A map of betrayal, jins seventh novel, allows jin to plumb the depths of his conscience for a tale that encapsulates u. His notable novels included waiting 2000 and war trash 2004. Nov 04, 2014 in his absorbing new book, a map of betrayal, the author offers his most searing portrait yet of divided loyalties. Ha jins a map of betrayal is a good story, but not an exciting read. Ha jin s 1999 novel waiting received the national book award and the penfaulkner award, an astonishing achievement for a writer who, like conrad. Deciding which one you will identify with the chinese father gary shang or daughter lilian shang is one of the central pleasures of reading this forrest gumplike novel. Yes, im glad i listened to it, but hope the next ha jin book recaptures the character and story driven realism i have come to expect from his work. A map of betrayal is an excellent and compelling read. He grew up during the cultural revolution, served in the army, and earned both his ba and ma at chinese institutions before arriving in the us on a student visa to pursue a phd in english at brandeis university. A map of betrayal by ha jin penguin books australia. Jin himself was born and raised in china, though hes made a home for himself in. Yes, im glad i listened to it, but hope the next ha jin book recaptures the character and story driven realism i.
Ha jins new novel,a map of betrayal, is the story of a chinese spy who is caught and abandoned by his country. Jin began to educate himself in chinese literature and high school curriculum at sixteen. About this guide the questions, discussion topics, and reading list that follow are intended to enhance your reading groups discussion of a map of betrayal, national book awardwinning author ha jins tale of espionage, honor, and conflicted loyalties in the intertwined histories of china and the united states and in the lives of two families. Digital rights management drm the publisher has supplied this book in encrypted form, which means that you need to install free software in order to unlock and read it. Click download or read online button to get ha jin book now.
A map of betrayal, ha jins latest novel, ponders a spy caught between china and the u. Its difficult to believe that you are reading fiction when you read a map of betrayal by ha jin. Around the time of tiananmen, jin also decided to begin writing in english, and many of his later novels a map of betrayal, a free life see him inhabit chineseamericans thrust into. Nov 18, 2014 a map of betrayal explores themes of alienation and bonedeep loneliness that ha jin has written about in such novels as waiting and a free life, but with an extra element. China his land of birth and the us where he has lived for most of his life, as a spy for the chinese governement. A map of betrayal by ha jin penguin random house canada. Whether youve loved the book or not, if you give your honest and detailed thoughts then people will find new books that are right for them. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. A map of betrayal explores themes of alienation and bonedeep loneliness that ha jin has written about in such novels as waiting and a free life, but with an extra element.
Ha jin is a voice at once outside and inside the culture. Love, war, duty and the march towards progress, for better or for worse, make up the stepping stones of this wideranging novel. A christian science monitor best book of the year lilian shang, a history professor in maryland, knew that her father, gary, had been. Ha jins a map of betrayal offers a spy novel without. In ha jins new novel, a man drifts into the world of espionage and becomes a longterm chinese communist mole within the c. In his absorbing new book, a map of betrayal, the author offers his most searing portrait yet of divided loyalties. Ha jin, author of a map of betrayal ha jins new spy novel resembles the story of the reallife chinese agent larry chin and echoes the expat authors own experiences.
Jins antihero is gary shang, the biggest chinese spy ever caught in north america. Free shipping and pickup in store on eligible orders. Early on, shangs english skills land him a job as a translator with the americans stationed in china, but. Ha jins latest novel, a map of betrayal, tells the story of shang weimin, a chinese mole within the c. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read a map of betrayal. A map of betrayal is the first book by ha jin ive read yes, yes, i now, shame on me. Beneath the quiet poetry of ha jins sentences is a searing novelistic ambition. When lilian shang, born and raised in america, discovers her fathers diary after the death of her parents, she is shocked by the secrets it contains.
In a map of betrayal, ha jin writes in chapters that switch between lillians stages of discovery set in more contemporary times and gary shangs life, which the reader follows from 1949 when the communists seized power in china to 1980. This study guide consists of approximately 34 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of a map of betrayal. Nov, 2014 ha jin s new novel, a map of betrayal, is the story of a chinese spy who is caught and abandoned by his country. Author and poet ha jin left china in 1985 to attend.
