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The Bridegroom
Reversals, transformations, and surprises abound in these assured stories. Parables for our times--with a hint of the reckless and the absurd that we have come to expect from Ha Jin--The Bridegroom offers tales both mischievous and wise.
From the National Book Award-winning author of Waiting, a new collection of short fiction that confirms Ha Jin's reputation as a master storyteller.
Each of The Bridegroom's twelve stories--three of which have been selected for inclusion in The Best American Short Stories--takes us back to Muji City in contemporary China, the setting of Waiting. It is a world both exotic and disarmingly familiar, one in which Chinese men and women meet with small epiphanies and muted triumphs, leavening their lives of quiet desperation through subtle insubordination and sometimes crafty resolve.
In the title story, a seemingly model husband joins a secret men's literary club and finds himself arrested for the "bourgeois crime" of homosexuality. "Alive" centers on an official who loses his memory in an earthquake and lives happily for months as a simple worker; when he suddenly remembers who he is, he finds that his return to his old life proves inconvenient for everyone. In "A Tiger-Fighter Is Hard to Find," a television crew's inept attempt to film a fight scene with a live Siberian tiger lands their lead actor in a mental hospital, convinced that he is the mythical tiger-fighter Wu Song.
Reversals, transformations, and surprises abound in these assured stories, as Ha Jin seizes on the possibility that things might not be as they seem. Parables for our times--with a hint of the reckless and the absurd that we have come to expect from Ha Jin--The Bridegroom offers tales both mischievous and wise.
From the National Book Award-winning author of Waiting, a new collection of short fiction that confirms Ha Jin's reputation as a master storyteller.
Each of The Bridegroom's twelve stories--three of which have been selected for inclusion in The Best American Short Stories--takes us back to Muji City in contemporary China, the setting of Waiting. It is a world both exotic and disarmingly familiar, one in which Chinese men and women meet with small epiphanies and muted triumphs, leavening their lives of quiet desperation through subtle insubordination and sometimes crafty resolve.
In the title story, a seemingly model husband joins a secret men's literary club and finds himself arrested for the "bourgeois crime" of homosexuality. "Alive" centers on an official who loses his memory in an earthquake and lives happily for months as a simple worker; when he suddenly remembers who he is, he finds that his return to his old life proves inconvenient for everyone. In "A Tiger-Fighter Is Hard to Find," a television crew's inept attempt to film a fight scene with a live Siberian tiger lands their lead actor in a mental hospital, convinced that he is the mythical tiger-fighter Wu Song.
Reversals, transformations, and surprises abound in these assured stories, as Ha Jin seizes on the possibility that things might not be as they seem. Parables for our times--with a hint of the reckless and the absurd that we have come to expect from Ha Jin--The Bridegroom offers tales both mischievous and wise.
225 pages, Paperback
First published October 3, 2000
71 people are currently reading
1634 people want to read
About the author
Ha Jin
63 books853 followersHa Jin is the pen name of Jin Xuefei, a novelist, poet, short story writer, and Professor of English at Boston University.Ha Jin writes in English about China, a political decision post-Tiananmen Square.
Ha Jin grew up in mainland China and served in the People’s Liberation Army in his teens for five years. After leaving the army, he worked for three years at a railroad company in a remote northeastern city, Jiamusi, and then went to college in Harbin, majoring in English. He has published in English ten novels, four story collections, four volumes of poetry, a book of essays, and a biography of Li Bai. His novel Waiting won the National Book Award for Fiction, the PEN/Faulkner Award, and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Ha Jin is William Fairfield Warren Distinguished Professor in English and Creative Writing at Boston University, and he has been elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. His writing has been translated into more than thirty languages. Ha Jin’s novel The Woman Back from Moscow was published by Other Press in 2023.
