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Ocean of Words: Army Stories (1996)

Tekijä: Ha Jin

Jäseniä	Kirja-arvosteluja	Suosituimmuussija	Keskimääräinen arvio	Maininnat
178	4	152,718	(3.8)	8
Winner of the PEN/Hemingway Award The place is the chilly border between Russia and China. The time is the early 1970s when the two giants were poised on the brink of war. And the characters in this thrilling collection of stories are Chinese soldiers who must constantly scrutinize the enemy even as they themselves are watched for signs of the fatal disease of bourgeois liberalism. In Ocean of Words, the Chinese writer Ha Jin explores the predicament of these simple, barely literate men with breathtaking concision and humanity. From amorous telegraphers to a pugnacious militiaman, from an inscrutable Russian prisoner to an effeminate but enthusiastic recruit, Ha Jin's characters possess a depth and liveliness that suggest Isaac Babel's Cossacks and Tim O'Brien's GIs. Ocean of Words is a triumphant volume, poignant, hilarious, and harrowing. "A compelling collection of stories, powerful in their unity of theme and rich in their diversity of styles." --New York Times Book Review "Extraordinary. . . . [These stories are shot through with wit and offer glimpses of human motivation that defy retelling. . . . Read them all." --Boston Globe "An exceptional new talent, capable of wringing rich surprises out of austere materials." --Portland Oregonian… (lisätietoja)

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Works cited in Palimpsest: A History of the Written Word by Matthew Battles (41)

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päivämäärä ▼ | äänet

näyttää 4/4

Easy Read, Well Put-Together Stories

Written in Ha Jin's usual concise style, "Ocean of Words" is a fine collection of about a dozen short stories. These stories have much more action and move much faster than Ha Jin's novels, which I also enjoy.

Each story takes place along the tense Russian/Chinese border in the 1970's. We meet many different characters, mostly men, whose roles in the army differ. There are a few characters who fall in love, including one who becomes infatuated with the clicking style of a telegraph operator. There is a veteran of the Long March who offers a less than heroic narrative. There is a member of the local militia guard who steals hats from the military, causing the military to have fits with how to deal with the locals. There is also the story of a young scholar is taken in by a general and whose most prized possession is an old dictionary titled "Ocean of Words."

The stories can all be read separately. There is no continuity between them besides the setting. Together though, they form a very enjoyable and somewhat humorous look at a very difficult time for soldiers. (

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mvblair | Aug 8, 2020 |

Ocean of Words is made up of twelve short stories, all centered around Chinese soldiers on the brink of war with Russia in the early 1970s. In every story there is a Chinese soldier wrestling with suspicion, loyalty, individualism and power. They all wave weaknesses or flaws that render them human above all else. Each character possesses a depth of personality that leaves the reader thinking about him long after the story has ended. I particularly liked the title story in which the "ocean of words" is a dictionary indexed in Chinese, Latin and English. (

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SeriousGrace | Feb 21, 2014 |

'Ocean of Words' is a collection of 12 stories and portrays army life on the chilly border between China and Russia in the early '70s. (

)

helka | Sep 22, 2009 |

Solid writing, and this book is similar to other war stories from Russian writers about the tedium of war in the camp in very cold weather. The book has 12 stories, all about soldiers encamped in very could weather in China on the Russian Front. Not an indictment of Communism, did not seem overly political. Just quiet cleverly crafted Chinese war fiction around themes of isolation, love, betrayal, ambition, teamwork and friendship. I would recommend this more for fans of Chinese fiction than war lovers. And one of the stories, I think Love in the Air is the title, not sure - gets the concept of a love story just right; heart-wrenching, realistic and rewarding. That's a gem stuck in here. (

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shawnd | Dec 5, 2007 |

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näyttää 4/4

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Ocean of Words: Army Stories

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Alkuperäinen julkaisuvuosi

1996

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Winner of the PEN/Hemingway Award The place is the chilly border between Russia and China. The time is the early 1970s when the two giants were poised on the brink of war. And the characters in this thrilling collection of stories are Chinese soldiers who must constantly scrutinize the enemy even as they themselves are watched for signs of the fatal disease of bourgeois liberalism. In Ocean of Words, the Chinese writer Ha Jin explores the predicament of these simple, barely literate men with breathtaking concision and humanity. From amorous telegraphers to a pugnacious militiaman, from an inscrutable Russian prisoner to an effeminate but enthusiastic recruit, Ha Jin's characters possess a depth and liveliness that suggest Isaac Babel's Cossacks and Tim O'Brien's GIs. Ocean of Words is a triumphant volume, poignant, hilarious, and harrowing. "A compelling collection of stories, powerful in their unity of theme and rich in their diversity of styles." --New York Times Book Review "Extraordinary. . . . [These stories are shot through with wit and offer glimpses of human motivation that defy retelling. . . . Read them all." --Boston Globe "An exceptional new talent, capable of wringing rich surprises out of austere materials." --Portland Oregonian

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