Landing

A Good Fall

"Fate has scattered you to the earth. Now you have freedom and equality to start anew. But how well you do it depends entirely on your own vitality." - Ha Jin

Landing does not mean taking root.
A collection of short stories by Ha Jin depicting the lives of Chinese immigrants in the United States.
The stories of countless lonely and persevering people around the world searching for a home. The burden brought by the American dream may be heavier than the Chinese baggage.

"Landing" tells the story of immigrants. Set in Flushing, New York's New Chinatown, circa 2000, the book is a microcosm of Chinese immigrant society. Some of the story's inspiration comes from news events, and the author transforms the news into a flesh-and-blood, tear-jerking piece of literature, making it timeless. In this book, Ha Jin vividly depicts the spectrum of immigrant life and its daily struggles—the fleeting moments and fleeting moments of life, the spirited faces of men and women. In reality, immigrants have lost their homeland. Homeland is right before their eyes, yet it's only a kind of longing; this is particularly evident in China. So-called homesickness, like when one falls in love with another, is often in love with one's own love itself.

■New edition of "Landing" commemorating its 10th anniversary■
Specially included is the author's new edition preface and Yan Zeya's special article introduction.

In Flushing, New York's new Chinatown, big and small things happen every day. Ha Jin uses the eyes of a novelist to look at how these Chinese immigrants live their lives, and the beauty and ugliness of human nature in the moments of life's struggle. He has created for us not only a collection of short stories, but also a whole scroll like Ukiyo-e. Flowing before our eyes, there are lonely composers who find comfort in the song of their girlfriend's parrots; a husband who suspects his beautiful wife of having an affair because his daughter does not look like him, and then A detective investigation was commissioned; two children wanted to change their names to sound more American, but this hurt their Chinese grandparents; a husband, caught in a dispute between his mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, made an unexpected move to mediate; a caregiver, exploited by his employer, bravely spoke out; a young Chinese man fell in love with a prostitute who had illegally immigrated to the US; and a monk working at a New York temple, angered by the abbot's malicious wage theorizing, committed suicide by jumping from a building. However, thanks to his extraordinary martial arts skills, he survived and found a new life in America...

When these Chinese immigrants encounter setbacks in the new social and economic freedoms provided by their new countries, they no longer choose to endure in silence or passively await the country's next instructions as they did when they stayed in their homeland. Their hearts are already eager to break through the current difficulties, make their own "choices", and take responsibility for their own destiny. Even though leaving home makes people homesick, it is the beginning of changing their destiny.

"No matter how glorious your past, you must start over, just like everyone else. This is the essence of our generation's immigrant experience." In this collection of immigrant fiction, a long-forgotten journey, Ha Jin presents a picture of overseas Chinese life remarkably fraught with hardship and poignancy. Embracing homesickness and the resignedness of reality, this long-overdue collection of short stories is both truthful, moving, and dramatic, earning a passionate response from readers upon its publication.

Celebrity recommendations

Wang Dewei, Li Youcheng, Shan Dexing, Yang Zhao, Yan Lianke, Luo Yijun, Yan Xuya - Recommended by renowned writers and scholars (listed in alphabetical order)

"Many passages in 'Landing' reveal Ha Jin's mastery of loneliness. This loneliness is a choice made with free will, less comfortable than the hermits of Chinese literature but more courageous. This spirit is a vital tradition of American literature." - Yan Zeya

International acclaim

Ha Jin is one of the most highly regarded Chinese writers in contemporary Anglo-American literary circles. Years after his debut work, Waiting, he finally published his work in Chinese for the first time. He depicts the diverse lives of overseas Chinese in a simple and unpretentious way, with sophistication amidst the ordinary and true emotions amidst laughter and tears. Simple stories reveal the complexities of life. Ha Jin's English works have long been widely praised, and his Chinese writing is sincere and moving, feeling even closer to readers—he truly lives up to our expectations and waits. --David Wang

Many of the stories in "Landing" clearly show that Ha Jin is a master at writing about loneliness. This kind of loneliness is a choice made out of free will, less comfortable than the hermits in Chinese literature, but more courageous. --Yan Zeya

"Reading (Ha Jin) is like falling in love: you experience anxiety, deep self-awareness, and a sense of discomfort with the world that is also a kind of fun... Like the best realists, Ha Jin hides the power of emotion in the simplest words." - The New Yorker

"Amazing... one of the most powerful novels of the year, a richly textured and deeply compelling portrait of Chinese immigrant artists."—Entertainment Weekly

"Ha Jin once again captures the tiniest details, creating a unique and resonant portrait of ordinary people." - Library Monthly

"The author, winner of the 1999 National Book Award for 'Waiting,' writes with warmth and humor about what it means to be a stranger in a foreign land, no matter where one's original home is."—People Magazine

"This may be Ha Jin's best work, and his stories often reach the uncanny subtleties we expect from Singer, Malamud, or O'Connor." - The Haffenden Post

"The point of a short story is to tell a story with just the right words... When done well, the results can be stunning. (And Ha Jin) does it really well... He shows how hard it is for the Chinese to overcome the barriers of language, lifestyle, and faith they face here. Yet he also shows what keeps them coming here and what keeps them here—economic opportunity and freedom." - The Advocate

"Not to be missed... a beautifully written, elegant, nuanced, yet consistently precise collection of short stories... Landing conveys the daily struggles of immigrant life and the ultimate hope that comes with starting over." - Asia Book Review

"Ha Jin continues to explore immigration conflicts with remarkable skill... This collection of novels as a whole celebrates the resilience of immigrants: the courage to embrace adversity, to fall, and then to rise again and continue on to a brighter future." - Los Angeles Times

2020-01-21

時報出版

264

9789571376530