In the Pond

Set in the northern provincial commune town of Dismount Fort, "In The Pond" tells the story of Shao Bin, a downtrodden worker at the Harvest Fertilizer plant by day and an ambitious amateur artist by night. Passed over on the list to receive a larger apartment, while those in favor with the party are selected ahead of him, Shao Bin chafes at his powerlessness until he hits upon a solution: placing a satirical cartoon in the provincial newspaper. "In The Pond" is a close, unsentimental depiction of life in a small factory town; the maneuvering, posturing, petty jealousies and injustices of an ordinary man who tangles with the party bosses. Ha Jin is a writer of stark power, simple beauty, and poignant irony, and in this first novel, he creates a darkly funny, moving fable about ordinary human lives caught up in overwhelming social forces, and about the power of art to dispel the darkness.Ha Jin is the author of 'In the Pond' with ISBN 9780606218474 and ISBN 0606218475.