Ha Jin: WAITING

Synopsis: For more than seventeen years, Lin Kong, a devoted and ambitious doctor, has been in love with a modern woman, Manna Wu. But back in the traditional world of his home village lives the wife his family chose for him when he was young--a humble and touchingly loyal woman, whom he visits in order to ask, again and again, for a divorce. In a culture in which the ancient ties of tradition and family still hold sway and where adultery discovered by the Party can ruin lives forever, Lin's passionate love is stretched ever more taut by the passing years. Every summer, his compliant wife agrees to a divorce but then backs out. This time, Lin promises, will be different.

I got interested in reading Ha Jin's WAITING because it won two major literary prizes - the National Book Award and PEN/Hemingway Award. I'm happy with my decision to read it. I felt like I commiserated with the major characters' waiting while enjoying the simple yet rich prose of the book. The pain and, sometimes, boredom of waiting are effectively written.

Rating: 4.50/5.00

{05 April 2010}