Name: The Crazed
ISBN: 9781407020327

Ha Jin

Professor Yang, a respected teacher of literature, has had a stroke and it falls to Jian Wan - who is also engaged to Yang's daughter - to care for him. It initially seems a simple duty until the professor begins to rave, pleading with invisible tormentors and denouncing his family... Are these just manifestations of illness, or is Yang spewing up the truth? In a China convulsed by the Tiananmen uprising, those who listen to the truth are as much at risk as those who speak it. Lyrical and heart-breaking, The Crazed is an incisive portrait of modern Chinese society.

The Crazed

Een professor krijgt een beroerte, waarna zijn student en aanstaande schoonzoon plichtsgetrouw de verzorging op zich neemt.

A Novel

Jeremy Wang

this was a fascinating psychological portrait. i’m especially interested in the way chinese writing seems to consistently portray the political as completely intertwined with the personal. of course this is a legacy of the cultural revolution, but it’s still surprising to see the ways this can manifest. 

for professor yang, each one of his psychological layers plays differently with the political system around him, and this is gradually unveiled to us as his deteriorated mind leaks more and more unspoken stories of the past. ha jin does this pretty masterfully; at first, we’re tricked into believing that yang has simply been a greedy, scheming rat under the cloak of an exceptionally productive professorship, but then we learn about his past affairs and how they bind him, his genuine love of knowledge and how it crippled him. 

somehow jian felt a little flatter to me, carried ideologically on the currents of his teacher’s erratic ranting in an agency-less way. but it was still interesting to watch him try and live out what appears to be yang’s underlying philosophy in the modern world and faced with his own personal constraints. 

the craft of this book was also quite unique; despite being written in english, it still reads like a translated work, especially in the dialogue. also, jin’s use of poetry and song throughout is refreshing and forces you to stop and think clearly.

In THE CRAZED, Ha Jin deepens his portrait of Chinese society while exploring the perennial conflicts between convention and individualism, integrity and pragmatism, loyalty and betrayal. Proffor Yang, a respected teacher of literature at a provincial university, has had a stroke, and his student Jian Wan - who is also engaged to Yang's daughter - has been assigned to care for him. What initially seems a simple if burdensome duty becomes more problematic when the professor begins to rave: pleading with invisible tormentors, denouncing his family, his colleagues and Chinese society. Are these just manifestations of illness, or is Yang spewing up the truth? In a China convulsed by the Tiananmen uprising, those who listen to the truth are as much at risk as those who speak it. At once nuanced and fierce, earthy and humane, THE CRAZED is futher evidence of Ha Jin's prodigious narrative gifts.

Melody Izard

A stroke victim sometimes babbles nonsense that just might be more truthful than his pre-stroke talk. The message of the book seems a little jumbled to me. But liked the exposure to an insider's view of Chinese academic life.

vania

Ainsley Jeffery

Kamil

Assigned to care for his fiancâee's father, Professor Yang, after he suffers a stroke, Jian Wan is disturbed when the professor begins to rave against his family and colleagues, and takes great risks to uncover the truth.

The Crazed

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