This highly expositional audiobook reads a bit like a third-person diary—if such a thing existed. Yao Tian is an acclaimed singer from China who is touring the U.S. when one decision changes the course of his life forever. Feodor Chin is a capable narrator, moving us with a consistent pace and tone through both the mundane details of Tian's life and the dramatic revelations that take place. Sometimes the dialogue lacks distinction among the characters, and the vocal nuances and accents become muddled, but Chin keeps the stolid story on track nonetheless. The gradual unfolding of Tian's experiences may serve as an echo of how slowly change can transform a life: Chin's patient reading may remind us to stay fully engaged with our own. L.B.F. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
A Song Everlasting: A Novel
Narrated by Feodor Chin
Ha JinUnabridged — 11 hours, 39 minutes
A Song Everlasting: A Novel
Narrated by Feodor Chin
Ha JinUnabridged — 11 hours, 39 minutes
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Overview
At the end of a U.S. tour with his state-supported choir, popular singer Yao Tian takes a private gig in New York to pick up some extra cash for his daughter's tuition fund, but the consequences of his choice spiral out of control. On his return to China, Tian is informed that the sponsors of the event were supporters of Taiwan's secession, and that he must deliver a formal self-criticism. When he is asked to forfeit his passport to his employer, Tian impulsively decides instead to return to New York to protest the government's threat to his artistic integrity.
With the help of his old friend Yabin, Tian's career begins to flourish in the United States. But he is soon placed on a Chinese government blacklist and thwarted by the state at every turn, and it becomes increasingly clear that he may never return to China unless he denounces the freedoms that have made his new life possible. Tian nevertheless insists on his identity as a performer, refusing to give up his art. Moving, important, and strikingly relevant to our times, A Song Everlasting is a story of hope in the face of hardship from one of our most celebrated authors.
Editorial Reviews
05/10/2021
At the onset of the uninspired latest from Jin (The Boat Rocker), set in the early 2010s, singer Yao Tian stays behind in the U.S. for a few extra days after his state-sponsored choir’s tour ends. When his employer asks him to turn over his passport as punishment, Tian instead returns to the U.S. and settles in New York City, leaving behind his wife and teenage daughter. Now free to make his own decisions, Tian performs occasionally, sending what funds he can to his family, but after the Chinese media spreads the story of a violent altercation between Tian and his manager, his reputation is tarnished. He relocates to Boston and works for a cousin on home renovation jobs, all the while clinging to his dream of restarting his singing career, but the Chinese government cancels his passport, stranding him in the U.S. with few prospects. Jin has a knack for seamlessly compressing large swaths of time, yet Tian remains something of a mystery, with little effort made to explore his singing abilities. And though the author shuttles his protagonist through a series of trials over many years, Tian’s unfailing ability to overcome setbacks lessens the novel’s dramatic pull. As far as itinerant heroes’ quests for freedom go, this one doesn’t get the heart racing. (July)
***A Must-Read Summer Book Pick***
Good Morning America • The Boston Globe • The Christian Science Monitor • Minneapolis Star Tribune
“Ha Jin, author of the National Book Award winning Waiting (1999) and the brilliant A Map of Betrayal (2014), writes novels defined by profound thoughtfulness and quiet, unshowy grace. His unadorned prose; cool, hypnotic style; and nuanced, compassionate portraits of characters seeking freedom and fulfillment while running up against bureaucratic, political, and personal obstacles have won him a deservedly admiring readership. His latest novel, A Song Everlasting, marshals many of these winning features in the service of a deeply moving portrait of an artist as an immigrant in a new land." —The Boston Globe
"The novel explores the ideas of freedom, love and belonging through the eyes of a sometime reluctant immigrant Tian. . . . Perhaps Ha Jin’s genius is how he takes the readers through a transformation of Tian’s life almost without their noticing. Yet the story is not a dramatic roller coaster ride. It is more like a river that flows through a corridor of unexpected turns, still staying inside its banks." —International Examiner
“What is the value–and cost–of freedom? Yao Tian, a fictional Chinese singer, grapples with this question, as he starts afresh in the United States after defying his government, igniting 'a psychological duel from across the world.' Novelist Ha Jin paints in unaffected prose the struggles of immigrant life and the tensions between artistic drive and family duty. Tian, a kind man of conscience, ultimately triumphs.” –The Christian Science Monitor
“National Book Award-winning author of Waiting, Ha Jin tackles what it means to be an artist—and never give up—in this narrative about a Chinese singer, Yao Tian, whose performance in New York jeopardizes his safety and the relationship between China and Taiwan.”
