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In the pond: A novel
  
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In the pond: A novel (Unknown Binding)

by Ha Jin (Author)
3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Unknown Binding: 178 pages
  • Publisher: Zoland Books; 1st ed edition (1998)
  • ASIN: B0006FBMAG
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

7 Reviews
5 star:
 (2)
4 star:
 (3)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.9 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars So simple- but I couldn't put it down., 19 Nov 2007
This review is from: In the Pond (Paperback)
After reading some of Ha Jin's short stories I couldn't wait to read one of his novels.
This is a very short book, written in the simplest of prose. The plot is rather predictable and the characters not very well developed.
However, hopefully without this sounding too patronising, I really felt as though the story was told by this working-class, poor, narrator. The language isn't flowery or poetic, it is the language of a maintenance worker in a fertalising plant, just as it is supposed to be (even though he is a self-professed intellectual). He describes the characters as one would expect him to describe them and the predicatability of the plot makes it seem realistic.
I couldn't put it down, and read the whole thing last Sunday. For the whole day I felt I had been transported to communist China and was deply involved in this man's struggle against the fertalising plant's corrupt leaders.
If you want a captivating little tale without too much literary poetic 'nonsense' then you'll love this!


(p.s. Don't listen to the review that says you can't help comparing this to Animal Farm- it is nothing like Animal Farm. The only similarity is that China is communist. Otherwise no resemblance whatsoever!)
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Diverting parable, 9 Mar 2007
By MrShev "mrshev" (Gloucestershire, UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   
This review is from: In the Pond (Paperback)
This a short novella about a factory worker kicking up a fuss about the allocation of worker housing when he isn't top of the list for housing closer to the plant. He uses his artistic skills and satire to become a thorn in the side of the corrupt party officialdom.

This is written very simply, laying out the tale in black and white. The characters are just puppets for the plot and one glides through this short book not really getting a handle on any of the characters. The plot is good but it didn't exactly set my heart a-flutter. You do get an insight into communist China, but it's more like looking through a crack in the door than anything else. I do like that it becomes irrelevant that you are in China and the normality of the regime begins to feel everyday, commonplace.

However, it really is not that good. Take away China and communism from the equation and you are left with some pretty thin fiction and quite a forgettable book. So, two stars.
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Corruption in post Animal Farm communist China (but funny!), 24 Feb 2002
By A Customer
This review is from: In the Pond (Paperback)
It's impossible not to compare this book to Animal Farm, in that it takes place in a communist environment where the pigs have become men, communist leaders as corrupt as the bourgeoisie they have supplanted, and is written in a similar, deceptively simple style. A magnificent and humorous story, which allows the Western reader to see just how different Chinese society is. My only complaint would be the oversweet ending, which is not particularly believable in context.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Powerful Political Story
This is a simple novella telling the story of a factory worker caught up in the political forces at play in Communist China. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Mrs. K. A. Wheatley

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent political fable
I hadn't heard of Ha Jin before reading In The Pond (whose title still baffles me even after having finished it) but I was immediately drawn to his uncomplicated, playful style... Read more
Published 16 months ago by jacr100

5.0 out of 5 stars humourous struggle to attain a lifetime dream
One of the best books ha jin has written yet. Gutt wrenching story, soley built to keep you reading page after page. Read more
Published on 28 Jan 2002 by blue2butterfly@hotmail.com

5.0 out of 5 stars 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. Read more
Published on 23 July 1999

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