Ha Jin grew up in mainland China and served in the People’s Liberation Army in his teens for five years. After leaving the army, he worked for three years at a railroad company in a remote northeastern city, Jiamusi, and then went to college in Harbin, majoring in English. He has published in English ten novels, four story collections, four volumes of poetry, a book of essays, and a biography of Li Bai. His novel Waiting won the National Book Award for Fiction, the PEN/Faulkner Award, and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Ha Jin is William Fairfield Warren Distinguished Professor in English and Creative Writing at Boston University, and he has been elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. His writing has been translated into more than thirty languages. Ha Jin’s novel The Woman Back from Moscow was published by Other Press in 2023.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 252 reviews
September 14, 2014
Before I share my thoughts on this book, I would like you to consider this bit of history: Mao Zedong died in 1976 and the decade-long Cultural Revolution - that shook up China and led to the persecution and death of many Chinese - ended with his demise and with the arrest and eventual conviction of the Gang of Four (which includes Mao's wife). In 1978, Deng Xiaoping, a Party member who fell out of favour with Mao, won the power struggle within the CCP and it was he who introduced capitalism-inspired economic reform to China.
Now imagine living in these turbulent times, an era in between a planned economy, State-Owned Enterprises with secure, designated jobs and housing units, and strict Party control... and a (socialist) market economy, exposure to a modern Westernised lifestyle and a future that is open to your own interpretation. It must have been scary to live during these insecure years, not knowing where the country is headed. To highlight the feelings of this period, Ha Jin infuses his (very) short stories with irony and sarcasm.
So, did I like the book? Unfortunately, not as much as I had expected. It has got to be one of the most frustrating books I have read this year. Humiliation, petty behaviour, injustice and unsatisfying endings galore in The bridegroom: stories.
WARNING: SOME SPOILERS AHEAD
The fun started as soon as I reached page 2; completely out of the blue, a local policeman throws tea over the protagonist of Saboteur and his wife. It's from this point onwards that the story escalates. Strangely enough, there seems to be no reason at all for the incident. Throughout the story, the focus is on the dire predicament of poor ill and mistreated Mr. Chiu; not even his own lawyer can assure that justice is done. In the end, Mr. Chiu has to admit his defeat and sign a false statement that it was indeed he who disrupted public order. His revenge is sweet however: by eating at several small food stalls, he succeeds in unleashing a hepatitis epidemic in Muji.
Revenge is a theme that recurs in Flame and in After Cowboy Chicken Came to Town. In the first story, a rejected suitor returns after many years only to humiliate his former love interest. In the latter, cultural clashes (between American, Japanese and Chinese culture) lead to the Chinese staff being fired. The story ends with the angry laid off workers plotting sabotage.
In many stories social control, both informal and formal, is apparent. Love is seen as something that may or may not grow after marriage. Most important is making a suitable match and producing children. Those that deviate, like the Woman from New York, the bigamous man with amnesia in Alive, the wonderful but gay Bridegroom and the poor Broken young female typist are all thwarted, shunned and/or even severely punished.
A few of the stories can appear preposterous to the Western(ised) mind. A Bad Joke is a good example: it's about two peasants who are misfortunate enough to have a casual remark not only misinterpreted, but completely blown out of proportion. A comment like that would most likely be disregarded in current-day China, but in the uncertain period they lived in, it guaranteed a prison sentence or a severe punishment at the least.
It's not so much that I disliked the book, but I did feel disappointed by the brevity of Ha Jin's stories. They felt unfinished and I would even go as far to say that some of them seemed underdeveloped. I short, I really would have preferred Ha Jin to elaborate on one or more instead of these twelve short snippets about people in Muji city. For example: In the Kindergarten features a little girl wanting to help her teacher gather more purslane. She and the other children have been promised a little extra for dinner, but instead, the teacher takes the leafy vegetable home. I kept wondering why. Perhaps to supplement her own meals? Or to earn a little extra on the side, by selling it as TCM? The ending of this story is particularly unexpected and strange.
Finally, I would like to emphasise that the setting of this book is the early 1980s, not contemporary China. Many changes have taken place in the past 30 years and modern-day mainland China is a very different place than the country described in Ha Jin's book. I.e. Many State-Owned Enterprises have proven not to be viable in a thriving market economy, leading to massive unemployment and the encouragement of entrepreneurship (something that has not been around for very long, as The Entrepreneur demonstrates). If a Cowboy Chicken fast-food restaurant would open nowadays, people would not complain that it's not as good as traditional Chinese food, but open up shanzhai restaurants next door instead. Informal social control can never be truly eradicated, but entire subcultures have sprung up in the past decades: individuality is no longer frowned upon.
