A spare, haunting story of of an ineffectual military doctor who tries for 18 years to divorce his peasant wife so he can marry a more sophisticated nurse at his military hospital. Along the way, the story is greatly evocative of quotidian life in China during the Cultural Revolution and after. Though the main characters are not all that likeable, and the story is somewhat tragic, Ha Jin succeeds utterly in communicating the travails of finding love in China during these years. Winner of the National Book Award.  (CHN80, $14.95)