Waiting in "The Line"

I've recently been reading (and enjoying) the book “The Line” by Olga Grushin. The book centers around a group of people in Soviet Russia who, throughout the course of changing seasons, wait in line at a continually closed kiosk. As I progressed through Beloved, I noticed that the same sense of patience and waiting permeated both novels.


I found myself especially drawn to the way the characters processed the need to be patient, and how they imposed the need to wait upon themselves.


Sethe is waiting at 124 for a sense of closure with the ghosts (both real and imagined) that haunt her, and the members of the line are waiting for some distraction to alleviate the grimness of the reality in which they currently reside. This self imposed waiting gives strength and hope to the line members, allowing them an illusion of productivity and connection. Sethe, on the other hand, is drained by her self imposed exile.