Friday, February 19, 2010

Waiting by Ha Jin

This book was a National Book Award winner, and I honestly don't understand why.  I didn't care for the writing style, which I thought was awkward, and I didn't really care about any of the characters.

The story was set in China from 1963 to the 1980's.  Lin Kong was a doctor in an arranged marriage to a woman he didn't love.  He believes he has fallen in love with a nurse who works in the same hospital where he works.  He attempts to convince his wife to grant him a divorce every year for 17 years, and every year she agrees, then changes her mind when they appear in court.  But after 18 years, as an army officer, Lin can divorce his wife without her consent.

The best comment I've read about the book was by Scout on Amazon:  "Waiting" is an excellent title for this novel. I kept waiting for it to be over!!! 

I rate this book 2 out of 5.  This is my second book for the New Author Challenge.

2 comments:

Serena said...

I agree the title is very appropriate for this book. I enjoyed it from a literary standpoint even though I didn't care much about the characters.

Anna said...

I heard from a friend who read this book that all the character does is wait. Sounds kind of boring to me.

--Anna
Diary of an Eccentric