Ha Jin's Waiting

The wait is over. And when it ended, there was a deep sorrow portrayed in a man's wasted life, ever affecting. Ha Jin asked a tough question about life: what if one day when you are old, and suddenly realise that you've never loved a woman whole-heartedly - not even the woman sleeping by your side every night? What kind of life you have had then? The regret can't be more profound.

Initially, I had sympathised with Lin Kong's girlfriend, Manna Wu, who has to wait eighteen years, well into her 40s before marrying Lin. Oh, men are such heartless creatures, according to Manna, except of course, her Lin Kong. Blame it on the social environment of a Communist China, for Lin Kong is married to a woman with bounded feet in his hometown, and without his wife's consent, cannot possibly divorce her even when they have been living apart. So comes the waiting, as for eighteen springs, Lin Kong, an army doctor, takes his annual leave to go back to divorce Shuyu without success. Under the constraints, I must say it is amazing that Manna has stood by Lin Kong. Then again, what choice does she have? And as if trapped by destiny, Lin Kong goes down the path, blind to what he is to ultimately face.

Ha Jin's writing is impeccable, and the Communist backdrop makes for interesting read. At times hilarious, at times heartbreaking, the novel ends with an irony: more waiting for Lin Kong.