Book Log 2018 #33: Waiting by Ha Jin

A doctor at a city hospital meets a nurse, they fall in love, and decide to get married. There is, of course, a catch. The doctor is already married, to a woman he does not love who is back in their home village, taking care of his elderly parents. He returns home for a few days each year, and when he does he tries to get a divorce. Even when his wife agrees to the divorce there are details that prevent it, and the doctor returns to the city, still unable to marry the woman he loves.

This is the main premise of the book, whose characters each experience this wait in different, and often surprising ways. The setting in communist China adds another layer to things, as all of the bureaucratic nonsense not only adds to each person's waiting, but has everyone, character and reader alike, waiting to see the changes in the country. 

I did like this book, but in case you couldn't guess it's not the best pick if you want a traditional romance.