—Good Morning America, 33 Books to Heat Up Your July
"Fans of serious fiction can immerse themselves in Ha Jin’s latest novel, about a singer who finds himself at odds with the Chinese government after he stays in the United States a few days after his state-sanctioned tour. . . . Tian’s perseverance and courage is moving and ultimately uplifting, a tribute to the price so many pay to be here."
—Connie Ogle, Minneapolis Star Tribune
"Urgent . . . timely."
—Wayne Schobel, Crossville Chronicle
“Ha Jin’s intimately precise, questioning, and quietly dramatic portrait of a devoted, ever-evolving artist committed to songs that are ‘ecstatic and mysterious and solitary’ has far-reaching and profound resonance.”
—Donna Seaman, Booklist (starred review)
“Written with great control, the novel unfolds as surprisingly as life often does.”
—Kirkus Reviews
06/18/2021
National Book Award winner Ha Jin (Waiting; Boat Rocker) delivers literary fiction that is character driven, and his novels and short stories focus almost exclusively on the interior thoughts of their protagonists. Here, he disentangles the existential crisis of Yao Tian, an outspoken Chinese singer who refuses to return to China for fear of political retribution. Separated from his family, Yao Tian stays in New York and attempts to retain his identity as a performer while creating a new home in the United States. The author's ability to reframe the American dream through the perspective of an immigrant and political refugee is poignant. As his opportunities as a singer evaporate, Yao Tian finds himself taking on menial jobs and even busking in the subway. Each successive year puts more strain on his family ties back in China, and he must ultimately choose between his new life in the United States and a political system that he left behind. VERDICT Some readers may not find the protagonist's internal struggle compelling, but his story is written with heart and hope.—Joshua Finnell, Colgate Univ., Hamilton, NY
This highly expositional audiobook reads a bit like a third-person diary—if such a thing existed. Yao Tian is an acclaimed singer from China who is touring the U.S. when one decision changes the course of his life forever. Feodor Chin is a capable narrator, moving us with a consistent pace and tone through both the mundane details of Tian's life and the dramatic revelations that take place. Sometimes the dialogue lacks distinction among the characters, and the vocal nuances and accents become muddled, but Chin keeps the stolid story on track nonetheless. The gradual unfolding of Tian's experiences may serve as an echo of how slowly change can transform a life: Chin's patient reading may remind us to stay fully engaged with our own. L.B.F. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
2021-05-05
A Chinese singer tries to avoid becoming a political pawn after a tour of the United States puts him at odds with his government.
Though 37 years old and a well-established vocalist in his native China, Yao Tian seems curiously naïve and passive. Things seem to happen to him; he doesn’t make them happen. At the end of his government-sponsored troupe’s American tour, he's invited by a political activist he knew in China to perform at a celebration for Taiwan’s National Day. He accepts, not out of any political convictions but because the fee he's offered will cover part of his daughter’s tuition at an expensive Beijing prep school. The performance lands him in trouble back home, where he’s threatened with the losses of employment and his passport. Those threats compel him to return to the United States, where he hopes his wife and daughter can eventually join him. The rest of the matter-of-fact narrative documents his life in America and the attempts by the Chinese government to besmirch his reputation, to turn what happens to him into a morality play about the consequences for an artist who betrays his homeland. Written with terse command, in short chapters and without literary flourish, the novel itself is no morality tale. Things happen, life is lived, a very different life than the one Tian might have known had he agreed to quit performing abroad and embarrassing his country. Far from his family and native culture, he processes personal tragedy, professional upheaval, and unlikely romance. Downward mobility takes his performing career from the concert hall to casinos to performing on the streets. Yet he doesn’t seem to regret his exchange of collective security in China for individual freedom in the U.S. Though he had never considered himself particularly political, he becomes more acutely aware of the political dimensions of his position. As he loses some of his voice as a singer, he gains more of a voice as a songwriter. He makes a life for himself, and it is one that both surprises and satisfies him.
