 Wreckage
By Ha Jin
Hanging Loose Press, 111 pgs
1999 National Book Award winner Ha Jin’s latest collection of poetry, Wreckage, adds to an already extraordinary career. Originally born in Liaoning Province in China, and having served in the People’s Army and as a railroad telegrapher, Jin simultaneously draws upon the mundane and the mythic to impress into lyric a series of story-cycles that chronicles, in part, the history of China from the time of the first Emperor up until the Boxer Rebellion. Ha Jin’s history of China is assembled from the individuals who lived it. In this third and most compelling collection of poetry, Ha Jin has written a beautiful and sorrowful elegy for the land and the people of China. Readers who were captivated by the luminous narrative of his acclaimed Waiting will find in Wreckage a writer once again at the peak of his powers producing work that is achingly beautiful. – Roy Kamada
 Kori: The Beacon Anthology of Korean American Fiction
Edited by Heinz Insu Fenkl and Walter K. Lew
Beacon Press Books, 263 pgs
The title of this anthology refers to the phases of traditional Korean Shamanic ritual that invoke the spirits of the ancestors — giving them voice in the world of the living. Editors Fenkl and Lew put together this comprehensive collection, introducing each author with deep insight into global history and immigration narratives. Section two is especially interesting as it focuses on early Korean American writers like Younghill Kang, who published his novel The Grass Roof in 1931 and was the first Asian American to be awarded the prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship. The fiction in this book tackles a number of key Korean American themes such as Korean adoptees, Koreans in Hawaii and the media-inflated Korean/Black inner city conflict. Kori has an excellent range, including work from the most famous Korean American author Chang-rae Lee to previously unpublished work from filmmaker Me-K Ahn. Excerpts from Theresa Hak Kyung Cha’s artist’s book DICTEE is a major highlight — showing the incredible diversity of the Korean American voice.
 Green River Daydreams
By Liu Heng
Grove Press, 332 pgs
This epic novel chronicles the implosion of the Cao family — a rich, landowning household in feudal China at the turn of the century. Chinese author Liu Heng also wrote the novella, Fuxi Fuxi, which was adapted into acclaimed film Du Jou. Prodigal son Guanghan returns from four years of schooling in France with his queue cut off and big ideas for opening a match factory with the help of a dashing French engineer nicknamed Big Road by the family. The tale is told through the voice of slave-boy Ears, who lives up to his name as he carefully observes all the overt and covert action that unfolds with the impetuous son’s return. In his disdain for all that is traditional, Guanghan ignores the beautiful, young Yunan — to whom his marriage was arranged. Ears watches as Yunan and Big Road become increasingly close and the rest of the family falls apart, while tensions between the Qing imperialists and the resistance become a bloody reality. Seeing the birth of modern China through the eyes of Ears, one of the most memorable narrators in recent fiction, gives depth to this important historical moment. |
