Patience is a Virtue
Every year, Lin Kong, a doctor at the military hospital in Muji City, returns to his home village seeking a divorce from Shuyu, the woman he married to care for his aging parents and mother to his only daughter. Lin has grown close to Nurse Manna Wu during his time away and they hope to get engaged. But while Shuyu agrees to Lin's wishes at first, when she comes face-to-face with the judge she always changes her mind, and the marriage remains intact. Growing more and more frustrated, Lin and Manna Wu look forward to the eighteenth year of separation, when the divorce can happen with or without Shuyu's compliance. But 18 years is a long time. Will the couple's desire last for nearly 20 years? And can Lin come to terms with the cruelty of discarding his blameless and hardworking wife?
The Grass is Always Greener
I found 'Waiting' to be an interesting character study. It's a thoughtful exploration of the relationships between Lin Kong, Shuyu and Manna Wu, considering the intersection of duty, personal desire and societal rules. By the end, I don't think anyone comes out squeaky-clean, but even Lin Kong isn't the callous, out-and-out villain you take him to be at first. Everyone is trying to do 'the right thing' even when their aims and situation make that impossible.
Slow and Steady
'Waiting' is about as far from an action-packed thriller as you can get and I can see that many would find it hard work. I was fortunate in that once I got my head around who was who, I was interested enough in what was going to happen to persist with it. In some ways, I suppose this plot is a bit of a philosophical conundrum or the novel is a metaphor for waiting itself, i.e. both the reader and the characters are on tenterhooks patiently ploughing on until the outcome is known. It almost felt like the the writer didn't know how things were going to pan out until the last words were on paper!
Lost in Translation
For me, an early hurdle was the translation. It's very Americanised and sometimes reads badly. For example, there's mention of a 'money cow' when the correct phrase is 'cash cow' The style is also quite clunky, but I don't know if that's a stylistic difference between Chinese and English language literature.
Overall
I'm glad that I gave 'Waiting' a reprieve, although it's a flawed book due to its style and translation. Beyond the writing is an interesting story that almost feels like it needs a multiple choice ending so readers can decide for themselves upon an outcome. It's a tale that made me think of many different maxims, not least 'be careful what you wish for'.
Now, what next..?
This post is based on the 2006 paperback Vintage East edition of 'Waiting' by Ha Jin, purchased from Brendon Books, an independent bookshop in Taunton. What a memory I have! And what a coincidence that it's taken me 18 years to read a novel about an 18 year wait! Above image is reproduced with kind permission of the publisher and shows the most recent Vintage edition.
