THE BRIDEGROOM

New York City, NY: Pantheon, 2000. First Edition. First Printing.. Hardcover. Fine/Fine Dust Jacket.. New York City, NY: Pantheon, 2000. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. First Edition/First Printing. 225 pages. The author's third collection of short stories. Now considered a contemporary classic. The First Hardcover Edition. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only. The First Edition is now scarce. Presents Ha Jin's "The Bridegroom". Possibly his best collection. At first, the comparison with Isaac Babel, the greatest Russian short-story writer of the 20th century, seemed overblown. But with his third collection, Ha Jin should now put all doubts to rest about his mastery of the form. Indeed, with his ability to evoke mood, convey feeling, and capture the meaning of an ephemeral moment, Ha Jin is probably "wired" more as a short story writer (and poet) than anything else. The weight of history impinges upon his characters, often unbearably so, but the historical canvas never overwhelms what is most gripping about any story, the destiny of every particular human being or as Harold Bloom once put it, "every particular human suffering, which is the true subject of literature". He uses his acquired language as an incomparable storyteller and poet of the first rank who bears witness to the collision between personal experience (in all its pain, beauty, and complexity) and the arbitrary suffering that History, Fate, and Destiny inflict upon all human beings, whether they be powerful or powerless. His sympathy for every human being in all his or her particularity is unsurpassed among contemporary American writers. "Ha Jin profoundly understands the conflict between the individual and society, between the timeless universality of the human heart and constantly shifting politics of the moment. With wisdom, restraint, and empathy for all his characters, he vividly reveals the complexities and subtleties of a world and a people we desperately need to know" (Award Citation, National Book Award). "Reading Ha Jin is like falling in love: You experience anxiety, profound self-consciousness, and an uncomfortable sensitivity to the world, and somehow it's a pleasure. Like the best writers, Ha Jin sneaks emotional power into the plainest sentences" (The New Yorker Magazine). An absolute "must-have" title for Ha Jin collectors. This copy is very prominently, neatly, and beautifully signed in black pen on the title page by Ha Jin. It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. This title is a contemporary classic. This is one of few such signed copies of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. Please note: Copies available online have serious flaws, are subsequent printings, or are remainder-marked. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A scarce signed copy thus. Winner of the PEN/Hemingway Award for "Ocean of Words". Winner of the Flannery O'Connor Award For Short Fiction for "Under the Red Flag". Winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award and the National Book Award in 1999 for "Waiting". One of the finest writers of our time. A fine copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER HA JIN TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 0375420673.