** spoiler alert ** I personally didn’t like this book because I hate love stories with sad endings. The main characters are Manna, Shuyu and Lin. Lin irritated me throughout the entire book because of his indecisiveness. He caused so much pain to his mistress and his wife with his passiveness and ultimately caused his own unhappiness. As I was reading, I constantly thought “this is the most depressing love story I have ever read.” I felt pity for Shuyu; she was my favorite character because of her commitment to her husband but I didn’t like how she was passive as well and allowed herself to be taken for granted. I didn’t like Manna for shamelessly interfering with a marriage and also wasting her youth on a man who didn’t promise her a good future. Although there are a lot of things that I don’t like about the characters, I enjoyed reading the book. I chose it because reviews said that it was a good portrayal of old time China and the reviews were correct. Foot binding, main sports (table tennis, volleyball, badminton), traditions, foods, priorities, preferences, everything was on point.
Waiting by Ha Jin isn’t a book that I would recommend to others but isn’t a bad read. It shows how practicality doesn't always beneficial and that sometimes acting on impulse and spontaneity is what's best . It’s definitely a unique book and unpredictable. Those who are interested in reading Waiting should be reading for an enduring love story and journey into the Chinese society during the Cultural Revolution. Happy reading!