by Ha Jin
First published 2000
Lin Kong returns to his home village once again, steeling himself for another conversation with his traditional wife. For seventeen years, the ambitious doctor has made this same journey, seeking the same outcome. Each summer he asks for divorce so he can marry Manna Wu, the educated woman he loves in the city. Each time his compliant wife initially agrees, then changes her mind before the papers are signed. This year Lin believes things will be different. But in a society where ancient family obligations still govern personal choices and where the Party monitors moral conduct closely, his desires clash with powerful forces. Manna Wu waits in the modern world while his arranged wife remains anchored in village traditions. The annual ritual of request and refusal stretches Lin's patience and passion thin. As another summer unfolds, Lin faces the weight of expectations that have shaped his life since youth, torn between duty and desire in a China where both carry serious consequences.
Genres: romance, literary-fiction, 20th-century, contemporary, asian-american, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, unreliable-narrator
Setting: China
Period: 20th Century
308 pages · Paperback · Vintage Books