The strength of his story collection is its poignancy and cruelty, wrapped in dark humour. He has successfully captured the essence of the period. A good effort, but (because of reasons mentioned above) ultimately not as good as I had hoped.
Now imagine living in these turbulent times, an era in between a planned economy, State-Owned Enterprises with secure, designated jobs and housing units, and strict Party control... and a (socialist) market economy, exposure to a modern Westernised lifestyle and a future that is open to your own interpretation. It must have been scary to live during these insecure years, not knowing where the country is headed. To highlight the feelings of this period, Ha Jin infuses his (very) short stories with irony and sarcasm.
So, did I like the book? Unfortunately, not as much as I had expected. It has got to be one of the most frustrating books I have read this year. Humiliation, petty behaviour, injustice and unsatisfying endings galore in The bridegroom: stories.
WARNING: SOME SPOILERS AHEAD
The fun started as soon as I reached page 2; completely out of the blue, a local policeman throws tea over the protagonist of Saboteur and his wife. It's from this point onwards that the story escalates. Strangely enough, there seems to be no reason at all for the incident. Throughout the story, the focus is on the dire predicament of poor ill and mistreated Mr. Chiu; not even his own lawyer can assure that justice is done. In the end, Mr. Chiu has to admit his defeat and sign a false statement that it was indeed he who disrupted public order. His revenge is sweet however: by eating at several small food stalls, he succeeds in unleashing a hepatitis epidemic in Muji.
Revenge is a theme that recurs in Flame and in After Cowboy Chicken Came to Town. In the first story, a rejected suitor returns after many years only to humiliate his former love interest. In the latter, cultural clashes (between American, Japanese and Chinese culture) lead to the Chinese staff being fired. The story ends with the angry laid off workers plotting sabotage.
In many stories social control, both informal and formal, is apparent. Love is seen as something that may or may not grow after marriage. Most important is making a suitable match and producing children. Those that deviate, like the Woman from New York, the bigamous man with amnesia in Alive, the wonderful but gay Bridegroom and the poor Broken young female typist are all thwarted, shunned and/or even severely punished.
A few of the stories can appear preposterous to the Western(ised) mind. A Bad Joke is a good example: it's about two peasants who are misfortunate enough to have a casual remark not only misinterpreted, but completely blown out of proportion. A comment like that would most likely be disregarded in current-day China, but in the uncertain period they lived in, it guaranteed a prison sentence or a severe punishment at the least.
It's not so much that I disliked the book, but I did feel disappointed by the brevity of Ha Jin's stories. They felt unfinished and I would even go as far to say that some of them seemed underdeveloped. I short, I really would have preferred Ha Jin to elaborate on one or more instead of these twelve short snippets about people in Muji city. For example: In the Kindergarten features a little girl wanting to help her teacher gather more purslane. She and the other children have been promised a little extra for dinner, but instead, the teacher takes the leafy vegetable home. I kept wondering why. Perhaps to supplement her own meals? Or to earn a little extra on the side, by selling it as TCM? The ending of this story is particularly unexpected and strange.
Finally, I would like to emphasise that the setting of this book is the early 1980s, not contemporary China. Many changes have taken place in the past 30 years and modern-day mainland China is a very different place than the country described in Ha Jin's book. I.e. Many State-Owned Enterprises have proven not to be viable in a thriving market economy, leading to massive unemployment and the encouragement of entrepreneurship (something that has not been around for very long, as The Entrepreneur demonstrates). If a Cowboy Chicken fast-food restaurant would open nowadays, people would not complain that it's not as good as traditional Chinese food, but open up shanzhai restaurants next door instead. Informal social control can never be truly eradicated, but entire subcultures have sprung up in the past decades: individuality is no longer frowned upon.
The strength of his story collection is its poignancy and cruelty, wrapped in dark humour. He has successfully captured the essence of the period. A good effort, but (because of reasons mentioned above) ultimately not as good as I had hoped.
May 31, 2020
This is a collection of short stories published in 2001, but some of the individual stories date from as early as 1997. They are typically set in an emerging China - post Cultural Revolution, but not too long after, as Western ideas make their way in.