Written with great control, the novel unfolds as surprisingly as life often does.
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940173181572 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Penguin Random House |
| Publication date: | 07/27/2021 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
Read an Excerpt
1
The evening’s performance had been a success. After the finale, Yao Tian and his fellow performers from the People’s Ensemble gathered onstage and bowed to the six hundred people in the auditorium. As he was making his way down the side stairs, he caught sight of a tall man at the end of the front row. The man stood there, smiling at him, while the crowd filed out the back and side doors. Soon he approached Tian. “Teacher Yao,” he said in English, his voice warm. “I’m so delighted to see you in New York. Your voice is as spectacular as it was a decade ago!”
Now Tian recognized him. “Han Yabin, what a miracle!” Without thinking, he cried out in English, which he could speak well.
He paused, hesitant to hug his friend, aware of his colleagues observing them in amazement. Some of them might make a mental note of his warm greetings to this local man and report it to their leaders back home. So, instead, Tian held out his hand. Yabin shook it, then leaned in and whispered, “Can we have a drink nearby, Teacher Yao?”
By rule, Tian could not accept such an invitation without permission from the head of his troupe, so he excused himself and went up to Director Meng. “I just ran into an old friend,” Tian began. “Can I spend a little time with him tonight? I’ll be back to the hotel soon.”
Meng’s heavy-lidded eyes fixed on him, alarmed. Obviously he felt uneasy to let anyone in the troupe go out of his control here. Still, he said, “That’s fine, but don’t be gone too long.”
“I’ll be back before midnight for sure.”
Out in the streets of downtown Flushing, the air smelled of rainwater. It was already nine o’clock. Pedestrians rushed past Tian and Yabin as they walked down Roosevelt Avenue together. Around them, people wove brazenly through traffic to cross the street, heedless of the honking cars. The ground trembled as a semi-trailer rolled past, its side printed with Chinese characters: FRESH VEGETABLES AND FRUITS.
“Heavens, this is like China,” Tian said. “It’s like in the middle of a provincial town.”
“Flushing is like a big county seat, isn’t it?” Yabin laughed and got hold of Tian’s arm to guide him through the bustling thoroughfare.
The laugh reminded Tian of when they were both young in Beijing. Yabin had been dashing, energetic; he organized private concerts, poetry readings, literary salons, art exhibitions. Before his cultural activities were banned by the police, he had often invited Tian to sing at his events, paying him promptly and generously. He’d been one of the few young Chinese in Beijing who could mingle easily with foreigners. His handsome looks opened many doors, and his two years’ studying at Oxford (sponsored by the Ministry of Education) taught him to speak English fluently, with a British flair, like a well-educated gentleman from Hong Kong. Americans and Brits had often assumed his accent was an affectation, and some even mocked him, saying, “Your beautiful English puts me to shame.” But Yabin didn’t bother to acknowledge their slights, and never changed his way of speaking. Last Tian had heard, his old friend had quit his English lectureship at his university because he was not allowed to keep a relationship with a foreign woman teacher and he had gone abroad again, but Tian hadn’t known he had come to New York.
Yabin still looked elegant. He was living here in Flushing now, he told Tian. He’d lost his Beijing residential status—it had been canceled by the police.
He took Tian to a bar called Dreamland at 38th Avenue and Prince Street. The place was crowded and noisy even on a Wednesday night, filled with young professional men and women in suits. Yabin knew the manager of the place, a thin man with brushy hair, who quickly led them to a quiet table in the back room, where a karaoke machine was still on. A tallish waitress turned off the Hong Kong music and pulled an iPad out of the pocket of her orange apron. Yabin ordered Jinmen sorghum baijiu and suggested Tian try it too, saying it was Taiwan’s iconic drink, smooth and mellow—it wouldn’t go to your head. Yabin loved Jinmen even more than Maotai. He ordered it the American way, on the rocks. Tian didn’t drink liquor and ordered a Heineken. He had to be careful and avoid hard alcohol that might hurt his vocal cords.
