Twelve stories written in English by a Chinese-born veteran of the People's Liberation Army, about experiences undergone by its soldiers while on duty near the Russian border in the early 1970s. Ha Jin vividly evokes the renegade humanity that runs counter to officially ""correct"" behavior and is at his best in such extended character portrayals as ""The Russian Prisoner"" (about the shifting relationship between soldiers on guard duty and their canny charge) and ""Dragon Head"" (a complex delineation of a model's soldier's progress, disgrace, and mixed effect on those who thought they knew him). Unusual and distinctive work from an accomplished new writer.