They are a hit and miss collection, mostly revolving around personal relationships in China -many of which deal with what are probably not only Chinese problems, but they are in this book - government intervention, a reliance of the traditional structures of society, unhappy relationships and financial problems. Transition from a socialist society to a capitalist society, brings about a complex confusion and a raft of inconsistencies that must be negotiated for many of the various characters, as well as Western ideas being introduced to Chinese society - in some cases in general, but in other cases by individuals who have lived overseas returning to China.
Some of the stories didn't make a lot of sense to me - one example was the first story. A man eating in a cafe has tea thrown on him by a policeman, for no reason. When he objects, he is arrested and charged with being a saboteur, and forced to sign a statement confirming this. Upon his release he buys lots of meals from a range of restaurants, eats a little from each plate and leaves - which results in a hepatitis epidemic in the town. I don;t really follow the logic here...
There are stories of revenge; stories of unrequited love; where money changes the situation for the protagonist; homosexuals covering up in hetro relationships; a man with amnesia who forgets he has a family; and others.
I probably didn't enjoy these as much as other reviewers.
3 stars.
They are a hit and miss collection, mostly revolving around personal relationships in China -many of which deal with what are probably not only Chinese problems, but they are in this book - government intervention, a reliance of the traditional structures of society, unhappy relationships and financial problems. Transition from a socialist society to a capitalist society, brings about a complex confusion and a raft of inconsistencies that must be negotiated for many of the various characters, as well as Western ideas being introduced to Chinese society - in some cases in general, but in other cases by individuals who have lived overseas returning to China.
Some of the stories didn't make a lot of sense to me - one example was the first story. A man eating in a cafe has tea thrown on him by a policeman, for no reason. When he objects, he is arrested and charged with being a saboteur, and forced to sign a statement confirming this. Upon his release he buys lots of meals from a range of restaurants, eats a little from each plate and leaves - which results in a hepatitis epidemic in the town. I don;t really follow the logic here...
There are stories of revenge; stories of unrequited love; where money changes the situation for the protagonist; homosexuals covering up in hetro relationships; a man with amnesia who forgets he has a family; and others.
I probably didn't enjoy these as much as other reviewers.
3 stars.
April 19, 2021
★★★★ — 4 Stars!
I read this for school.
I read this for school.
December 6, 2017
Onvan : The Bridegroom - Nevisande : Ha Jin - ISBN : 375724931 - ISBN13 : 9780375724930 - Dar 240 Safhe - Saal e Chap : 2000
June 29, 2019
Short stories that take place in China after the Culture Revolution. I don't know exactly what that was but I'd say they take place in the 1970s and 1980s. Most had to do about learning English and attending school (which I'm guessing was Ha Jin's wheelhouse.)
Easy to read, sometimes funny and makes you realize how alike everyone is in wanting to get revenge, put their best foot forward for an old beau, not knowing what's behind a marriage and protesting against "the man" even when that's just your manager.
Easy to read, sometimes funny and makes you realize how alike everyone is in wanting to get revenge, put their best foot forward for an old beau, not knowing what's behind a marriage and protesting against "the man" even when that's just your manager.
April 4, 2020
This is a collection of short stories. The first one was quite a surprise ending. All of them bring out the stark cultural differences between Western and Eastern culture and politics. I especially liked the story called Cowboy Chicken. Another surprise ending.
August 28, 2024
I should have read “The Bridegroom” by Ha Jin when it was published in 2000. Having read it only now, it feels a bit like stale leftovers. This is a problem with many Chinese writers who emigrated, mainly to the US, in the 1980s (1985 in his case) - they write about China they remember, not about China that is. This fossilised view of China and Chinese culture is often no longer accurate and frankly speaking, no longer that interesting if nothing new is added to the plethora of existing stories and ways of telling them.
