A Song Everlasting
A Novel
(Sprache: Englisch)
From the universally admired, National Book Award-winning, bestselling author of Waiting a timely novel that follows a famous Chinese singer severed from his country, as he works to find his way in the United States
At the end of a U.S....
At the end of a U.S....
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From the universally admired, National Book Award-winning, bestselling author of Waiting a timely novel that follows a famous Chinese singer severed from his country, as he works to find his way in the United States At the end of a U.S. tour with his state-supported choir, popular singer Yao Tian takes a private gig in New York to pick up some extra cash for his daughter s tuition fund, but the consequences of his choice spiral out of control. On his return to China, Tian is informed that the sponsors of the event were supporters of Taiwan s secession, and that he must deliver a formal self-criticism. When he is asked to forfeit his passport to his employer, Tian impulsively decides instead to return to New York to protest the government s threat to his artistic integrity.
With the help of his old friend Yabin, Tian s career begins to flourish in the United States. But he is soon placed on a Chinese government blacklist and thwarted by the state at every turn, and it becomes increasingly clear that he may never return to China unless he denounces the freedoms that have made his new life possible. Tian nevertheless insists on his identity as a performer, refusing to give up his art. Moving, important, and strikingly relevant to our times, A Song Everlasting is a story of hope in the face of hardship from one of our most celebrated authors.
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1The evening s performance had been a success. After the finale, Yao Tian and his fellow performers from the People s Ensemble gathered onstage and bowed to the six hundred people in the auditorium. As he was making his way down the side stairs, he caught sight of a tall man at the end of the front row. The man stood there, smiling at him, while the crowd filed out the back and side doors. Soon he approached Tian. Teacher Yao, he said in English, his voice warm. I m so delighted to see you in New York. Your voice is as spectacular as it was a decade ago!
Now Tian recognized him. Han Yabin, what a miracle! Without thinking, he cried out in English, which he could speak well.
He paused, hesitant to hug his friend, aware of his colleagues observing them in amazement. Some of them might make a mental note of his warm greetings to this local man and report it to their leaders back home. So, instead, Tian held out his hand. Yabin shook it, then leaned in and whispered, Can we have a drink nearby, Teacher Yao?
By rule, Tian could not accept such an invitation without permission from the head of his troupe, so he excused himself and went up to Director Meng. I just ran into an old friend, Tian began. Can I spend a little time with him tonight? I ll be back to the hotel soon.
Meng s heavy-lidded eyes fixed on him, alarmed. Obviously he felt uneasy to let anyone in the troupe go out of his control here. Still, he said, That s fine, but don t be gone too long.
I ll be back before midnight for sure.
Out in the streets of downtown Flushing, the air smelled of rainwater. It was already nine o clock. Pedestrians rushed past Tian and Yabin as they walked down Roosevelt Avenue together. Around them, people wove brazenly through traffic to cross the street, heedless of the honking cars. The ground trembled as a semi-trailer rolled past, its side printed with Chinese characters: FRESH VEGETABLES AND FRUITS.
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Heavens, this is like China, Tian said. It s like in the middle of a provincial town.
Flushing is like a big county seat, isn t it? Yabin laughed and got hold of Tian s arm to guide him through the bustling thoroughfare.
The laugh reminded Tian of when they were both young in Beijing. Yabin had been dashing, energetic; he organized private concerts, poetry readings, literary salons, art exhibitions. Before his cultural activities were banned by the police, he had often invited Tian to sing at his events, paying him promptly and generously. He d been one of the few young Chinese in Beijing who could mingle easily with foreigners. His handsome looks opened many doors, and his two years studying at Oxford (sponsored by the Ministry of Education) taught him to speak English fluently, with a British flair, like a well-educated gentleman from Hong Kong. Americans and Brits had often assumed his accent was an affectation, and some even mocked him, saying, Your beautiful English puts me to shame. But Yabin didn t bother to acknowledge their slights, and never changed his way of speaking. Last Tian had heard, his old friend had quit his English lectureship at his university because he was not allowed to keep a relationship with a foreign woman teacher and he had gone abroad again, but Tian hadn t known he had come to New York.
Yabin still looked elegant. He was living here in Flushing now, he told Tian. He d lost his Beijing residential status it had been canceled by the police.
He took Tian to a bar called Dreamland at 38th Avenue and Prince Street. The place was crowded and noisy even
Heavens, this is like China, Tian said. It s like in the middle of a provincial town.
Flushing is like a big county seat, isn t it? Yabin laughed and got hold of Tian s arm to guide him through the bustling thoroughfare.