It unfolds as the american born daughter of gary shang, a convicted cia mole and a hero in communist china, works her way through her fathers discovered diary after the death of her parents. Monday morning book group a map of betrayal by ha jin. Ha jins selfrevealing study of the chinese poet li bai. Jul 15, 2015 ha jin is a voice at once outside and inside the culture. The monday morning book group will discuss a map of betrayal by ha jin, a riveting tale of espionage and conflicted loyalties that spans half a century. A map of betrayal, the new novel from the penfaulknerwinning author ha jin waiting, nanjing requiem is a haunting tale of two families and two countries that are linked together by the life of a single spy. The questions, discussion topics, and reading list that follow are intended to enhance your reading groups discussion of a map of betrayal, national book awardwinning author ha jin s tale of espionage, honor, and conflicted loyalties in the intertwined histories of china and the united states and in the lives of two families. A map of betrayal is ha jins heartbreaking portrait of a spy torn. A chinese translator spends 30 years undercover at the cia in national book award winner ha jins spare yet powerful new novel, a map of.
A map of betrayal, by ha jin anz litlovers litblog. Ha jin, chinese american writer who used plain, unadorned english prose to explore the tension between the individual and the family, the modern and the traditional, and personal feelings and duty. A novel at the 2015 library of congress national book festival in washington, d. Its a story about loyalty, about a man being torn between two lives and two countries. From the national book award and penfaulknerwinning author jin waiting comes a womans inquisition into the limits of her fathers loyalty to his nation and family. I have enjoyed other books narrated by angela lin nanjing requiem and thoroughly enjoyed the performance and book. Feb 17, 2020 ha jin, chinese american writer who used plain, unadorned english prose to explore the tension between the individual and the family, the modern and the traditional, and personal feelings and duty. He claims to be one of the prime drivers for a coup that has come to be called ping pong diplomacy, a series of table tennis ping pong games between the two countries that signaled a thaw in relations. A map of betrayal, by ha jin i picked this up on a whim at the library, not knowing anything about the book or the author, but when i got home i discovered that i already had an early novel by ha jin, its called waiting 1999. A christian science monitor best book of the year from the awardwinning author of waiting and war trash. When americanborn professor of asian studies lillian shang inherits her father garys journals, she uncovers details of his fourdecade career as a spy for communist china. Most spy thrillers are about coldhearted people betraying one. But a new novel from ha jin was inspired by spy who, when he was caught, insisted he was looking out for two countries. The title a map of betrayal signals a pathway into the novel in two ways.
The father had been hired on as a translator in shanghai by an intelligence. In a map of betrayal, gary shang is always looking for ways to bring the two countries he loves, china and the united states, together. A map of betrayal, ha jin s latest novel, ponders a spy caught between china and the u. The books main weakness is that ha jins signature unhurried pace is filled with newsreels instead of the.
With one foot in china and the other in the united states, ha jin is the quintessential chineseamerican writer. From the awardwinning author of waiting and war trash. Map of betrayal by ha jin is the story of weimin gary shang who was a chinese spy who infiltrated. You may also entertain the preconceived notion that you find foreign books boring or dense with historical references you will not understand.
The twotime penfaulknerwinning author has created a novel thats also a primer on modern china, seen through the perspective of chinese immigrants living in the united states. Kevin nance, chicago tribune international intrigue and familial secrets merge in a map of betrayal, a subtle pageturner by the national book awardwinning author of waiting. The protagonists of ha jins latest novel, a map of betrayal, occupy the treacherous territory of margins gary shang, the biggest chinese. The questions, discussion topics, and reading list that follow are intended to enhance your reading groups discussion of a map of betrayal, national book awardwinning author ha jins tale of espionage, honor, and conflicted loyalties in the intertwined histories of china and the united states and in the lives of two families. A christian science monitor best book of the year lilian shang, a. Dec 26, 2014 a map of betrayal, jins seventh novel, allows jin to plumb the depths of his conscience for a tale that encapsulates u. Other readers will always be interested in your opinion of the books youve read. Its hard not to see ha jins latest book, a map of betrayal, in this light.
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