The motto of this books seems to be ‘Be careful what you wish for because you might get it.’

Lin is a doctor and an officer in the Chinese Army. His aging parents arrange a marriage for him, to a local girl in his home village. Shuyu is plain and simple. He doesn’t love her, but they conceive a child and she cares for his parents devotedly, while he works in the city. Lin falls in love with a nurse, Manna and after 17 years of an unfulfilling marriage to Shuyu, he asks her for a divorce. At the last minute she refuses.

And so it goes. Each summer, Lin returns to his village to divorce the loyal and loving Shuyu and each year she refuses at the last minute. Lin and Manna continue their futile friendship, while Shuyu and her daughter live their lives without Lin.

I was lukewarm about this novel as I read it because the plot seemed so meandering, but the meandering is true to the story. As you read, you get a sense of Lin’s frustration, Manna’s determination and Shuyu’s gentle devotion. The book provides a fascinating portrait of everyday life in communist China and the ending is heartbreaking.