This book is a collection of 12 short stories taking place in Muji, a city near Harbin. Set mainly in the 1980s, they talk about ordinary Chinese people’s aspirations, struggles, dreams and injustices. They present China in the times of rapid transformation: political, economic but also moral. Many of the characters seem to believe justice is on their side and end up disappointed when faced with corrupt and stupid officials. Ha Jin’s characters are deeply flawed and there is a certain humour with which the author talks about their plight, their vices, but also certain smugness with which he ends his stories when an arrogant or too ambitious protagonist is punished or robbed of their dreams.
The stories themselves were pretty inventive and interesting (“Alive” and “The Bridegroom”, the latter addressing homosexuality, were my favourites) but I found the style of writing belonging more to the 20th century: very conventional, very proper but tedious, as well as slightly moralistic. It was clear for me that this book was written for a US American audience who want to be spoon-fed but I prefer an author who will trust my intelligence and will offer me more open endings rather than explaining to me what they just told.
This book is a collection of 12 short stories taking place in Muji, a city near Harbin. Set mainly in the 1980s, they talk about ordinary Chinese people’s aspirations, struggles, dreams and injustices. They present China in the times of rapid transformation: political, economic but also moral. Many of the characters seem to believe justice is on their side and end up disappointed when faced with corrupt and stupid officials. Ha Jin’s characters are deeply flawed and there is a certain humour with which the author talks about their plight, their vices, but also certain smugness with which he ends his stories when an arrogant or too ambitious protagonist is punished or robbed of their dreams.
The stories themselves were pretty inventive and interesting (“Alive” and “The Bridegroom”, the latter addressing homosexuality, were my favourites) but I found the style of writing belonging more to the 20th century: very conventional, very proper but tedious, as well as slightly moralistic. It was clear for me that this book was written for a US American audience who want to be spoon-fed but I prefer an author who will trust my intelligence and will offer me more open endings rather than explaining to me what they just told.
June 11, 2018
My first of Ha Jin. A compilation of stories revolved around Chinese culture and social, a story of people living in a community-- conflict of family/generation, problem in love and relationship, bureaucracy and the difficulty of strict working system, bit of erotic scenes and few taboo matters.
It was written well-- not draggy with fascinating narratives, love Ha Jin's style of writing. Point of stories were sometimes just about a daily life of the characters but it been given a smooth and proper plot, a very sharp insight making it a bit interesting.
Having few as my personal favorite-- Saboteur (sort of a revenge story but was written in a very unexpected situation), Alive (a story about a man losing his memory after an earthquake and having a new life without realizing he was actually a man with family. I love how it was ended), Broken (a bit obscene but I love the idea), The Bridegroom (a conflict of sexual identity, very unexpected but I love Old Cheng character), After Cowboy Chicken Came To Town (what a mess but loving this!).
Very comical, sometimes a bit sarcasm, inspiring but none predictable.
It was written well-- not draggy with fascinating narratives, love Ha Jin's style of writing. Point of stories were sometimes just about a daily life of the characters but it been given a smooth and proper plot, a very sharp insight making it a bit interesting.
Having few as my personal favorite-- Saboteur (sort of a revenge story but was written in a very unexpected situation), Alive (a story about a man losing his memory after an earthquake and having a new life without realizing he was actually a man with family. I love how it was ended), Broken (a bit obscene but I love the idea), The Bridegroom (a conflict of sexual identity, very unexpected but I love Old Cheng character), After Cowboy Chicken Came To Town (what a mess but loving this!).
Very comical, sometimes a bit sarcasm, inspiring but none predictable.
September 22, 2019
cô dâu chú rể làm bể bình bông. Ha Jin viết về thời kỳ Hậu-Mao, Hậu-Cách Mạng Văn Hóa với lối viết bình tĩnh, thản nhiên tới mức khó chịu, khi mà xã hội Trung Quốc hiện lên với đầy rẫy những vấn đề và bất công (không khác Việt Nam là bao): đồng tiền lên ngôi, giới quan chức hoành hành, tri thức bị coi rẻ, người dân sống trong lừa lọc, dối trá và tìm đủ mọi cách để thăng quan tiến chức. Tất cả được miêu tả như một sự thật hiển nhiên, không thể nào khác đi được. Và ông luôn bỏ ngỏ mọi thứ, điều này khiến người đọc muốn thêm nữa và cảm giác có gì đó còn dang dở, cũng như đất nước Trung Quốc, mọi thứ đều ngổn ngang, chưa hoàn thiện.
