---
product_id: 17421490
title: "Waiting: A Novel (Vintage International)"
price: "A$32"
currency: AUD
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 8
url: https://www.desertcart.com.au/products/17421490-waiting-a-novel-vintage-international
store_origin: AU
region: Australia
---

# Slow, immersive narrative pace Cross-cultural love story Cultural Revolution era setting Waiting: A Novel (Vintage International)

**Price:** A$32
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Summary

> ⏳ Unlock a timeless tale of love, duty, and cultural clash — don’t get left waiting!

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** Waiting: A Novel (Vintage International)
- **How much does it cost?** A$32 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.com.au](https://www.desertcart.com.au/products/17421490-waiting-a-novel-vintage-international)

## Best For

- Customers looking for quality international products

## Why This Product

- Free international shipping included
- Worldwide delivery with tracking
- 15-day hassle-free returns

## Key Features

- • **Critically acclaimed literary gem:** Ranked top in Contemporary Literature with a loyal following and thoughtful reviews.
- • **A love story that defies boundaries:** Witness a poignant romance constrained by tradition and duty, sparking deep emotional reflection.
- • **Dive into a unique historical world:** Experience the nuanced life during China’s Cultural Revolution like never before.
- • **Rich, authentic character portrayal:** Explore complex, realistic characters shaped by societal expectations and personal sacrifice.
- • **Slow-burn narrative for thoughtful readers:** Perfect for those who appreciate depth over speed, rewarding patience with profound insight.

## Overview

Waiting: A Novel by Ha Jin is a critically acclaimed literary work set against the backdrop of China’s Cultural Revolution. It tells the slow, emotionally charged story of an army doctor caught between traditional obligations and forbidden love, offering readers a deeply immersive experience into a complex cultural and historical landscape.

## Description

Waiting: A Novel (Vintage International) [Jin, Ha] on desertcart.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Waiting: A Novel (Vintage International)

Review: Waiting for the rest of his life to begin � - This is one of these rare books that through reading you enter a whole different world with very different rules. It is an exceptionally well-written novel, with a great deal of details on life during and after the years of the Chinese Cultural Revolution. This is a work of creativity and sensitivity. It is the story of an army doctor, a man who worked his way out of an essentially peasant background through the help of his family. As tradition in China dictates, he needed to take a wife to care for his aging parents. An arranged marriage addresses the problem of the care of the elderly superbly but leaves him totally unfulfilled. Ha Jin portrays a sensitive, caring, weak and often frightened man, who is a victim of events and insecurities; and an ignorant loving peasant wife who accepts what the husbands offers and does not ask for more. As a reader you are tortured by the couple's blind adherence to custom. The main couple in the story though is the Doctor and the nurse girl friend. Unable to consummate their love they wait and wait and wait. Here you are more tormented by their total adherence to army and Cultural Revolution rules, mandates and norms, which are often at odds with the traditional Chinese culture. So here you have our great army doctor obliged to the wife through traditional values with no complaints, unable to marry the girl friend, but also due to army rules he's unable to have an affair with her and unable to divorce the peasant wife. Ha Jin's Waiting takes us to a whole different world, every time you pick it up, you travel across cultural and time zones; first to China and then on to the Cultural Revolution days. This is a truly wonderful work, not a novel of fast paced events; the main character is portrayed in very realistic terms, not necessarily sympathetically. For me I appreciated the slow, meandering movement of events, it made it far more realistic and transformed me totally to this fascinating culture at its most peculiar of times. Enjoy!
Review: Requires patience - This is the second time I read this book. The first time, I totally dismissed it as boring. This time, I had more time and perhaps more patience. This book requires patience. It's slow, somewhat repetitious, yet interesting. The culture of China during the 1960-70's is more than just a backdrop to the story. The affects of the Cultural Revolution and the overwhelming philosophy of control so shape the main character that he is unable to come to grips with who he really is. He is a doctor, a brother, a husband, a father, a government worker, and those roles always determine what he thinks and who he is. He almost never contradicts what he thinks is expected of him; his life is always determined by others especially others who are the least personally involved in his life. His respect and feelings for his boss, his roommates, his professional acquaintances is stronger than his respect or feelings of his wife and the "other woman". Only his daughter can cause some kind of emotional reaction in him. Lin is a person who is entirely shaped by others, what people think and how they react to him. Everything is analyzed; nothing is felt. The wife, Shuyu, is almost unbelievably complacent, but again, that's the role that the culture assigned her. Manna, the woman who waits eighteen year to finally marry him, shows the most independent emotion, but she also is so restricted by the culture. This is a sad book in many ways. Lin thinks at one point: "How we're each sequestered in our own suffering" His life is an example of unintended selfishness; he simply knows no other way to be. He has no ability to emotionally connect with those who should be closest to him. It is so subtly sad that it is humorous at times. The deception and posturing of the characters is so exaggerated in places that it is laughable. Laughable to us in modern American; seriously repressive to those lives we see in this novel. The writing is beautifully done; the reader can almost feel the chill which seems to pervade the buildings and the air itself. It is a dreary and lifeless environment. The buildings are functional, concrete, where a few cuttings of red paper on the window can create a "festive" feel. Lin, in his effort to be perfect, simply forgets to live. He was "certain ..between love and peace of mind he would choose the later. He would prefer a peaceful home." Just too bad that love and relationships have to mess it all up. If you want an exciting read, this isn't it, but if you want to meet a man who is the exact opposite of Zorba, the Greek, come meet Lin Kong.

