A Free Life

by: Ha Jin

Published by: Vintage International

Reviewed by Lauren Segelbaum

When I read Ha-Jin’s first novel, Waiting, I understood why it won the National Book Award. It was a masterful piece of literature with characters you understood and a story that made you want to read more. I was thrilled to be asked to review Ha-Jin’s new novel A Free Life and couldn’t wait to receive it. Unfortunately, the enthusiasm I felt for his first novel fell short with his latest work.

This novel takes place in America, unlike his other novels, and tells the story of the Wu family. Father Nan, mother Pingping and their son Tao Tao. They arrive in America after leaving China in 1989 after the massacre at Tiananmen Square. Nan leaves his life of academia and takes on a variety of menial jobs while at the same time returning to his first love, poetry. His wife, who works for a wealthy widow and their son, slowly adjust to their life in America. Nan, however struggles with immigrant identity.

The part of this book I found interesting was the life of the Chinese in America after the Tiananmen Square massacre and the struggles they had. But it stopped there. What does it say when you read a book and you can’t seem to remember the title of the book. I had to turn the book over to remind myself of this very simple title. It never resonated with me, just like the characters in this book. I kept asking myself where this book is going. Nan is a very sad character yet a man who writes poetry.

Author Ha Jin also immigrated to America in the 1980s to study literature. Is there a connection between the two men? I read other reviews of this novel to see what I was missing. One reviewer says it is a quick read even though it is over 600 pages. I agree with the reviewer who said the language was cumbersome. I leave it to the reader to decide for his or herself.

Armchair Interview says: Heed this reviewer’s comments.