Books by Ha Jin
War Trash
by Ha Jin
☆ Shortlisted for the 2005 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction
War Trash by the Chinese novelist Ha Jin was recommended by Bruce Cumings, Gustavus F. and Ann M. Swift Distinguished Service Professor of History and the College at the University of Chicago and one of the world’s leading authorities on the Korean War. He says, “I just thought that it was a very clear-eyed and true account. It rings very true when you know what is in the archives, even though he didn’t do archive research at all.” War Trash also won the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction and was a finalist for the 2005 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction.
“Ha Jin’s novel is obviously based on either his experience or his father’s experience of the Korean War. There are some very stark and striking descriptions. He didn’t have access to South Korea, but he has this wonderful ability to treat everybody fairly and to listen to the songs of women guerrillas that were captured by South Korean prison camps and enjoy listening to them. He does the same thing with North Korean and Chinese soldiers and the civilians who were caught up in the battle” Read more...
The best books on The Korean War
Bruce Cumings, Historian
Interviews where books by Ha Jin were recommended
Historical Novels Set in Asia
The complex history of Asia makes for a broad range of historical fiction. Here, we’ve collected the historical novels set in Asia that have been recommended in Five Books interviews, including Jing-Jing Lee’s How We Disappeared—a historical novel about the Japanese occupation of Singapore—and Amitav Ghosh’s The Glass Palace, which follows the life of the last Burmese king and his family.
Historical Fiction Recommended by Historians
When they’re done well, historical novels are a really exciting way to learn about history, because they combine the emotional involvement of fiction with the narrative of events that took place and details of how life was lived in the past. For that reason, we’re always excited when a historian chooses a work of historical fiction as one of their expert recommendations.
The best books on The Korean War, recommended by Bruce Cumings
Before Vietnam, America fought in the Korean War—but its role in that conflict has been far less examined. Award-winning historian Bruce Cumings talks about the misconceptions many people still hold, and how they distort our understanding of the current North Korean regime.
The best books on China’s Darker Side, recommended by Harry Wu
Activist Harry Wu spent 19 years in Mao’s labour camps and devoted years to uncovering what goes on in China’s ‘laogai’ or ‘reform-through-labour’ camps. He picks five books showing China’s darker side.
