Waiting in Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge

Nov 12, 2007 Chinoiseries rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: china, contemporary, 2003

This book touched me, even though I didn't particularly like the characters. It's a bittersweet tale and I loved it. ...more

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Nov 03, 2008 Rhiannon rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: literary

Set in China during the Cultural Revolution, this story focuses on the couple Lin and Manna. Lin is a military doctor who is married to a country woman he does not love, and of whom he is so embarrassed he has never brought her to the city to live with him. Manna is a nurse in Lin's hospital - they have dated for 17 years, and every year Lin has tried to get a divorce but failed. Hospital rule requires 18 years of separation before a man can divorce his wife without her consent, so Lin and Manna ...more

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May 29, 2007 Jessica Haider rated it liked it

Shelves: bipoc-author, fiction, angry-wednesday-bookclub

Waiting was the first book that I read by Ha Jin. I wasn't a huge fan of this book. I read it for a book club and most of the other people at the meeting hadn't loved the book either.

The title of the book is pretty appropriate since I felt like I spent most of the book waiting for something... anything. I felt no connection with the characters or their love story.

Since I read this book, I have read other books by Ha Jin and enjoyed them much more. ...more

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Jul 08, 2008 jen8998 rated it liked it

This was described to me as a rewrite of Romeo and Juliet but ultimately I found it more of a cliche. For this protagonist, the grass is always greener elsewhere and he never quite seems satisfied with what he has.

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