Loss and hope in old China

The Jade Bracelet Wilma Wall. Kregel Publications, 2006.

“She . . . walked east, counting her steps. Ye, er, san, sih, wu, liu, chi, bah. [The grave] should be right here . . . ”

After 40 years, Elsa Meier returns to the place of her birth and childhood, Shiao Yangshan, Inner Mongolia, where her parents had been Mennonite Brethren missionaries prior to the revolution.

Here she had been Yung-det, Eternal Virtue, although she had never succeeded in living up to her honourable name. Nor had she succeeded in gaining her mother’s approval or love. Herein lies the theme of the story: the parallel journeys of a mother and daughter whose lives fail to intersect in understanding or mutual appreciation.

For many readers, story is the most effective tool for conveying truth, and the author uses the historical fiction genre as a springboard for an excellent character study, creating an intriguing backdrop that adds vitality and authenticity to the story. (Author Wilma Wall has also written Forbidden, the story of a Mennonite girl and a Japanese boy set in California at the outset of the Second World War.)

Wall, herself the daughter of MB missionaries who served in China before the advent of communism there, reveals Elsa’s story in chronological order, through Elsa’s eyes. We taste, smell, hear, see, and touch the China of the 1930s, the China that Elsa loves. While the story may have been stronger if it had begun with the ending, with flashbacks gradually revealing events that formed the characters (as in G.K. Belliveau’s Go Down to Silence, Multnomah), The Jade Bracelet is still a captivating and worthwhile read, complete with suspense, a touch of romance, and well-rounded characters.

The jade bracelet is the story’s “MacGuffin” or symbol lurking just beyond the theme. In this case, it symbolizes both loss and hope. The story can happen without the bracelet, but it links people, events, and times.

This novel is inspiring and educational as well as entertaining. It reminds us of the sacrifices of missionaries in the days before communication became everyone’s right. It inspires hope in those seeking healthier relationships. It carries us into a world now lost, except in the memories of those who experienced it, thus preserving a slice of the past significant in our history.

The Jade Bracelet is, in essence, a journey to peace, set in the fascinating world of old China.

Janice Dick is a writer of fiction, devotionals, and inspirational articles; an editor; and a reader of (mostly) fiction. She is a member of Philadelphia MB Church, Watrous, Sask.