Palestinian Walks by Raja Shehada

This is another slow and sad book about a Palestinian lawyer, Raja Shehada, who finds himself more and more confined in his walks in his beloved Palestinian hills outside of Jerusalem. Israeli settlers are grabbing Palestinian lands and building roads and compounds to keep the Palestinians out. He has spent his life trying to fight in the courts to save the land grabs for Palestinians and is worn down by his inability to make a difference. He felt that the Palestinians sold out at the Oslo Peace Accord when Israel agreed to recognize the PLO but did nothing to stop their continued settlements on Palestinian land. Raja turns to writing to make some peace for himself and describes the many rambles he takes and the beauty he finds in the wadis, flowers and geology. This was our book club book and Mea put out a nice spread of Middle Eastern treats to eat. I appreciated how he could look at both sides even though he disagreed with the Israelis who see this as their land even though it has been 3,000 years since many of them lived in the area. They also feel the Palestinians could move to one of the many Arab nations if they are unhappy.

Waiting by Ha Jin

This is a slowly told tale about a Chinese army doctor, Lin Kong, who lives in two worlds- one with his traditional wife and daughter in his rural village and the other in the army in a city where he works and secretly pines away to marry the nurse he works with, Manna Wu. Lin Kong and Manna Wu eventually express their love to each other and have a very slow courtship, as they are not allowed to engage in any physical love with each other at the army hospital unless Lin Kong gets a divorce. Each year on vacation he goes back to his country wife, Shuyu , to ask for a divorce and each year she refuses until after 15 years of requests she finally gives in. Lin Kong marries Mannu Wu, but as alas finds that he may have made a mistake. Life is not peaceful, she bares him twin sons and he regrets that he gave up his previous wife and daughter (they have since moved to the same city so his daughter can find work) as well as his ability to loose himself in reading books. The rigid life of the Chinese who follow traditions as well as the new strict communist regime make me appreciate the culture I live in and take for granted most of the time.