of transitions great and small spark off unpredictable consequences. These upheavals are seen through the toings and froings of everyday men and women, arrested on trumped-up charges, applying for larger apartments, waiting to see an old flame, trying to lure a husband and daughter to New York. Sharp comeuppances and the little cruelties on which the world turns--folks made fools of by fate or by other folk--emerge from writing that is deceptively unadorned, unsentimental, as forthright as his wonderfully delineated characters. What marks out these stories is Ha Jin's quiet, sly humour and an unemphatic, but compassionate sense of the absurd.
In "Alive", after a terrible earthquake, the Form New Families movement urges people to remarry, and at the dour celebration, 21 couples sing out "Even My Parents are Not as Dear as the Party and Chairman Mao". In the title story, the homely Beina has managed to carry off Baowen, the handsomest man in the sewing machine factory. And even if she is still a virgin after eight months, "I don't have to worry about those shameless bitches in our factory. He doesn't bother to give them a look. He'll never have a lifestyle problem." But his lifestyle problem is his homosexuality in the eyes of those who ensnare him: "What a wonderful husband he could have been were he not sick", muses his father-in-law.
The hopes and bewilderments of a world in which East increasingly meets West are affectionately turned into small treasures in this fine collection. Ha Jin's novel Waiting won the National Book Award in the United States (the author has lived there since leaving China in 1985) and two earlier collections of short stories also garnered impressive awards and praise. Ruth Petrie --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
Review
"A genuine pleasure."
--"The New York Times Book Review
""Finely wrought... Every story here is cut like a stone."
--"Chicago Sun-Times"
""The Bridegroom,.". showcases [Ha Jin's] mastery of craft, the consummate restraint and nearly telegraphic objectivity with which he paints difficult truths."
--"The Boston Globe
"
--"The New York Times Book Review
""Finely wrought... Every story here is cut like a stone."
--"Chicago Sun-Times"
""The Bridegroom,.". showcases [Ha Jin's] mastery of craft, the consummate restraint and nearly telegraphic objectivity with which he paints difficult truths."
--"The Boston Globe
"
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Ha Jin's hilarious scenes paint mainland China in serious upheaval, its battles with its political (the Cultural Revolution) and social (arranged marriages) past, its bureaucratic present and its capitalist and freer (on a personal level) future.
In 'The Woman from New York', the influence of the parents (-in-law) in divorce matters and of the party bureaucrats for job assignments is still insurmountable.
In 'An Entrepreneur's Story', an ambitious mother shouts that 'she rather throws her daughter into a sewer than let her marry me.' Another one 'called him 'hooligan' when he was a butcher', but when he became rich ... The story also shows the power shift from party bureaucracy to money.
In 'Saboteur', those who monopolize political power can still impose their gratuitous arrogance.
In 'A bad Joke', the political leaders are still untouchable.
In 'Flame', a lucky girl is one who married 'an officer with infinite access to food supply', but the marriage is unhappy because arranged.
In 'Alive', the struggle for good housing and the importance of job assignments play a crucial and bitter role in family relations.
In 'A Tiger-fighter is hard to find', the competition between provinces for the favors of Beijing is hilarious.
In 'An official Reply', a party member uses his privileged position to obtain sexual favors and tickets for foreign trips.
'Broken' shows the prude Party's obsession with 'illegal sex'.
In 'The Bridegroom', the longtime suppressed and oppressed gay scene comes to the surface.
'After Cowboy Chicken came to Town' shows the Americanization of China at work: hire and fire, huge salary differences and a hypocritical 'client first' policy.
Another constant is the sometimes substandard product quality (condoms and food - 'In the Kindergarten').
These short stories are all brilliantly shining pearls of human psychology, telling, ultimately, still survival struggles.
Not to be missed.
In 'The Woman from New York', the influence of the parents (-in-law) in divorce matters and of the party bureaucrats for job assignments is still insurmountable.
In 'An Entrepreneur's Story', an ambitious mother shouts that 'she rather throws her daughter into a sewer than let her marry me.' Another one 'called him 'hooligan' when he was a butcher', but when he became rich ... The story also shows the power shift from party bureaucracy to money.
In 'Saboteur', those who monopolize political power can still impose their gratuitous arrogance.
In 'A bad Joke', the political leaders are still untouchable.
In 'Flame', a lucky girl is one who married 'an officer with infinite access to food supply', but the marriage is unhappy because arranged.
In 'Alive', the struggle for good housing and the importance of job assignments play a crucial and bitter role in family relations.
In 'A Tiger-fighter is hard to find', the competition between provinces for the favors of Beijing is hilarious.
In 'An official Reply', a party member uses his privileged position to obtain sexual favors and tickets for foreign trips.
'Broken' shows the prude Party's obsession with 'illegal sex'.
In 'The Bridegroom', the longtime suppressed and oppressed gay scene comes to the surface.
'After Cowboy Chicken came to Town' shows the Americanization of China at work: hire and fire, huge salary differences and a hypocritical 'client first' policy.
Another constant is the sometimes substandard product quality (condoms and food - 'In the Kindergarten').
These short stories are all brilliantly shining pearls of human psychology, telling, ultimately, still survival struggles.
Not to be missed.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is an excellent collection of short stories. As a man having similar experience with the author himself, I found the stories very touching. I felt that I was in the story with the author all the time while reading. Actually, I read the book three times in three days. Definitely the best book in its category that I've seen for years.
Format:Paperback
Great collection of really well written and conceived short stories. Ha Jin moves you effortlessly through his prose and his take on China is quite fascinating. Definitely recommended.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
engaging collection
I've contemplated reading Ha Jin for a while, thought about Waiting but then decided to give this collection of short stories a whirl. Read more
Published on 6 Jan 2010 by lovemurakami
Captivating
This is a great collection of short stories. Ha Jin really grabs your attention with the easy flowing narrative and unique circumstances that each story illustrates beautifully. Read more
Published on 30 Aug 2007 by Jim Anso
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