Waiting

Rating:
Summary: peace in the turmoil of china
Review: HA JIN's Waiting is a quick read for me. I spend only one day to finish it off. But its simple narrative enthralled greatly. I am a native Chinese speaker and English is my second language, same as the author himself. But his command of the English language is really impressive. From the interviews of the author, we know that he treats his draft very seriously, often rewrites them more than ten times. Some vocabulary are definitely impressive, such as "nippy",
"french chalk", "kraft paper", "dog-dead", "wisp", etc. His narrative has a rather fixed plot - first, some hope for marriage, then some diversions, either a potential mate, a sexual encounter, it makes the waiting more unexpected, as a supposed long march to marriage. once in a while he will describe the physical environment such as the polar trees, grass, the sentry post, which reminds me a Brownte novel. The historical context is always present. the cultural revolution, the reform after Deng. Ha Jin described what he know best, namely the chinese army. He served in the PLA for a number of years before enrolling in the university after 1977. This background will reapprear in his newest novel, WAR TRASH, in which he described the wrenching expierence of a chinese POW in the Korean War. I reject some reviews which read too much politics in the novel though. This novel is basically a novel about humanity, love, relationship, society, not about ideology. Both Manna WU and the protagonist is not ideologically inclined to anything, all they believe is humanity and progress. that is all. This novel reminds me a recent short fiction by JIAN MA in on recent issue of New Yorker, in which a mid-level party official try to get rid of his baby-girl fruitlessly, for consecutively dozens of times. I suspect some borrowing here, I mean on the part of JIAN MA. But obviously JIAN MA is shadowing more family planning politics in his short fiction.


Rating:
Summary: Waited for the end . . .
Review: I have to agree with many other reviews on this one. I spent the first 100 pages of this novel waiting for the story to pick up the pace. The story is about a love affair in perpetuity. Manna Wu and Lin Kong are comrades and soul mates who meet while working at a hospital in China during the Cultural Revolution. The relationship has one huge hurdle, Lin is married. Although the marriage was arranged by his parents and based on the parents' need for elderly care, Lin is bound to the union by tradition and law. Each year, Lin returns to his village from his job in the city to request the court to grant him a divorce from his wife. Each year, the request is denied and Lin returns to the city where he and Manna's relationship grow more intense - the absence of any physical expression of their love also serves to intensify their bond. Finally, after waiting eighteen years, Lin is granted a divorce from his wife with the understanding that he is to pay alimony and find their daughter a job in the city. He and Manna are married and begin their life legitimately as husband and wife. Lin, newly married - and unlike his previous marriage, living with his wife - finds the daily demands of marriage exhausting. Soon, Lin begins to questions his love for Manna and his decision to leave his first wife.

Ultimately, the novel explores the nature of love and personal commitment in the face of social and government restrictions. Although "Waiting" starts off slow, it picks up a bit in the later half of the book. Ha Jin does an excellent job with setting and depicting the Chinese atmosphere during the Cultural Revolution. This wasn't a bad read, just a slow one. Perhaps it was the author's intent to have the reader experience waiting in the way the characters do. So, is the grass greener on the other side? Well, like most things, it depends on the eyes through which the observation is being made. I'm not suggesting that you run out and buy this one but if it crosses your path give it a try.


Rating:
Summary: Like a Fine Reisling Wine
Review: The language in this novel is simple but very expressive. People with many different levels of reading ability will enjoy it. Charcteristic of some of our greatest writers reading and understanding Ha Jin's work is effortless. Not the least pretentious in his writing Ha Jin who was born and raised in China amazes. His command of the English language which he learned as an adult is marvelous. Unlike Conrad who chose to write in English, his second language, he avoids long complicated sentences and wording that drives the reader to the unabridged dictionary. This lovely tale describes life and social mores in China on the cusp of its change to a capitalist society. The protagonist, Lin, is a passionless man who never feels great love for any woman or anyone.He comports with all the requirements of a good highly educated communist,but he never rises to the level of success a man with his native intellect should. He lacks leadership skills on some levels. He is uncomfortable taking risks and therefore never does. He is considerate with his subordinates, but he lacks originality and passion. We are offered a glimpse at the changes in China's society. Where it was once evil to make a profit, be creative and individual, those traits are now being rewarded. Lin cannot adjust to these changes. He is rigid in many ways. This story revolves around Lin's relationship with his country wife Shuyu and his city girlfiend Manna. He is embarrased that shuyu has bound feet. However, he finds Manna's more worldly demands annoying. He seems to want a mate who is worldy like Manna and submissive and undemanding like Shuyu. He does not even feel a fervant passion for his daughter,Hua, which is almost unnatural. However, he cares enough for her that he moves her to the city as soon as possible so she does not live the hard life of a farmer in a country village. He also does not understand why in modern China families value boys so much more than girls. He even prefers that his only child is a girl. I wondered that,perhaps, he was a closet homosexual closeted even from himself. Homosexuality is probably not accepted among the Chinese. However, he didn't have passion for men either. He was a doctor with a university medical degree, one of only three in his regional hospital. He has empathy for the suffering of others except for those closest to him. When Manna has a terrible time giving birth to their twins, he runs out of the room. The screaming is more annoying and embarassing to him than upsetting. He is simply an unfeeling man in many ways. Our glimpse at China offers the frightening details that one becomes an obstetrician after attending a year and a half of trade school. In the U.S. a midwife has a great deal more schooling. Additionally, he performs surgery by directing a team of surgeons who don't have medical degrees. He as well as many adult workers at the hospital share rooms with two or more people. Only married couples have private quarters. China now realizes that capitalism is the road to a higher standard of living for everyone. While the communist revolution was neccesary to equalize educational opportunities, reduce famine, and provide a semblance of the neccessities like food, housing, and medical care to the majority, it has outlived its usefulness. China is now a socialist country trying to improve everyon'e standard of living. Increasingly it more closely resembles a capitalist country. In Waiting we see one individual's turmoil as the rules change like shifting sands under his feet. It is particularly troubling to him, because he has no strong family bonds and can't confide in anyone about his personal difficulties with the change. After reading Waiting, I intend to read all Ha Jin's novels including his newest "War Trash". Waiting is a quick read. It is a good vacation or beach book with a serious subject that can be finished in three hours. If you like Pearl S. Buck, you will like Ha Jin's novels too.