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In the Pond
In the Pond | Ha Jin
7 posts | 7 read | 4 to read
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.
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review
Heideschrampf
In the Pond | Ha Jin
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Mehso-so

Finished this #12Littens12BooksRound2 read in a day. I can‘t say I didn‘t like it, what I can say however is that I‘m not sure what it wanted me to take away from it. Was it social critique? Were I to like or dislike the protagonist? Does his quest end with a success or a failure? I simply couldn‘t say! Maybe that‘s the way it should be?! #bookanddinner #12Littens12Books

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LittleBug
In the Pond | Ha Jin
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Mehso-so

Not too sure about this one...liked the first half, got annoyed with the second half... I think I liked Jin‘s writing style, but the characters became too much like caricatures to me.
Very curious to see how the others in our #12Littens12BooksRound2 like it...

24 likes1 stack add
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Deifio
In the Pond | Ha Jin
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Is this a thing in Chinese calligraphy? Sounded so strange to my ears.

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LittleBug
In the Pond | Ha Jin
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Everyone loves a little bit of a rogue in a hero, right? Makes them human😉

Cindyelizavaz One of my favourite author! I loved Waiting by Ha Jin! 4y
26 likes1 comment
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shawnmooney
In the Pond | Ha Jin
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You know you need to read this novel now, right? 😂😂

#QuoteOfTheDay

UrsulaMonarch 😲😂 6y
emilyhaldi 🙋🏻‍♀️ 6y
LeahBergen What the ?? 6y
35 likes2 stack adds3 comments
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shawnmooney
In the Pond | Ha Jin
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shawnmooney
In the Pond | Ha Jin
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LeahBergen I‘m going to have to remember that curse. 😉 6y
38 likes1 comment