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© 2000 Kathy Craig |
Waiting
by Ha Jin
March 2001
Synopsis
"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." (Publisher)
Reviews
- "Ha Jin will no doubt have people lined up to read whatever follows Waiting his lyrical National Book Award winner about the half-life of love in communist China. With an outrage that stems from his former life as a Red Army soldier-along with a poet's touch-Ha tells the story of Lin Kong, a man whose decision to wait for change, in politics and in the murky waters of the heart, never pays off." (Time Out New York)
- "The nature of love, family duty, and divorce are explored with unnerving insight in this 1999 National Book Award nominee." (Megan Harlan - Entertainment Weekly)
- "The winner of numerous awards for his short fiction and poetry, Emory English professor Ha Jin offers his first full-length novel. It tells the story of Lin Kong, an officer and doctor living in China during the mid-1960s. The novel spans 20 years and takes readers on Kong's life journey. In the beginning, Kong follows the wishes of his parents, entering into a loveless arranged marriage and producing a daughter. Living separately from his family for the duration of his marriage, Kong falls in love with Manna Wu, a nursing student in the hospital where he works. For 18 years they remain friends but not lovers until Kong is able to secure a divorce from his wife. The author, a native of China, cleverly draws from his personal life in a Communist society to create a realistic story. Like fellow Chinese authors Pu Ning and Hong Ying, he illustrates the difficulties that one faces when living in an oppressed society. This touching story about love, honor, duty, and family speaks feelingly to readers on matters of the heart. A nice addition to most larger library fiction and Asian literature collections." (Library Journal)
Book Club Rating and Comments
If you or your book club has read this book and would like to share your comments, please email us at upthecreekbc@yahoo.com.
Other Books by Ha Jin
- 'Between Silences: A Voice from China'
- 'The Bridegroom'
- 'Facing Shadows'
- 'In the Pond'
- 'Ocean of Words: Army Stories'
- 'Under the Red Flag'
- 'Wreckage'