September 24, 2008
The Bridegroom is a series of 12 stories taking place in and around China's Muji City. Author Ha Jin's structure is clear and simple, but he says so much in these sentences readers may find themselves re-evaluating their own style.
"After Cowboy Chicken Came to Town" was my favorite story, as I liked seeing a communist worker being influenced by capitalism--wanting democracy in the end as well. The titular story, "The Bridegroom" is also haunting--detailing a man's plight with his son in law's homosexuality. Going so far as to institutionalize the man, the narrator finds out more about his daughter and his own life than he ever thought possible.
Going to tranq1 in the RMTBRBB, I hope you enjoy this as much as I did. I think there are some similar authors on your wishlist...
"After Cowboy Chicken Came to Town" was my favorite story, as I liked seeing a communist worker being influenced by capitalism--wanting democracy in the end as well. The titular story, "The Bridegroom" is also haunting--detailing a man's plight with his son in law's homosexuality. Going so far as to institutionalize the man, the narrator finds out more about his daughter and his own life than he ever thought possible.
Going to tranq1 in the RMTBRBB, I hope you enjoy this as much as I did. I think there are some similar authors on your wishlist...
February 3, 2008
Wow- this is the best Ha Jin I've read yet- my favorite stories were "Alive" and "Broken"- they were so haunting, and really stuck with me. I couldn't stop thinking about them. Also, "After Cowboy Chicken Came to Town" is so funny and fascinating. It really highlights some major cultural differences in terms of Chinese vs. American ways of operating a business, or just communicating and behaving in general. Though these were my favorites, every single story in this book is captivating and worth reading.
June 12, 2016
Short stories, set in modern day China. It's a nice cross-section of different lives in a different culture. Interesting, moving and entertaining writing.
March 8, 2026
unpleasant
January 2, 2015
I actually didn't finish this collection. It was very well-written, no doubt about that, but I found its appeal very... variable. For instance, the longest and most-acclaimed story, concerning efforts by a regional Chinese TV company to stage a tiger fight with a real tiger (and the hilarious fall-out that ensues) didn't grab me at all.
The collection had many things I like in short stories: domestic detail, a knack for indicating cultural particularities while conveying that they are to be taken for granted and not exotic at all. I was disappointed that they lacked, or did not convey to me, a strong sense of place - obviously they're set in *china*, but the particular city and its landscape never took shape for me, and the characters didn't seem to notice the shape of their surroundings much.
Initially I was annoyed by the overwhelming masculine focus of the first half of the collection - particularly in the case of the title story, The Bridegroom, I thought the choice of the father-in-law's POV for a story about a successful young husband arrested for homosexual behaviour was... an oversight. The wife, who seemed perfectly happy to have married him, or the mother-in-law, who seemed to think her daughter had done well in securing a husband who made no onerous sexual demands, would have made more interesting POV narrators to me.
The gender imbalance did improve in the second half of the book. I particularly enjoyed the story, told through a child's eyes, of the kindergarten teacher who enlisted children to harvest fresh vegetables, but said vegetables never made it to the table because the teacher was (the reader deduces) using them to pay or bribe a doctor for her abortion.
In terms of form, I particularly enjoyed the story of a poet and academic who crashed and burned out of his job - told in the form of a letter of reference to a new prospective employer of said academic, written by a former student now holding a teaching post. The complexity of the student-teacher relationship, the student's growing disillusionment with his mentor, and the damning-with-faint-praise format of reference were all gorgeously rendered.
The collection had many things I like in short stories: domestic detail, a knack for indicating cultural particularities while conveying that they are to be taken for granted and not exotic at all. I was disappointed that they lacked, or did not convey to me, a strong sense of place - obviously they're set in *china*, but the particular city and its landscape never took shape for me, and the characters didn't seem to notice the shape of their surroundings much.
Initially I was annoyed by the overwhelming masculine focus of the first half of the collection - particularly in the case of the title story, The Bridegroom, I thought the choice of the father-in-law's POV for a story about a successful young husband arrested for homosexual behaviour was... an oversight. The wife, who seemed perfectly happy to have married him, or the mother-in-law, who seemed to think her daughter had done well in securing a husband who made no onerous sexual demands, would have made more interesting POV narrators to me.
