Welcome to Litsy!

Ha Jin has the banality of Haruki Murakami & Jay McInerney's style of insight. The narrator is a journalist assigned a novel by his estranged ex-wife. His resentment runs rampant, suspecting despite good reviews from Chinese publishing in NYC & an anticipated million dollar movie deal, that it‘s fraud. He questions her motivations (including 9/11), and she fights back with a lawsuit & blacklists him in China, neutering his burgeoning career.

#TBRtemptation post 1! A fast-paced book about the balance between journalism, the freedom of speech, politics, and identity. Chinese-American journalist Feng attempts to expose his ex-wife's new novel as Communist Chinese propaganda. His new status as a naturalized US citizen may not protect him as much as he thinks. #blameLitsy #blameMrBook 😎

This is a photo of the author. We discussed the book in Book Club today and overall the group felt that it was frightening and sad. I on the other hand felt that while tragic, it was related with a sense of humor. There was hope for the main character. The story described the extent that China would go to prevent freedom of speech in the media. #diversereads

If a country misbehaves, people have every right to rein it in, give it a good kick in the ass, and fix it. This is the responsibility of the citizens.

Current Book Club read. Interesting. #diverse

Meh. I was expecting much more from this book as I have enjoyed many of Ha Jin's other books, but I was disappointed. As I read, the primary thought I kept having was that the author's heart just wasn't in it. I recommend his other work, such as Waiting and A Free Life, but not this one.

My #TBR for February, as well as what needs to be finished!

#TBRFebruary

I felt a constant low-level anxiety as I listened to this story about a new American citizen who is determined to maintain his journalistic integrity despite overwhelming odds against him. When I say overwhelming, I'm talking about the Chinese government and corruption. If you don't mind uncertainty and a vague sense of dread, you'll like this novel as much as I did.

Another word Chinese doesn't have is 'solitude.' As a result, we tend to confuse solitude with loneliness, a cursed condition often believed to be a western malaise. "You'll end up a loner," people will say, or "I love that great novel by Garcia Marquez, One Hundred Years of Loneliness."

There are always worriers who would give up eating if they could, for fear of choking.

Next up in audio, and it's read by Edoardo Ballerini. 👍

Bookmail! #RIFwinner

Happy New Releases Tuesday! Go buy some books! #getindie

So I just finished this #audiobook & I don't even know what to think. I mean, I really don't know what I think. Maybe I didn't get it b/c I'm not up on how the Chinese government works. Seriously, I can't form an opinion. Anyone read this? Any help appreciated. Note too: audio was okay but not one Chinese naturalized US citizen had an accent? Narrator Eduardo Ballerini was expressive, but I had no sense of the Chinese-ness of the characters.

This grizzled review copy is my Friday read. Do we do Friday reads at Litsy? Do we hashtag? Help