The Crazed
Assigned to care for his fiancée's father, Professor Yang, a respected literature teacher, after he suffers a stroke, Jian Wan is disturbed when the professor begins to rave against his family, colleagues, and the system, and risks everything in a China in the midst of the violent aftermath of Tiananmen to delve into the professor's past to uncover the truth. Reader's Guide available. Reprint. 40,000 first printing.
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A New York Times Notable BookA Washington Post, Los Angeles times, and San Jose Mercury News Best Book of the YearHa Jin’s seismically powerful new novel is at once an unblinking look into the bell jar of communist Chinese society and a portrait of the eternal compromises and deceptions of the human state. When the venerable professor Yang, a teacher of literature at a provincial university, has a stroke, his student Jian Wan is assigned to care for him. Since the dutiful Jian plans to marry his mentor’s beautiful, icy daughter, the job requires delicacy. Just how much delicacy becomes clear when Yang begins to rave.Are these just the outpourings of a broken mind, or is Yang speaking the truth—about his family, his colleagues, and his life’s work? And will bearing witness to the truth end up breaking poor Jian’s heart? Combining warmth and intimacy with an unsparing social vision, The Crazed is Ha Jin’s most enthralling book to date.
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