China, 1941. With Japan’s declaration of war on the Allies, Elspeth Kent’s future changes forever. When soldiers take control of the missionary school where she teaches, comfortable security is replaced by rationing, uncertainty and fear.
Ten-year-old Nancy Plummer has always felt safe at Chefoo School. Now the enemy, separated indefinitely from anxious parents, the children must turn to their teachers – to Miss Kent and her new Girl Guide patrol especially – for help. But worse is to come when the pupils and teachers are sent to a distant internment camp. Unimaginable hardship, impossible choices and danger lie ahead.
Many thanks to Harper Collins Ireland for my copy of The Bird in the Bamboo Cage to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
There is no two ways about it The Bird in the Bamboo Cage is quite simply the best book that Hazel Gaynor has ever written. It’s an absolute stunning read and even though the subject matter is tough, devastating and heart-breaking this book was written in such a beautiful way that it really opened my eyes to the traumas that occurred during the Japanese occupation of China and other areas in the Far East during World War Two. It’s evident right from page one that Hazel engaged in such in-depth research and study in order to write the best book possible in order to convey a human story and the many varied experiences of those captured and it’s all set against the backdrop of invasion and internment. The story is so rich in detail and the imagery and pictures created are so vivid as you delve further into the book. I felt like I was there with Nancy and Elspeth and their fellow teachers and students as their lives are torn apart and nothing but uncertainty and even death stares them in the face for an unknown length of time. Regardless of the fact of the dreadful events that unfold and the terrible experiences and emotions that the characters experience, there is determination, courage, love and resilience to be found throughout the book.
Nancy never talked about what happened when they returned from the Far East to England after the war was over. Her school years in China and her subsequent internment were not something she wished to discuss but so many years later she can still remember all the details with startling clarity and because she can the reader is taken on an incredible journey, one which is not easily forgotten. And so we are taken back in time to 1941, to where Nancy attends the Inland Mission School in China in Chefoo, as does her older brother. Her parents are both missionaries who travel around China and she has seen neither of them for several years given the Sino-Japanese War and now the fact that World War Two has broken out and is raging on in the far east ever since the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbour and the Americans subsequently entered the war. Nancy is safe with her classmates and teachers and although she really wants to see her parents she knows there are always people much worse off than she is. Little does she realise just how her little world will change dramatically and she may well be one of those people who become worse off than they once were.
Even though she was more or less a child, Nancy was captured just perfectly. She wasn’t too young that she didn’t fully comprehend what was going on, yet she hadn’t quite reached those teenage/young adult years that all her innocence and naivety was lost. She was the perfect mixture between the two and was ideally placed to share the events that befall the school from a young person’s perspective. Sprout, from America, is Nancy’s best friend and Joan, otherwise known as Mouse, becomes a confidant too. As we journey with these girls I felt Nancy really came alive and her voice shone through the pages. Her belief that they would be rescued soon, that when the Japanese arrived and took over their beloved school that it would only be for a short time, well god I felt for her because she really had no clue what was about to happen and sure really when you think about it how could they have done? Would they have had the same strength, courage and willingness to keep going through the deprivation, hunger, cruelty and torture that was to occur if they had known what lay in wait for them?
Elspeth first met Nancy as she journeys to the school and she promised her mother she would always look after her and she stuck to her word through thick and thin. No matter how horrific things got she put Nancy and her students before her own needs time and time again. She really went beyond the call of duty and sure if anyone was put in that position you would do the same. But Elspeth was special, she became like a mother to a large flock, and as a staff the teachers were the only adults the children could rely on under the cruel hands of the Japanese. Had her life led her to this point to be the mother she had always hoped to be even if it was to temporary orphans? Elpseth had planned to tender her resignation and return to England but the Japanese arrived and took over the school before she could do so.
At first I thought her heart really wasn’t in it. That her head was already back in England with the one she loved and lost but she deserves nothing but admiration for how she put her own feelings aside and just kept pushing forward. What really amazed me and what I found to be remarkable was that even as things grew steadily worse and as the school is moved from their original location to an abandoned mission compound and then eventually to an internment camp called Weihsien that teaching and learning still went on no matter what the situation that existed. If that’s not dedication to one’s job I don’t know what is. But in one way it did provide some sense of normality and routine for the children at a time when danger, menace and peril lurked around every corner.
Amidst the weight of responsibility that falls on Elspeth shoulders, and the relentless pressure to be jolly and strong, there are some beautiful, under stated moments that provide hope and some lightness amongst all the fear and unease that exists. The sections set at the internment camp had some lovely heart-warming moments in them and to be honest I found these sections the most fascinating to read about. It was like a community had been set up within the camp and although the Japanese soldiers were there at every turn everyone was trying to make the best of a heinous situation. Of course there are some upsetting scenes, and one in particular springs to mind, but it’s inclusion was necessary because this did happen at the time and although I mightn’t have wanted to read about it, it did need to be there to show all sides to the story and what went on within the confines of the infamous camps.
It’s not easy to write a story with this subject matter and turn it into something uplifting and hopeful but Hazel Gaynor has succeeded in doing this. She has reminded or else brought to readers attention a time in history that should never be forgotten. For what the people endured was harrowing, agonising, painful and terrifying and The Bird in the Bamboo Cage gave me a greater appreciation for what so many endured during the war years. The book is an utter triumph, one that is beautifully crafted and certainly one of the most memorable and empowering books that I have read this year. It has the perfect blend of imagination with historical fact and each character has such a unique voice that will stay with you long past the last turn of the page. It’s definitely a book that I would highly recommend, and I hope Hazel will choose to write something set during this period in history again as she has shown such a deep empathy, understanding and knowledge of the time. It would make a brilliant TV series as Hazel has written an outstanding book.
Thanks so much Emma and Sharon x
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