Book Review for: Waiting by Ha Jin

The novel, Waiting, by Ha Jin is a simple read that flows but has no surprising ending. It is a story about a man who waits eighteen years to divorce his wife, whom he agrees to marry upon his parents' wish. From this, the question arises of why one would agree to a marriage of which he has neither established a relationship with the bride, nor met her. A marriage can not be so simple. There must be love, patience, and sincerity, if one expects to endure the challenges that life tosses along way. Yet, the protagonist, Lin, acts on this suggestion without thinking it through, and as a result, he is obliged to remain in a relationship which he no longer wants to continue. Since Lin and his wife Shuyu have been married, he has not developed any feelings of affection for her. Eventhough Shuyu takes care of his parents, he does not look at her as his wife whom he wants to spend time with, but rather as his sister. Lin and Shuyu do not have a restrained relationship. In reality, there is no relationship between them. They do not communicate except when Lin returns home to ask for her consent to their divorce. The bare bedrooms in their house represent the emptiness between the two. There is a distance between Lin and his family, and he perceives this as "...the family didn't depend on him anymore and that it was time to move along with his own life. For better or worse, he should disentangle himself from this loveless marriage" (Jin 9). As Lin establishes a relationship with another woman at work, he doesn't see a reason to remain with Shuyu and feels as if he should free himself from all "ties and shackles". He only thinks about himself, and his girlfriend Manna presents the chance for him to discover a life different from his boring and dull marital life with Shuyu. This encourages Lin to take steps towards ending his marriage with Shuyu and starting a new life with Manna. However, the divorce process is more difficult than he thinks and is nowhere near favored in his village. Because his wife will not finalize the divorce, he must wait, allowing this want to drag along. Every year he returns home hoping that he will get a divorce, but the difficulty and unlikeness of this makes it seem as if Lin is waiting for something unrealistic to happen. Lin does not stop to think that the impulse he acts on towards getting a divorce and towards wedding Manna is similar to that which resulted in him marrying Shuyu in the first place. He does not allow himself to really consider the benefits and moreso, the consequences of the matter and later finds himself wanting to end their marriage. Is it possible that he will want to end his relationship with Manna if he jumps into it too soon? How deeply has he thought about this? How can Lin be assured that life with Manna will be better than life with Shuyu? And more importantly, what exactly is the protagonist waiting for? Is he really waiting to get a divorce or waiting to realize that he should not act according to his wants? Is he waiting for excitement or waiting to meet disappointment? On a deeper note, is it really Lin that is waiting for something to happen or is it really the women whom are waiting? Lin does not seem bothered or even annoyed when Shuyu does not follow through with the divorce, after many attempts. Instead, he tries to explain to his girlfriend that things like a divorce takes time, and there is nothing he can do about it as of the moment. Manna grows impatient waiting but hopes that one day Lin and she will join hands in matrimony. Lin's daughter Hua waits for her father's effort to form a relationship with her mother. Several notions can be inferred from the title. The book tells of the protagonist waiting all these years to divorce his wife, but it is quite the reverse. The female characters surrounding the protagonist are waiting for him to make a decision that will impact their lives. It is amusing that the characters do not become "antsy" by the wait but accept it. The book has no climax, nor is the ending unpredictable but I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to read something relaxing or tranquil. Overall, it is an interesting read.