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Jun 30, 2018RogerDeBlanck rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Taking place in China, Waiting examines one man’s dilemma to escape his arranged marriage of nearly twenty years by divorcing his wife. Lin Kong is a successful and respected physician in the Chinese People’s Army. He has been a loyal servant of his family and country, but his passions belong to Manna Wu, a nurse at the hospital where Lin practices at. The novel charts Lin’s eighteen years of frustration to divorce his wife, while at the same time the local government and hospital administration keep a watchful eye on him. They would prefer he adhere to a restrictive civil code of exemplary moral conduct. Lin’s plight illuminates the predicament of an individual trying to pursue happiness under the monitoring glare of China’s Communist Republic. This novel is one of Ha Jin's best works.