War trash / Ha Jin.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Jin, Ha, 1956-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Chinese.

Korea.

Korean War, 1950-1953--Fiction.

Korean War, 1950-1953.

Chinese--Korea--Fiction.

Prisoners of war--Fiction.

Prisoners of war.

Genre:

War stories.

Fiction.

Physical Description:

viii, 352 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Pantheon Books, 2004.

Summary:

War Trash, the extraordinary new novel by the National Book Award-winning author of Waiting, is Ha Jin's most ambitious work to date: a powerful, unflinching story that opens a window on an unknown aspect of a little-known war - the experiences of Chinese POWs held by Americans during the Korean conflict-and paints an intimate portrait of conformity and dissent against a sweeping canvas of confrontation. Set in 1951-53, War Trash takes the form of the memoir of Yu Yuan, a young Chinese army officer, one of a corps of "volunteers" 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 inhabit - 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 prisoner'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 novel - an astonishing addition to the literature of war that echoes classics like Dostoevsky's Memoirs from the House of the Dead and the works of Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen - the very concept of home will be more profoundly altered than they can even begin to imagine.

Contents:

1 Crossing the Yalu 6

2 Our Collapse South of the Thirty-Eighth Parallel 18

3 Three Months of Guerrilla Life 30

4 Dr. Greene 42

5 Compound 72 on Koje Island 61

6 Father Woodworth 74

7 Betrayal 83

8 A Dinner 91

9 Before the Screening 99

10 The Screening 113

11 Compound 602 116

12 Staging a Play 129

13 An Unusual Request 134

14 A Test 142

15 Meeting with Mr. Park 149

16 Meeting with General Bell 154

17 The Abduction of General Bell 161

18 After the Victory 186

19 The Apprehension of Commissar Pei 194

20 Arrival at Cheju Island 203

21 Communication and Study 209

22 The Pei Code 217

23 The Visit of a Young Woman 228

24 Raising the National Flag 233

25 Another Sacrificed Life 244

26 Kill! 251

27 A Talk with Captain Larsen 258

28 Entertainment and Work 267

29 A Surprise 275

30 The Final Order 278

31 At the Reregistration 284

32 Back to Cheju 293

33 Confusion 308

34 A Good Companion 318

35 In the Demilitarized Zone 322

36 A Different Fate 336.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

0375422765

OCLC:

54529825