Waiting

Hardcover, 308 pages

English language

Published Oct. 4, 1999 by Pantheon.

ISBN:: 978-0-375-40653-9
OCLC Number:: 40901149
ASIN:: 0375406530
Goodreads:: 680934

In Waiting, PEN/Hemingway Award-winning author Ha Jin draws on his intimate knowledge of contemporary China to create a novel of unexpected richness and feeling. This is the story of Lin Kong, a man living in two worlds, struggling with the conflicting claims of two utterly different women as he moves through the political minefields of a society designed to regulate his every move and stifle the promptings of his innermost heart.

For more than seventeen years, this devoted and ambitious doctor has been in love with an educated, clever, 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 …

In Waiting, PEN/Hemingway Award-winning author Ha Jin draws on his intimate knowledge of contemporary China to create a novel of unexpected richness and feeling. This is the story of Lin Kong, a man living in two worlds, struggling with the conflicting claims of two utterly different women as he moves through the political minefields of a society designed to regulate his every move and stifle the promptings of his innermost heart.

For more than seventeen years, this devoted and ambitious doctor has been in love with an educated, clever, 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.

Tracing these lives through their summer of decision and beyond, Ha Jin vividly conjures the texture of daily life in a place where the demands of human longing must contend with the weight of centuries of custom. Waiting charms and startles us with its depiction of a China that remains hidden to Western eyes even as it moves us with its piercing, vision of the universal complications of love.

3 editions

Acton reviewed Waiting by Ha Jin

Review of 'Waiting' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

I found this novel to be both sad and thought-provoking. Life is especially sad for the female characters Manna and Shuyu, which is not surprising, given the place women have had in Chinese society.

The story does strike a nerve with me, since I can identify with the feeling of always waiting for or looking forward to certain times, instead of enjoying the journey as well. In a way, Ha Jin's novel is a parable warning its audience that it is best to take a good, positive look at what one already has and how to best enjoy life before deciding to pursue a radically different path.

Unfortunately, I could not identify with any of the characters; I can't imagine waiting eighteen years for a certain man to divorce his wife, I cannot imagine being poor Shuyu, who continued to work hard and love a man who did not want …

I found this novel to be both sad and thought-provoking. Life is especially sad for the female characters Manna and Shuyu, which is not surprising, given the place women have had in Chinese society.

The story does strike a nerve with me, since I can identify with the feeling of always waiting for or looking forward to certain times, instead of enjoying the journey as well. In a way, Ha Jin's novel is a parable warning its audience that it is best to take a good, positive look at what one already has and how to best enjoy life before deciding to pursue a radically different path.

Unfortunately, I could not identify with any of the characters; I can't imagine waiting eighteen years for a certain man to divorce his wife, I cannot imagine being poor Shuyu, who continued to work hard and love a man who did not want her, but most of all, I did not understand Lin, the man in the center of all this. He rejects Shuyu from the beginning, not even giving her a chance, because he does not consider her to be "presentable." It's hard for me to admire that.

Yes, this was an arranged marriage, but Lin could have backed out. He didn't because he didn't have the backbone to refuse his parents. Lin's indecisiveness, inertia, and fickleness cause all his problems. Shuyu is the one who is forced to wait through no fault of her own, yet--she seems to be the happiest character. Shuyu will always be there for Lin, but she's not waiting, but living her life, one day at a time, in contentment. I think she's a fascinating character.

Lists