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Book Reviews Title Waiting Fiction-Net
Rating Buy It
From Amazon.co.uk - BUY
NOW! Cover
Story Waiting is the
story of Lin Kong, a man living in two worlds,
struggling with the conflicting claims of two
utterly different women, as he moves through the
political minefields of a society designed to
regulate his every move. We
Say Why is it that
people are seldom satisfied with what they have? In
general, we want what we don't have, or else we are
dissatisfied with the cards that life has dealt us.
It often takes too much effort to make a change and
we are too lazy to make the necessary efforts to
determine what we really want out of life. Often,
major decisions just happen with little or no
actual thought put into the decision. Although set
in China, Ha Jin's novel, Waiting, is an excellent
example of our tendency to just sit back and wait
for things to happen. Jin skillfully creates
characters that transcend cultural barriers. Lin
Kong, the main character is a man who just is. No
more, no less. Not cruel or evil, a likable man
who's life just seems to happen. The novel begins
with the sentence, "Every summer Lin Kong returned
to Goose Village to divorce his wife, Shuyu." I was
hooked. Initially, I decided that I was going to
dislike Lin, but as the novel progressed, I was
surprised. Lin is an honest man who is dedicated to
the service of his country. Lin is also an
intellectual who is well respected by his peers. In
a communist society, any abnormalities of an
individual's personality would become glaringly
obvious therefore, any creativity that Lin might
have demonstrated is skillfully stifled. Should we
pity Lin because of the course his life has taken,
or should we feel disgust for his pathetic attempts
to change his life? Like so many others in
situations similar to Lin's, the answer is not
black and white. Throughout the
novel, the reader is "waiting" for tragedy to
strike. This does not happen the way one would
expect. Instead, we find that Lin has allowed his
life to pass him by because he is always waiting
and wanting something better. Like so many people
in this world, Lin thinks he knows what he wants
because he desires whatever is right in front of
him. Without realizing it, convenience dictates the
way he lives his life. Ever concerned about
appearances, Lin finds himself trapped in a less
than ideal life due to his own inability to take
action and embrace his life. What is so
impressive about this novel is the fact that Jin is
writing about a communist society without the
feeling of oppressiveness that often accompanies
such novels. Instead, the focus is on Lin's
relationships with others. It is a wonderful love
story that lacks the extras that so many publishers
believe to be necessary in order to sell books.
While Jin gives his reader insight into the Chinese
culture, the characters Jin has created could
easily be the neighbors down the street. The more I
think about this novel, the more impressed that I
become. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, and
felt that Waiting is one of the best novels I have
read in a long time. Review by: Yumi
Nagasaki-Taylor |
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