Zusatztext "Ravishing . . . vividly described." The Village Voice "Though art and politics figure in the action! In the Pond is first and foremost a comedy-naughty! lusty! raucously entertaining. Ha Jin's language echoes working-class Chinese at its rough! bawdy best." The New York Times Book Review "Fascinating . . . spare and taut. . . . A fable about morality and power." Chicago Tribune Informationen zum Autor Ha Jin left his native China in 1985 to attend Brandeis University. He is the author of the internationally bestselling novel Waiting , which won the PEN/Faulkner Award and the National Book Award, and War Trash , which won the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, and was a Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the Kiriyama Pacific Rim Book Prize; the story collections The Bridegroom , which won the Asian American Literary Award, Under the Red Flag , which won the Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction, and Ocean of Words , which won the PEN/Hemingway Award; the novels The Crazed and In the Pond ; and three books of poetry. His latest novel, A Free Life is his first novel set in the United States. He lives in the Boston area and is a professor of English at Boston University. War Trash , The Crazed , The Bridegroom , Waiting , In the Pond , and Ocean of Words are available in paperback from Vintage Books. Klappentext 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 favor with the party's leaders are selected ahead of him! Shao Bin chafes at his powerlessness. When he attempts to expose his corrupt superiors by circulating satirical cartoons! he provokes an escalating series of merciless counterattacks that send ripples beyond his small community. Artfully crafted and suffused with earthy wit! In the Pond is a moving tale about humble lives caught up in larger social forces. One SHAO BIN FELT SICK of Dismount Fort, a commune town where he had lived for over six years. His wife, Meilan, complained that she had to walk two miles to wash clothes on weekends. She couldn't pedal, so Bin was supposed to take her on the carrier of his bicycle to the Blue Brook. But this month he worked weekends in the Harvest Fertilizer Plant and couldn't help her. If only they had lived in Workers' Park, the plant's apartment compound, which was just hundreds of paces away from the waterside. These days Meilan prayed to Buddha at night, begging him to help her family get an apartment in the park soon. "Don't worry. We'll have one this time," Bin told her Wednesday afternoon. "How can you be so sure?" "They should give us one. I have more seniority than others." "That can't be a guarantee." Indeed he had worked in the plant for six years. According to the principle of need and seniority, this time it seemed the Shaos should have a new apartment, but Meilan was not optimistic. "You know," she said, "if I were you I'd give Secretary Liu and Director Ma two bottles of Grain Sap each. I heard that lots of people have visited them in the evenings. You shouldn't just sit and wait." "Forget it. I won't spend any money on them." "Stubborn ass," she said under her breath. Bin was a small man. He used to be healthy and stout, but in recent years he had lost so much weight that people called him Skeleton behind his back. Despite his physique, he was both talented and arrogant. He was better r...

"Ravishing . . . vividly described."  —*The Village Voice

"Though art and politics figure in the action, *In the Pond* is first and foremost a comedy-naughty, lusty, raucously entertaining. Ha Jin's language echoes working-class Chinese at its rough, bawdy best." —The New York Times Book Review*

"Fascinating . . . spare and taut. . . . A fable about morality and power." —Chicago Tribune

Autorentext
Ha Jin **left his native China in 1985 to attend Brandeis University. He is the author of the internationally bestselling novel Waiting, which won the PEN/Faulkner Award and the National Book Award, and War Trash, which won the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, and was a Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the Kiriyama Pacific Rim Book Prize; the story collections The Bridegroom, which won the Asian American Literary Award, Under the Red Flag, which won the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction, and Ocean of Words, which won the PEN/Hemingway Award; the novels The Crazed and In the Pond; and three books of poetry. His latest novel, **A Free Life is his first novel set in the United States. He lives in the Boston area and is a professor of English at Boston University.War Trash, The Crazed, The Bridegroom, Waiting, In the Pond, and Ocean of Words** are available in paperback from Vintage Books.

Klappentext

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 favor with the party's leaders are selected ahead of him, Shao Bin chafes at his powerlessness. When he attempts to expose his corrupt superiors by circulating satirical cartoons, he provokes an escalating series of merciless counterattacks that send ripples beyond his small community. Artfully crafted and suffused with earthy wit, In the Pond is a moving tale about humble lives caught up in larger social forces.

Zusammenfassung
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 favor with the party's leaders are selected ahead of him, Shao Bin chafes at his powerlessness. When he attempts to expose his corrupt superiors by circulating satirical cartoons, he provokes an escalating series of merciless counterattacks that send ripples beyond his small community. Artfully crafted and suffused with earthy wit, In the Pond is a moving tale about humble lives caught up in larger social forces.

Leseprobe
One

SHAO BIN FELT SICK of Dismount Fort, a commune town where he had lived for over six years. His wife, Meilan, complained that she had to walk two miles to wash clothes on weekends. She couldn't pedal, so Bin was supposed to take her on the carrier of his bicycle to the Blue Brook. But this month he worked weekends in the Harvest Fertilizer Plant and couldn't help her. If only they had lived in Workers' Park, the plant's apartment compound, which was just hundreds of paces away from the waterside. These days Meilan prayed to Buddha at night, begging him to help her family get an apartment in the park soon.

"Don't worry. We'll have one this time," Bin told her Wednesday afternoon.

"How can you be so sure?"

"They should give us one. I have more seniority than others."

"That can't be a guarantee."

Indeed he had worked in the plant for six years. According to the principle of need and seniority, this time it seemed the Shaos should have a new a…