In no time the waitress returned, holding a tray loaded with their orders, a bottle of beer and four fingers of the sorghum baijiu in a squad glass. She closed the door with her hip and then served their drinks. A thin platinum band flashed on her finger as she placed a bowl of mixed nuts on the table.
When she’d left, Yabin said, “Now we can relax and enjoy ourselves.”
Although Tian was eager to hear about his friend’s life in New York, he was also tired, and nervous about spending too much time with him. He feared that his director might suspect he had an ulterior motive in meeting with a local. Quite often, members of cultural delegations—consisting of artists, musicians, actors, writers, scholars—had stolen away while visiting foreign countries, joining relatives or friends there so as to avoid returning to China. Now their troupe, a group of twenty performers from the People’s Ensemble in Beijing, was on the last leg of its five-city tour in the States. Thus far, everything had gone well, so Director Meng seemed anxious, afraid they might fall short of a complete success if someone walked away on their final night. At this very moment Meng was probably fretting about Tian’s absence, restless like an ant on a hot pan.
Yabin gave Tian his business card, which stated that he had earned his MBA from Fordham University and was an insurance broker now, with an office on Main Street in Flushing. Tian commended him, saying this was extraordinary, a model of success. “Obviously America is a land of opportunities,” he said, though aware how stale those words were.
Yabin shook his head. “That’s just a myth, Teacher Yao. Opportunities are mainly for the rich and powerful here, the same as in China. I’m no different from other FOJs—fresh off the jet. We all have to struggle hard to get anywhere.”
“Please, just call me Tian,” he said. He was thirty-seven, only one or two years older than Yabin, and preferred the American way of addressing someone by their first name.
“All right, Tian. The truth is, I’m just like most people here who have to work their asses off.”
“Still, you’re free and there’s no one lording it over you.”
Yabin laughed, as if Tian had said something vacuous. As Tian was wondering what he wanted from him, Yabin revealed his intention, saying, “There’ll be a celebration of the National Day on October 10, organized by the Great China Cultural Association. Will you be able to sing a couple of songs for them?”
Tian was surprised, uncertain how to respond—that is Taiwan’s National Day, not a holiday in the People’s Republic, whose National Day was October 1. Few people on the mainland even know Taiwan’s National Day, which is called “Double Tens” (October 10). Tian asked, “Who’s sponsoring the celebration? The Taiwanese government?”
“Not at all. Some Chinese immigrant communities in New York and New Jersey are sponsoring it, though a lot of the people are from Taiwan. If you can sing for them, I can negotiate a fee of four thousand dollars for you.”
Tian knew that Yabin was good at delivering what he promised. Four grand was almost a quarter of Tian’s annual salary, and his daughter Tingting was about to apply for an international prep school in Beijing, which required him to pay twenty thousand yuan as the first installment of the tuition—nearly three thousand dollars. The money Yabin offered was significant, worth the risk. He agreed to sing for them.
“Great, they’ll be thrilled to hear this,” Yabin said. “They’ve never had a singer of your caliber before.”
Tian knew they’d surely use his name to promote the event, but there was something else that needed arranging. He said, “Look, Yabin, I can sing for them, but my return flight to Beijing is already booked for tomorrow. I’m not sure I can change it. And also, I’d need a place to stay until the event on Saturday.”
“I’ll ask my secretary to rebook a flight for you. Rest assured, it will work out. You can stay with me after you check out of your hotel.”
“Thank you so much, Yabin. I’m not sure I can get permission from my director, but I’ll do my best.”
Tian had his flight information on his phone, which he took out and sent to Yabin’s phone. They agreed that Yabin would hear from him early the next morning for the final answer. His friend was elated, saying he hoped they could collaborate more often in the future. He told Tian, “Chinese immigrants here are too materialistic and should have more cultural life. Your appearance will make a difference.”
What Yabin said pleased Tian. He promised to consider Yabin’s future offers.
Stepping out of the bar, they said good night. Tian walked back toward the Sheraton, where he and his colleagues were staying. The neon sign glowed atop the hotel building and made it appear more imposing than it did in daylight. Beyond its domed roof a single star was flashing and glittering against a vast constellation.
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