Waiting by Ha Jin

In the literature of the United States of recent decades play a significant role for immigrants from China, writing in the English language. Especially noteworthy Ha Jin is the winner numerous literary awards. The protagonist of the novel «Waiting» by Ha Jin, the doctor of the Chinese army Lin kun, almost twenty years trying to divorce his wife who lives in the village (according to the rules of the regime of the Chinese army of the twentieth century he may obtain a divorce without the wife’s consent, but only if they are not at least eighteen years of age will live apart).

They see each other once a year, when Lin arrives home on leave. Every year he raises the subject, but the result is not achieving. Preparing for the next unpleasant conversation, Lin picks up his old school dictionary of the Russian language, trying to remember the words and even form sentences in Russian. It is not possible, however, the text books will accompany him in tense moments of life.

For long stretches of the novel Lin with a nurse, Manna, for the sake of marriage whom he tries to get a divorce. With Manna they have nothing in common, and the first proof – Mann likes to read, while Lin lives in a world of books. In his library of “War and peace” and “White nights” are combined with “History of communism”, proceedings of the first nuclear icebreaker “Lenin” and the guerrilla war.