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Title: Waiting (Vintage International) by Ha Jin ISBN: 0-375-70641-0 Publisher: Vintage Books USA Pub. Date: 19 September, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.62 (250 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: A book about the importance of time
Comment: "Waiting" is the story of the long relationship between Lin Kong, a doctor of the Chinese Army and Manna Wu a nurse who works in his same hospital. Lin feels in love with Manna but he is married and moral rules are very strict in the Communist China. Although every year he tries to divorce his wife to end his loveless marriage he always finds a refusal on her side and he is forced to postpone his plans. Trapped between two different women he leads his life, in quite desperation, waiting for happier times.
In spite of the very good description of the Chinese habits, environment and customs during the period of the Cultural Revolution this is not a book about China or, at least, only about China. I think that the main themes of the story are about men's life styles and attitudes. The story, although China during the period described is a very favourable set, could have happened in every other place and time. Lin is presented as a very considerate and sensible person. These qualities and the subsequent fears of hurting others bring this character to an unnerving state of paralysis. Sometimes this lack of action might be unnerving to the reader who sees the lives of the characters going by without major events.
I found this book exceptionally enlightening especially for the way it ends. It really makes the reader think about life and about the soundness of our aims. As Tolstoy wrote in "what men live by" referring to a character that ordered a pair of shoes when he actually needed slippers because the next day he was going to die: men really do not know what they need.
Rating: 5
Summary: What a 'love' story!
Comment: I never knew that Emory had such an incredible writer for one of its English professors when I went to law school there. Had I known, I would have audited one of his classes. I absolutely loved this book. Ha Jin's style is so simple and straight forward, yet honest and compelling. I was amazed by the depth of Lin's (main character)thoughts on love and marriage and not surprised by his inner conflict between wanting a marriage based on love and mutual respect (Manna) and comfort and peace as represented by his wife Shuyu. Lin's liberal ideas nonetheless lead him back to his parents' foregone conclusion that a wife should be someone that makes your life comfortable. There is so much detail in this book that shows where a man's heart is. So many cliches are embedded in a very subtle way and ring true even in a culture so different from ours(such as 'the way to a man's heart is through his stomach,' since Shuyu's cooking seems to represent comfort,peace and stability on Lin's visits home). Lin's inaction and passivity is at times frustrating but in any case realistic and consistent, both with respect to his love-life (or lack thereof) and his acceptance of the political ideas that surround him. Lin is such a typical character in so many ways, who's trapped in an atypical situation. Please read this book!
Rating: 5
Summary: A great book!
Comment: well...i'm from mexico and i read this book and i just wanna tell you "it's great", it kept me readin' and readin' is a great and different history and a love novel where they have to fight against many things the protaginists are facing to be together, althought, at the end this history gave me a surprise...
read it and you'll know what i'm talkin' 'bout
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Title: The Crazed: A Novel by HA JIN ISBN: 0375421815 Publisher: Pantheon Pub. Date: 22 October, 2002 List Price(USD): $24.00 |
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Title: The Bridegroom: Stories (Vintage International (Paperback)) by Ha Jin ISBN: 0375724931 Publisher: Vintage Books USA Pub. Date: 11 September, 2001 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: Under the Red Flag by HA JIN ISBN: 1581950063 Publisher: Zoland Books Pub. Date: 01 June, 1998 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: In the Pond by Ha Jin ISBN: 0375709118 Publisher: Vintage Books USA Pub. Date: 21 March, 2000 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: Ocean of Words: Stories by Ha Jin ISBN: 0375702067 Publisher: Vintage Books USA Pub. Date: 01 August, 1998 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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