The gender imbalance did improve in the second half of the book. I particularly enjoyed the story, told through a child's eyes, of the kindergarten teacher who enlisted children to harvest fresh vegetables, but said vegetables never made it to the table because the teacher was (the reader deduces) using them to pay or bribe a doctor for her abortion.
In terms of form, I particularly enjoyed the story of a poet and academic who crashed and burned out of his job - told in the form of a letter of reference to a new prospective employer of said academic, written by a former student now holding a teaching post. The complexity of the student-teacher relationship, the student's growing disillusionment with his mentor, and the damning-with-faint-praise format of reference were all gorgeously rendered.
September 10, 2013
On my second reading on this novel, having read more of Jin's work, I didn't like it quite as much as I did the first time around. I think I am a bit biased because I really loved his more recent collection of short stories, A Good Fall, and this one didn't quite hold up to its former five star rating in comparison.
May 21, 2017
Short and simple 12 stories. great travel time read.
March 27, 2026
3.5 stars.
Picked this guy up because the setting of post-Cultural Revolution China seemed interesting. Ha Jin's writing is strikingly precise. Even with his conciseness and efficient story-telling, I was surprised at how easily these stories were able to draw me in. However, it's concise to a fault... some of these short stories just end a bit unsatisfactorily. The themes of a story may lay bare, but they don't feel quite fleshed out.
Regardless, this collection was still able to evoke empathy for its characters and their misfortunes. Most of these stories focused on the burning emotions of the human condition--revenge, shame, pride, unrequited love, etc. A common tension brought on by the Cultural Revolution simmers underneath these emotions as the values of the older generation clash with the newer generation's and Western ideas are introduced to the populace.
Not the lightest read, but still enjoyable nonetheless!
Some of my favorites were Flame, The Bridegroom, An Official Reply, and After Cowboy Chicken Came to Town.
Picked this guy up because the setting of post-Cultural Revolution China seemed interesting. Ha Jin's writing is strikingly precise. Even with his conciseness and efficient story-telling, I was surprised at how easily these stories were able to draw me in. However, it's concise to a fault... some of these short stories just end a bit unsatisfactorily. The themes of a story may lay bare, but they don't feel quite fleshed out.
Regardless, this collection was still able to evoke empathy for its characters and their misfortunes. Most of these stories focused on the burning emotions of the human condition--revenge, shame, pride, unrequited love, etc. A common tension brought on by the Cultural Revolution simmers underneath these emotions as the values of the older generation clash with the newer generation's and Western ideas are introduced to the populace.
Not the lightest read, but still enjoyable nonetheless!
Some of my favorites were Flame, The Bridegroom, An Official Reply, and After Cowboy Chicken Came to Town.
January 24, 2023
There are twelve short stories in this collection, all set in China during the early 1980s. I read the title story first, which I thought was a good one, about an older man discovering that the seemingly upright and popular young man who married his adopted daughter is gay and cannot be “cured” (in a mental hospital). The daughter loves him anyway and wants to stay married, as does the young man.
Then I went back to begin the book and found the first two stories engaging, with some surprising twists. The following three stories were not to my taste and if I hadn’t already read “The Bridegroom” I might have gotten too discouraged to continue. The rest of the tales, though, were more similar in characters and cultural settings to Ha Jin’s novels and I like them. The final story “After Cowboy Chicken Came to Town” was funny and could make a pretty good movie.
Then I went back to begin the book and found the first two stories engaging, with some surprising twists. The following three stories were not to my taste and if I hadn’t already read “The Bridegroom” I might have gotten too discouraged to continue. The rest of the tales, though, were more similar in characters and cultural settings to Ha Jin’s novels and I like them. The final story “After Cowboy Chicken Came to Town” was funny and could make a pretty good movie.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 23, 2021
Read this book for my fiction writing class and it’s a very interesting look into the lives of people living in China. It was well written and easy to get through, but I’d say don’t read this book if you’re expecting happy endings. It’s a collection of short stories all written by the same author, and I don’t think I can think of one with a happy ending. I don’t know if that makes me like it more or less- on the one hand it’s very realistic and eye-opening, on the other there’s no sense of satisfaction upon finishing any of the individual stories.
