Full review to come on Goodreads and Amazon. Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for a review copy

It's strange to set out to write an ARC review for a book that has been out for 25 years. Do I just focus on the newly added bit (an introductory essay by Rachel Khong)? I'm afraid I don't have much to add, then. Khong loves this book, and the introduction is largely about how much she loves it, and what it meant to her reading it as a young woman. Unfortunately, I do not feel the same love that she does - the book ultimately hinges around one protracted romance and the struggles facing each partner in said romance, and I could never care enough about either one of them enough to care about their romance together, nor was I particularly wowed by the prose. Another one for the "not really sure why this book won a major literary award" pile, I guess.

This has been on my to-read list for some time, and I am glad to have finally gotten around to it. At first glance, there is nothing striking about this story. In fact, the brief summary might come across as tedious. A man spends years trying to divorce his wife in the countryside so that he can marry his paramour. However, it is in the subtle ups and downs over the years that the story grows oddly comfortable. It's not wildly dramatic, but enough happens to make you want to know what's going to happen next. Ha Jin's masterful pacing made this an enjoyable read.