## Features

- love story that transcends cultural barriers

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #231,368 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #1,703 in Contemporary Literature & Fiction #8,730 in Literary Fiction (Books) #10,452 in American Literature (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 3.9 out of 5 stars 1,000 Reviews |

## Images

![Waiting: A Novel (Vintage International) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61G+5Tds3RL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Waiting for the rest of his life to begin �
*by A***R on November 21, 2000*

This is one of these rare books that through reading you enter a whole different world with very different rules. It is an exceptionally well-written novel, with a great deal of details on life during and after the years of the Chinese Cultural Revolution. This is a work of creativity and sensitivity. It is the story of an army doctor, a man who worked his way out of an essentially peasant background through the help of his family. As tradition in China dictates, he needed to take a wife to care for his aging parents. An arranged marriage addresses the problem of the care of the elderly superbly but leaves him totally unfulfilled. Ha Jin portrays a sensitive, caring, weak and often frightened man, who is a victim of events and insecurities; and an ignorant loving peasant wife who accepts what the husbands offers and does not ask for more. As a reader you are tortured by the couple's blind adherence to custom. The main couple in the story though is the Doctor and the nurse girl friend. Unable to consummate their love they wait and wait and wait. Here you are more tormented by their total adherence to army and Cultural Revolution rules, mandates and norms, which are often at odds with the traditional Chinese culture. So here you have our great army doctor obliged to the wife through traditional values with no complaints, unable to marry the girl friend, but also due to army rules he's unable to have an affair with her and unable to divorce the peasant wife. Ha Jin's Waiting takes us to a whole different world, every time you pick it up, you travel across cultural and time zones; first to China and then on to the Cultural Revolution days. This is a truly wonderful work, not a novel of fast paced events; the main character is portrayed in very realistic terms, not necessarily sympathetically. For me I appreciated the slow, meandering movement of events, it made it far more realistic and transformed me totally to this fascinating culture at its most peculiar of times. Enjoy!

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Requires patience
*by M***T on March 21, 2012*

This is the second time I read this book. The first time, I totally dismissed it as boring. This time, I had more time and perhaps more patience. This book requires patience. It's slow, somewhat repetitious, yet interesting. The culture of China during the 1960-70's is more than just a backdrop to the story. The affects of the Cultural Revolution and the overwhelming philosophy of control so shape the main character that he is unable to come to grips with who he really is. He is a doctor, a brother, a husband, a father, a government worker, and those roles always determine what he thinks and who he is. He almost never contradicts what he thinks is expected of him; his life is always determined by others especially others who are the least personally involved in his life. His respect and feelings for his boss, his roommates, his professional acquaintances is stronger than his respect or feelings of his wife and the "other woman". Only his daughter can cause some kind of emotional reaction in him. Lin is a person who is entirely shaped by others, what people think and how they react to him. Everything is analyzed; nothing is felt. The wife, Shuyu, is almost unbelievably complacent, but again, that's the role that the culture assigned her. Manna, the woman who waits eighteen year to finally marry him, shows the most independent emotion, but she also is so restricted by the culture. This is a sad book in many ways. Lin thinks at one point: "How we're each sequestered in our own suffering" His life is an example of unintended selfishness; he simply knows no other way to be. He has no ability to emotionally connect with those who should be closest to him. It is so subtly sad that it is humorous at times. The deception and posturing of the characters is so exaggerated in places that it is laughable. Laughable to us in modern American; seriously repressive to those lives we see in this novel. The writing is beautifully done; the reader can almost feel the chill which seems to pervade the buildings and the air itself. It is a dreary and lifeless environment. The buildings are functional, concrete, where a few cuttings of red paper on the window can create a "festive" feel. Lin, in his effort to be perfect, simply forgets to live. He was "certain ..between love and peace of mind he would choose the later. He would prefer a peaceful home." Just too bad that love and relationships have to mess it all up. If you want an exciting read, this isn't it, but if you want to meet a man who is the exact opposite of Zorba, the Greek, come meet Lin Kong.

### ⭐⭐⭐ The title says it all
*by R***D on August 9, 2021*

I really struggled with this book and I can’t tell if it’s a testament to the effectiveness of the storytelling or just a bad book. It is a tedious read. And I found it difficult to like any of the characters. But I have the sense that this was the authors aim, and if that’s the case it’s brilliantly executed. I mean, the title is called “waiting” and that’s precisely what it feels like to read it: you’re just waiting for something interesting to happen, or a character to actually do something. About 3/4 into the book I just set it down and I have yet to pick it up again, but my plan is to finish it and try to understand what made it worthy of its awards. Maybe it will become a work I ultimately appreciate. In the meantime…yuck.

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*Product available on Desertcart Australia*
*Store origin: AU*
*Last updated: 2026-03-17*