| The story begins with the sentence, "Every summer Lin Kong returned
to Goose Village to divorce his wife, Shuyu." It sets the tone of a fluid
depiction of the sometimes-comical situation between a military doctor
Lin, the country wife he tried to divorce, Shuyu and his lover and coworker
Manna. There are physical struggles: sexual tensions between two adults.
There are mental and psychological struggles: a married man's dilemma and
an old maid's concerns. There are social struggles: the standouts between
the pursuit of personal pleasure and the sanction of the big brother.
Across the two decades or so time span of which the story covers, from
1960's onward, the turmoil and change of communist China loomed largely
overhead. The Cultural Revolution had come and gone and the "new economics"
and personal wealth emerged. The chills of the Northeastern China air also
permeated through out the military hospital in Muji city where most of
the story took place and into the hearts and souls of our characters. It
has a little bit of M.A.S.H. and a little bit of "Chio Ju vs. the People"
(Chio Ju Da Kuan Se). But mostly it has the vivid, colloquial details
that we had seen in "In the Pond", an earlier novel by Ha Jin, which is
now a trademark characteristic of Ha Jin.
Besides the two novels, "Waiting" and "In the Pond", Ha Jin also has
two collections of short stories, which I have not had a chance to enjoy,
as well as some poetry works. One has to admire his prolific production
given the fact that he was only transplanted onto this country and her
language since 1985. His background gave him a unique advantage to delve
into a wealthy source of stories and characters and backdrops that are
new and fresh and fascinating. His is a special achievement for there were
storytellers before him that had told an exotic story or two about China
but none had told a story so rich in contemporary history and so eloquent
in details about the China that we feared and wanted to peek into so much.
Ha Jin had certainly earned a place in the literary world that does not
have many voices with a Chinese accent.
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