The Jade Peony
...ents in a satisfying way. Although the story is narrated by children, it is not a children's story. Indeed, the children in most cases do not understand the significance of the events that are unfolding before their eyes. The author leaves it to the reader to interpret and judge what the children are experiencing and witnessing in their innocence. Each child adds to the total portrait that is painted of the unforgettable characters we get to know in the book. In some ways, the book might more accurately be described as a collection of long short stories or novellas which are linked by the bonds of the family and the characters in the community. The Old One is one such character. She was born in China, was considered too ugly to have her feet bound as a baby, and she grew up as a servant to a rich man's concubine. She ruled the family during her lifetime and even after her death. Wong-Suk, called Monkey Man, is a disfigured old bachelor who came to Canada to work on the railway and took a lifetime to pay off the debt of the headtax imposed upon him by the Canadian government. He was entrusted with 2,000 pounds of bones of dead Chinese to return to their proper resting place. Some characters, such as the woman called Stepmother, or the schoolteacher Miss Doyle, develop hidden strengths and admirable traits as the book progresses. Choy uses a series of symbols effectively through the story, such as a pet snapping turtle and a young girl's scarf. The principal symbol, however, is the jade peony itself, which gives the story a lasting meaning. The piece of carved, semi-translucent white and light red stone the size of a coin was kept always in the pocket of The Old One until her death. It is for the reader to discover who gave it to her, why it was her most precious possession, and to whom the jade peony was given at the end of the book. My criticisms of the book are few. It begins very slowly, and the first few pages tend to drag, but it is worth persisting; you will be hooked before you reach Part Two. The story is not the gentle little family tale that the beginning might lead you to expect--it will surprise you as the family comes to witness a tragic tale involving love between two races. On the whole this is quite a serious story. The author makes little use of humour, and even...