A Free Life

In the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, Nan Wu steps off the cracked sidewalks of Beijing into Boston’s brisk air, leaving behind a future in political science for a freer, if more uncertain, life in 1990s America. At Brandeis University dorms, he clings to poetry like a lighthouse in a storm—while Pingping’s steady hands chop vegetables in a wealthy widow’s kitchen and young Taotao navigates school hallways where English words feel like hidden puzzles. As Nan drifts from Boston to New York’s humming subways and Atlanta’s warm streets, he trades lectures for menial jobs, his love of literature a defiant drumbeat against cultural isolation and the hostility that immigrant families often face. This moving portrait of one family’s determined pursuit of Immigration Rights and Cultural Understanding fuses lyrical prose with grounded realism, revealing how each scraped-together paycheck and shared meal knits them closer to their new home. Ha Jin’s masterful storytelling shines brightest in moments of quiet endurance—a midnight bus ride, a whispered line of verse, a mother’s soft reassurance—that capture the universal longing for belonging. Tap the external link button below to explore purchase and rental options.