{"product_id":"ocean-of-words-stories-9780375702068","title":"Ocean of Words: Stories","description":"\u003ci\u003eWinner of the PEN\/Hemingway Award\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn \u003cb\u003eOcean of Words\u003c\/b\u003e, 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. \u003cb\u003eOcean of Words\u003c\/b\u003e is a triumphant volume, poignant, hilarious, and harrowing. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"A compelling collection of stories, powerful in their unity of theme and rich in their diversity of styles.\" --\u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Extraordinary. . . .  These stories are shot through with wit and offer glimpses of human motivation that defy retelling. . . . Read them all.\" --\u003ci\u003eBoston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"An exceptional new talent, capable of wringing rich surprises out of austere materials.\" --\u003ci\u003ePortland Oregonian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHa Jin\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003eleft his native China in 1985 to attend Brandeis University. He is the author of the internationally bestselling novel \u003cb\u003eWaiting\u003c\/b\u003e, which won the PEN\/Faulkner Award and the National Book Award, and \u003cb\u003eWar Trash\u003c\/b\u003e, which won the PEN\/Faulkner Award for Fiction, and was a Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the Kiriyama Pacific Rim Book Prize; the story collections \u003cb\u003eThe Bridegroom\u003c\/b\u003e, which won the Asian American Literary Award, \u003cb\u003eUnder the Red Flag\u003c\/b\u003e, which won the Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction, and \u003cb\u003eOcean of Words\u003c\/b\u003e, which won the PEN\/Hemingway Award; the novels \u003cb\u003eThe Crazed\u003c\/b\u003e and \u003cb\u003eIn the Pond\u003c\/b\u003e; and three books of poetry. His latest novel, \u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eA Free Life\u003c\/b\u003e is his first novel set in the United States. He lives in the Boston area and is a professor of English at Boston University.\u003cb\u003eWar Trash\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003cb\u003eThe Crazed\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003cb\u003eThe Bridegroom\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003cb\u003eWaiting\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003cb\u003eIn the Pond\u003c\/b\u003e, and \u003cb\u003eOcean of Words\u003c\/b\u003e are available in paperback from Vintage Books.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50523557593362,"sku":"9780375702068","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_e4cdbbba-b183-44a8-b150-9a8cf73ab9e8.jpg?v=1731152098","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/ocean-of-words-stories-9780375702068","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}