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Title: Waiting
Review: This book would have been vastly improved by being written in Chinese and then translated by a competent translator. While Ha Jin usually writes in competent English, it is seldom lyrical and more often clunky. His command of idiom is weak and his dialog in particular is utterly unnatural. The story I felt was engaging enough, but really I was not all that impressed and I can't help but wonder whether the good press this book has received is not due to an anti-Communist perspective popular here in the States rather than the intrinsic merit of the book. However, I did think his portrayal of life in China and continued attitudes of Chinese toward family and marriage was accurate and perceptive.
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