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July 28, 2020I don't know why I didn't have anything to say about this book when I first read and shared it here, though what I can say is that it most certainly played a significant influence in the shaping of The New York Stories and the now refreshed and (soon to be) re-released UPSTATE.
May 6, 2022
I’m not sure how I feel about this collection of short stories. While I thought the writing was pretty good, the stories themselves felt pointless and unfinished. The characters had almost no redeeming qualities and the plots left me feeling depressed. Maybe that was the point?
June 22, 2025
each short story was uniquely sad and/or horrifying 😀! i found the last few chapters the most interesting, especially getting to see the perspective of western ideals being introduced to a communist landscape. the end of cowboy chicken got me lol
August 18, 2019
Completely forgot that I was even reading this. Enjoyed some of the stories, couldn't get through others quick enough
October 14, 2020
A collection of very well written, depressing short stories about life in China in the 1970's, 80's and 90's.
September 28, 2024
3.5 stars from me. As always with a collection of short stories, I found this to be something of a mixed bag. Some were great others not so much. I will be reading the author's linger work however.
February 11, 2025
Wow… need to read more stuff like this… nice little breather in between genres
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October 14, 2025Book number 14 reading around the world - China
April 23, 2021
There is no denying that Ha Jin is talented. Good stories but a little depressing and the endings (to me) felt cut off.
December 24, 2018
This is a collection of short stories narrated with humour and a sharp sense of irony. Ha Jin portrays stories of recognisable and unfortunately very real people, taking in the viewpoint of the mass while putting in its center very odd individuals. It's also a pointedly critical look at communism in China, but never loses compassion for the characters in making that statement.
However, the writing is quite frankly boring in its starkness. There's much that can be improved in the style of the storytelling. But I must say, each story left me in deep thought and a whole mix of emotions, ranging from fury to discomfort to contentment, and that's difficult to pull off.
However, the writing is quite frankly boring in its starkness. There's much that can be improved in the style of the storytelling. But I must say, each story left me in deep thought and a whole mix of emotions, ranging from fury to discomfort to contentment, and that's difficult to pull off.
February 17, 2025
Waiting by Ha Jin is one of my favourite books of all time. So when my short story course tutor recommended The Bridegroom and claimed it was one of his favourite short story collection, I added it onto my list. I found the book at a secondhand bookshop in Hong Kong several months back. How lucky, as even in the West it seems the book isn't as widely available to buy new, and it surely isn't available in China.
The Bridegroom has 12 short stories in the collection. I enjoyed the short stories, and having lived in China, I found the stories to be down to earth and believable, capturing a China in transition moving from Maoism towards a more open society. The way the situations present themselves and how the characters react to them may seem comical or ridiculous to the "Western" audience, but perhaps because I've been living here a while, they seem completely realistic to me. Here I learned that even though as humans we have a lot of similarities, the society and culture constructed differently, and that sometimes there are things I wouldn't be able to totally understand, can only accept the strangeness to my sensibilities, and find the humour in them, avoiding any attempt to judge based on my very personal world view. I guess that could be the definition of learning about another culture, other lives, and another world. With this collection Ha Jin provides a window to the slice of time and society a lot of us don't get the direct access to.
The Bridegroom has 12 short stories in the collection. I enjoyed the short stories, and having lived in China, I found the stories to be down to earth and believable, capturing a China in transition moving from Maoism towards a more open society. The way the situations present themselves and how the characters react to them may seem comical or ridiculous to the "Western" audience, but perhaps because I've been living here a while, they seem completely realistic to me. Here I learned that even though as humans we have a lot of similarities, the society and culture constructed differently, and that sometimes there are things I wouldn't be able to totally understand, can only accept the strangeness to my sensibilities, and find the humour in them, avoiding any attempt to judge based on my very personal world view. I guess that could be the definition of learning about another culture, other lives, and another world. With this collection Ha Jin provides a window to the slice of time and society a lot of us don't get the direct access to.
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