A Free Life by Ha Jin

How does a Chinese immigrant deal with cultural, political, and emotional adjustment to his new country while struggling to support himself and pursue his not-very-remunerative passion for writing poetry? Author Ha Jin brings to this subject his own experience as a literary immigrant who has won many awards including a National Book Award. In A Free Life (Jin's fifth novel) he focuses most on his hero's inner life, but the lives of his wife and son also draw the reader in. The painful struggle to gain an economic foothold in this country yields gradually to the ability to pursue interests beyond the need for simple subsistence. It's Maslow's hierarchy written from the gritty bottom to the top in a cross cultural situation. Great book.