Description
Set against the devastation of the Japanese invasion and occupation of Nanjing in 1937, this novel follows the lives of those caught in the city’s collapse—where survival depends on obedience, courage, and the fragile hope that moral choices still matter. Through the experiences of a young boy swept up into forced service and a Chinese woman connected to a Western-run college, the story traces how ordinary routines fracture under terror, and how institutions and individuals respond when violence becomes systematic. Ha Jin’s spare, unsentimental style brings historical immediacy to themes of complicity and conscience, the ethics of protection, and the human cost of war. Blending intimate character perspective with a sweeping historical backdrop, the book confronts the Nanjing Massacre with unflinching clarity and emotional restraint.
Available Editions
paperback
Pantheon Books
Published Jan 1, 2011
303 pages
ISBN: 9780307379764
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Details
First Published
2011
Language
eng
Content Warnings
Content and trigger warnings for Nanjing Requiem by Ha Jin.