A Soaring Heart

Title: Dragonwings
Author: Laurence Yep
Published: 1975
Pages: 248

Reading Time: Summer/Fall 2010.

Plot Teaser:
For all his eight years, Moon Shadow has lived with his mother and grandmother in a small village in China. One day his simple, quiet life is turned upside down. Moon Shadow suddenly finds himself sailing to America to start a new life in a strange new land with a man he has never met - his father!

How I Got It:
While checking out various garage sales, I found this in a pile of books for 99 cents in Brossard, QC. It was in late summer and early fall of 2010.

The Review:
The new immigrant narrative is one which has been told countless times by a plethora of literary voices. Dragonwings is the first such story I have encountered that is directed at younger readers, and it succeeds at portraying the adjustment that many newcomers have to make. Largely, it does this through the eyes of Moon Shadow and his father, Windrider, who undergo a series of trials and tribulations. What is fascinating about this story is not only how father and son learn about one another, but how there are many internal politics within their own ethnic group in their new home.

The young Moon Shadow travels from China to America, where he meets his father for the first time. The bond between the two is an interesting one. On one hand, there is obvious love from father for son. On the other hand, there is strict discipline that is employed by Windrider as he attempts to educate his son about the ways of the world. This relationship balancing act creates some of the more interesting moments in the book, as the reader sees the struggle between the impulse to be tender and nourishing towards one's child, and the need for harsh life lessons.

Fans of Chinese mythology or stories about demons will be pleased to find a distinctly Asiatic flavour to the story. Events are sometimes recounted as fantastical stories, where the white man is a demon, and the Chinese man is a proud dragon. This representation works really well to show one side's perception of the other, and it is especially effective for the target young adult audience. Laurence Yep does a great job of keeping events moving forward, and of filling his pages with Moon Shadow's youthful imagination. For instance:

"During the next demon week, the nighttime was especially bad for me. I could imagine that every sound was made by demons or ghosts gathering in the dark to whisper by my door while they waited to pounce on me. It got so that I was afraid at night to go outside to the pump in the back yard, because I was afraid the demons might be attracted by the sound of splashing water."

These moments are strewn throughout the book, as Moon Shadow grows up and adjusts his worldview. It is this naivete which makes him a perfect companion to his father, who dreams of flying just like the Wright Brothers. Both characters have inventive minds, and it is this bond which gives the book its backbone. It is also what drives it to the very end, and what makes it entertaining, as well as educational.

The Verdict:
Despite being aimed at a younger audience, this is a well-told tale of strangers in a strange land. While it likely would have been even more powerful had it been written for a slightly older audience, it gives an interesting picture of how foreign communities settle into a new environment, and how imagination and ambition can make amazing things come to fruition.

3.5/5

Up Next:
Fool's Errand by Robin Hobb.