A FREE LIFE - Scarce Fine Copy of The First Hardcover Edition/First Printing: Signed And Dated (In The Month And Year of Publication) by Ha Jin
Language: English
Published by New York City, NY: Pantheon Books, 2007, 2007
- First Edition
- Signed
- Hardcover
- Used
Condition: Used - Fine
£ 25.71
Quantity: 1 available
Add to basketItem description from seller
1st Printing. Signed. 660 pages. Published in 2007. The author's fourth novel. Now considered a contemporary classic. The First Hardcover Edition. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only. The First Edition is now scarce. Presents Ha Jin's "A Free Life". His first "American" novel. "Newcomers to the United States, Nan Wu and his wife, Pingping, have just brought their six-year-old son, Taotao, from China, so that they can all begin a free life in the West. Unsure but optimistic, the Wu family sets out on an uncharted journey through contemporary America in search not only of financial stability but also a sense of belonging, the tantalizing heart of the American Dream. Luminous, deeply moving, giving us both a bracingly intimate portrait of one family and a brilliant rendering of the vast, surprising, and challenging new homeland they discover together" (Publisher's blurb). Began in 2000 on a Guggenheim Fellowship, the novel has taken Ha Jin eight years, off and on, to write. At almost 700 pages, it is his longest work to date. It is also Ha Jin's second breakthrough, as a Chinese expatriate, a writer, and dare one say it, a human being: Ha Jin came to the United States as an adult barely able to speak English. He still has difficulty speaking it and has said that the main impetus for writing is the opportunity it affords him to sit down and write and re-write, edit and re-edit, and start all over again if necessary until he is satisfied with the result. He uses his acquired language as a storyteller and poet of the first rank who bears witness to the collision between personal experience (in all its pain, beauty, and complexity) and the arbitrary suffering that History, Fate, and Destiny inflict upon all human beings, whether they be powerful or powerless. His sympathy for every human being in all his or her particularity is unsurpassed among contemporary American writers. "Reading Ha Jin is like falling in love: You experience anxiety, profound self-consciousness, and an uncomfortable sensitivity to the world, and somehow it's a pleasure. Like the best writers, Ha Jin sneaks emotional power into the plainest sentences" (The New Yorker Magazine). An absolute "must-have" title for Ha Jin collectors. This copy is very prominently, neatly, and beautifully signed and dated (in the month and year of publication) in black ink-pen on the title page by the author: "Ha Jin 11/04/07". It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page or bookplate. This title is a contemporary classic. This is one of very few such signed and publication-month dated copies of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. Please note: Copies were damaged in transit by the publisher and have serious flaws even if they are New. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A scarce signed copy thus. Winner of the PEN/Hemingway Award for "Ocean of Words". Winner of the Flannery O'Connor Award For Short Fiction for "Under The Red Flag". Winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award and the National Book Award in 1999 for "Waiting". One of the finest writers of our time. A fine copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER HA JIN TITLES IN OUR CATALOG) ISBN 0375424652. …
Seller Inventory # 12665
- Title
- A FREE LIFE - Scarce Fine Copy of The First Hardcover Edition/First Printing: Signed And Dated (In The Month And Year of Publication) by Ha Jin
- Author
- Jin, Ha
- Publisher
- New York City, NY: Pantheon Books, 2007
- Publication year
- 2007
- Condition
- Fine
- Dust jacket
- Fine
- Signed
- Signed by Author
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Language
- English
- ISBN 10
- 0375424652
- ISBN 13
- 9780375424656
- Edition
- 1st Edition.
At first, their future seems well-assured--Nan’s graduate work in political science at Brandeis University would guarantee him a teaching position in China--but after the fallout from Tiananmen, Nan’s disillusionment turns him towards his first love, poetry. Leaving his studies, he takes on a variety of menial jobs while Pingping works for a wealthy widow as a cook and housekeeper. As Nan struggles to adapt to a new language and culture, his love of poetry and literature sustains him through difficult, lean years.
Ha Jin creates a moving, realistic, but always hopeful narrative as Nan moves from Boston to New York to Atlanta, ever in search of financial stability and success, even in a culture that sometimes feels oppressive and hostile. As Pingping and Taotao slowly adjust to American life, Nan still feels a strange, paradoxical attachment to his homeland, though he violently disagrees with Communist policy. And severing all ties--including his love for a woman who rejected him in his youth--proves to be more difficult than he could have ever imagined.
Ha Jin’s prodigious talents are evident in this powerful new book, which brilliantly brings to life the struggles and successes that characterize the contemporary immigrant experience. With its lyrical prose and confident grace, A Free Life is a luminous addition to the works of one of the preeminent writers in America today.
"Synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author
Ha Jin left his native China in 1985 to attend Brandeis University. He is the author of the internationally best-selling novel Waiting, which won the PEN/Faulkner Award and the National Book Award; War Trash, which won the PEN/Faulkner Award, The Crazed; In the Pond; 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; and three books of poetry. He is a professor of English at Boston University and lives in the Boston area.
"About the title" may belong to another edition of this title.
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Modern Rare is exclusively an online bookstore. Email is usually the best way to reach us: modernrarenow@gmail.com We will respond to your email query within 24 hours. We are exclusively an online bookstore because we believe this is the best way to satisfy our customers' expectations. Unlike an open bookstore, where books are routinely handled and may deteriorate, we guarantee the condition of our books as described. We specialize in modern firsts, photography, the arts, and a little bit of erotica. You will also find a fine selection of signed copies, Limited Editions, and collectible items because our ultimate goal is to deepen the pleasure of collecting books. We carry titles that we ourselves like and believe in - books that we think will excite, enchant, and endure. Please note: Payment needs to be made directly through ABEBooks. If you wish to make any other payment arrangement, please get in touch with us before placing your order. For example, Paypal can only be processed through a direct sale because ABEBooks does NOT accept Paypal payments, NO exceptions. Thank you and happy collecting!…
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