About this audiobook

National Book Award-winner Ha Jin brings us a collection of stories that delve into the experiences of Chinese immigrants in America. All of Ha Jin’s characters struggle in situations that stir their conflicting desires to remain attached to their native land and traditions while also exploring their newfound social and economic freedoms. A lonely composer takes comfort in the songs of his girlfriend’s parakeet; a group of young children declare their wish to change their names so that they might sound more “American,” unaware of how deeply this will sadden their grandparents; a Chinese professor of English attempts to defect with the help of a reluctant former student. In each of these deeply moving, acutely insightful, and often strikingly humorous stories we are reminded again of the storytelling prowess of this superb writer.

Audiobook details

GenreGeneral Fiction

Length7 hrs 35 mins

Narrated bya full cast, Tai Sammons, Ray Porter, Robertson Dean, Richard Powers, Anthony Heald, Kate Reading, Eddie Lopez, Malcolm Hillgartner, Bernadette Dunne, Carrington MacDuffie, Scott Brick

FormatAudiobook

Publish dateNov 24, 2009

LanguageEnglish

About the author

Ha Jin

Ha Jin left his native China in 1985 to attend Brandeis University. He is the author of eight novels, four story collections, a book of essays, and six books of poetry. He received the National Book Award, two PEN/Faulkner Awards, the PEN/Hemingway Award, the Asian American Literary Award, and the Flannery O’Connor Award, among others. His novel War Trash was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. In 2014 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He is director of the creative writing program at Boston University.View all by Ha Jin