The laugh reminded Tian of when they were both young in Beijing. Yabin had been dashing, energetic; he organized private concerts, poetry readings, literary salons, art exhibitions. Before his cultural activities were banned by the police, he had often invited Tian to sing at his events, paying him promptly and generously. He d been one of the few young Chinese in Beijing who could mingle easily with foreigners. His handsome looks opened many doors, and his two years studying at Oxford (sponsored by the Ministry of Education) taught him to speak English fluently, with a British flair, like a well-educated gentleman from Hong Kong. Americans and Brits had often assumed his accent was an affectation, and some even mocked him, saying, Your beautiful English puts me to shame. But Yabin didn t bother to acknowledge their slights, and never changed his way of speaking. Last Tian had heard, his old friend had quit his English lectureship at his university because he was not allowed to keep a relationship with a foreign woman teacher and he had gone abroad again, but Tian hadn t known he had come to New York.
Yabin still looked elegant. He was living here in Flushing now, he told Tian. He d lost his Beijing residential status it had been canceled by the police.
He took Tian to a bar called Dreamland at 38th Avenue and Prince Street. The place was crowded and noisy even
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Autoren-Porträt von Ha Jin
HA JIN left his native China in 1985 to attend Brandeis University. He is the author of eight novels, four story collections, four volumes of poetry, a biography of Li Bai, and a book of essays. He has received the National Book Award, two PEN/ Faulkner Awards, the PEN/Hemingway Award, and the Flannery O Connor Award for Short Fiction. In 2014 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He is a professor in the creative writing program at Boston University.
Bibliographische Angaben
- Autor: Ha Jin
- 2021, 352 Seiten, Maße: 16,8 x 24,1 cm, Gebunden, Englisch
- Verlag: Pantheon
- ISBN-10: 152474879X
- ISBN-13: 9781524748791
- Erscheinungsdatum: 04.08.2021
Sprache:
Englisch
Pressezitat
***A Must-Read Summer Book Pick***Good Morning America The Boston Globe The Christian Science Monitor Minneapolis Star Tribune
Ha Jin, author of the National Book Award winning Waiting (1999) and the brilliant A Map of Betrayal (2014), writes novels defined by profound thoughtfulness and quiet, unshowy grace. His unadorned prose; cool, hypnotic style; and nuanced, compassionate portraits of characters seeking freedom and fulfillment while running up against bureaucratic, political, and personal obstacles have won him a deservedly admiring readership. His latest novel, A Song Everlasting, marshals many of these winning features in the service of a deeply moving portrait of an artist as an immigrant in a new land." The Boston Globe
"The novel explores the ideas of freedom, love and belonging through the eyes of a sometime reluctant immigrant Tian. . . . Perhaps Ha Jin s genius is how he takes the readers through a transformation of Tian s life almost without their noticing. Yet the story is not a dramatic roller coaster ride. It is more like a river that flows through a corridor of unexpected turns, still staying inside its banks." International Examiner
What is the value and cost of freedom? Yao Tian, a fictional Chinese singer, grapples with this question, as he starts afresh in the United States after defying his government, igniting 'a psychological duel from across the world.' Novelist Ha Jin paints in unaffected prose the struggles of immigrant life and the tensions between artistic drive and family duty. Tian, a kind man of conscience, ultimately triumphs. The Christian Science Monitor
National Book Award-winning author of Waiting, Ha Jin tackles what it means to be an artist and never give up in this narrative about a Chinese singer, Yao Tian, whose performance in New York jeopardizes his safety and the relationship between China and Taiwan.
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Good Morning America, 33 Books to Heat Up Your July
"Fans of serious fiction can immerse themselves in Ha Jin s latest novel, about a singer who finds himself at odds with the Chinese government after he stays in the United States a few days after his state-sanctioned tour. . . . Tian s perseverance and courage is moving and ultimately uplifting, a tribute to the price so many pay to be here."
Connie Ogle, Minneapolis Star Tribune
"Urgent . . . timely."
Wayne Schobel, Crossville Chronicle
Ha Jin s intimately precise, questioning, and quietly dramatic portrait of a devoted, ever-evolving artist committed to songs that are ecstatic and mysterious and solitary has far-reaching and profound resonance.
Donna Seaman, Booklist (starred review)
Written with great control, the novel unfolds as surprisingly as life often does.
Kirkus Reviews
Good Morning America, 33 Books to Heat Up Your July
"Fans of serious fiction can immerse themselves in Ha Jin s latest novel, about a singer who finds himself at odds with the Chinese government after he stays in the United States a few days after his state-sanctioned tour. . . . Tian s perseverance and courage is moving and ultimately uplifting, a tribute to the price so many pay to be here."
Connie Ogle, Minneapolis Star Tribune
"Urgent . . . timely."
Wayne Schobel, Crossville Chronicle
Ha Jin s intimately precise, questioning, and quietly dramatic portrait of a devoted, ever-evolving artist committed to songs that are ecstatic and mysterious and solitary has far-reaching and profound resonance.
Donna Seaman, Booklist (starred review)
Written with great control, the novel unfolds as surprisingly as life often does.
Kirkus Reviews
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