War Trash: A novel

War Trash: A novel

War Trash, the extraordinary new novel by the National Book Awardâ€“winning author of Waiting, is Ha Jinâ€™s most ambitious work to date: a powerful, unflinching story that opens a window on an unknown aspect of a little-known warâ€”the experiences of Chinese POWs held by Americans during the Korean conflictâ€”and paints an intimate portrait of conformity and dissent against a sweeping canvas of confrontation.

Set in 1951â€“53, War Trash takes the form of the memoir of Yu Yuan, a young Chinese army officer, one of a corps of â€œvolunteersâ€ sent by Mao to help shore up the Communist side in Korea. When Yu is captured, his command of English thrusts him into the role of unofficial interpreter in the psychological warfare that defines the POW camp.

Taking us behind the barbed wire, Ha Jin draws on true historical accounts to render the complex world the prisoners inhabitâ€”a world of strict surveillance and complete allegiance to authority. Under the rules of war and the constraints of captivity, every human instinct is called into question, to the point that what it means to be human comes to occupy the foremost position in every prisonerâ€™s mind.

As Yu and his fellow captives struggle to create some sense of community while remaining watchful of the deceptions inherent in every exchange, only the idea of home can begin to hold out the promise that they might return to their former selves. But by the end of this unforgettable novelâ€”an astonishing addition to the literature of war that echoes classics like Dostoevskyâ€™s Memoirs from the House of the Dead and the works of Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owenâ€”the very concept of home will be more profoundly altered than they can even begin to imagine.
Country USA
Manufacturer Pantheon
Binding Hardcover
ReleaseDate 2004-10-05
UnitCount 1
EANs 9780375422768

Country	USA
Manufacturer	Pantheon
Binding	Hardcover
ReleaseDate	2004-10-05
UnitCount	1
EANs	9780375422768

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