Book summary

This multi-award-winning novel about a romance between Dr. Lin Kong, an unhappily married Chinese physician, and Manna Wu, the nurse he falls in love with, is a chronicle of Kong's attempt to get a divorce from his wife over the course of 17 years. The victim of an arranged marriage, Kong longs for an end--but each time they go to court, his very traditional wife, at the last minute, refuses. Kong is hoping to profit from a Chinese law that permits an automatic divorce after 18 years of separation--and his long, patient devotion and endless frustration can be seen as an allegory of life in a repressive society. In addition to being a passionate love story, WAITING is also an insightful and fascinating look at contemporary provincial China.