Lorraine's review
Waiting: A Novel
by Ha Jin
Lorraine's review
Waiting: A Novel by Ha Jin
Lorraine's review
rating:
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independence-branch-book-discussion
I enjoyed my second reading of this book by Ha Jin much more than the first. Perhaps it was timing or my still-maturing literary consciousness, but for me, the book has ripened significantly in the 7 or 8 years since my first perusal. While I cannot say that I admire the characters of Lin or Manna any more than I originally did, Shuyu stood out to me as a shining example of "blooming where you're planted". She managed to be happy, productive and capable of growth and forgiveness, in the difficulties of marriage to an absent, ungrateful husband, whose home she ran, child she raised, parents she cared for as they aged and died, farm she maintained. Ultimately, after many years of trying to divorce Shuyu, Lin succeeds and then sells the farm to pay for his second marriage, and we see her transplanted to the big city and thriving there, as well. Meanwhile, Lin and Manna's lives seem to stall; stuck forever in waiting mode, they seem to have lost the ability to love or grow o...more
