Waiting
Ha Jin · b. 1956 · China / United States
Why it matters
A Chinese army doctor waits eighteen years for a divorce to marry the nurse he loves, only to discover freedom isn't what patience promised. Ha Jin's National Book Award winner renders Communist-era bureaucracy and desire with spare, exacting restraint.
At a glance
psychological novelromance
Difficulty 4/10medium pace308 pagesPlain, restrained prose carries a slow-building eighteen-year story.
Deep dive
Why the real subject of Ha Jin's novel is what eighteen years of institutionalized patience does to the people living inside it, not whatever verdict finally arrives.
