IN THE POND

Cambridge, MA: Zoland Books, 1998. First Edition. First Printing.. Hardcover. Fine/Fine Dust Jacket.. Cambridge, MA: Zoland Books, 1998. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. First Edition/First Printing. 178 pages. The author's debut novel. One of Ha Jin's finest achievements. The First Hardcover Edition. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only by a small press. The First Edition is now scarce. Presents Ha Jin's "In The Pond". His triumphant first novel: Suffused with genuine humor and a melancholy sense about life. Beautifully conceived and fully realized, Ha Jin's singular achievement is that he has seamlessly melded historical fact to his own personal experience. The weight of senseless History impinges upon his characters, often unbearably so. Still, History never completely overwhelms what is most illuminating about every particular human being, or as Harold Bloom once memorably put it, "every particular human suffering, which is the true subject of literature". Ha Jin once publicly remarked that he will always have difficulty speaking English, and that it is precisely his impetus for writing. It allows him to sit down, write, and re-write; edit and re-edit; and start all over again until he is satisfied with the voice on the page (that he lacks in speech) . In the process, he has begun and abandoned works he has lost count of. But he has learned the language to the point that he is now regarded as one of its contemporary Masters. He uses his acquired language as a storyteller and poet of the first rank who bears witness to the collision between personal experience (in all its complexity) and the arbitrariness that History, Fate, and Destiny inflict upon all human beings, whether they be powerful or powerless. "Ha Jin profoundly understands the conflict between the individual and society, between the timeless universality of the human heart and constantly shifting politics of the moment. With wisdom, restraint and empathy for all his characters, he vividly reveals the complexities and subtleties of a world and a people we desperately need to know" (Award Citation, National Book Award) . An absolute "must-have" title for Ha Jin collectors. This copy is very prominently, neatly, and beautifully signed in black ink-pen on the title page by Ha Jin. It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. This title is a contemporary classic. This is one of few such signed copies of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. Please note: Copies available online have serious flaws, are subsequent printings, or are remainder-marked. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A scarce signed copy thus. Winner of the PEN/Hemingway Award for "Ocean of Words". Winner of the Flannery O'Connor Award For Short Fiction for "Under the Red Flag". Winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award and the National Book Award in 1999 for "Waiting". One of the finest writers of our time. A fine copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER HA JIN TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 0944072925.