3.5 stars!

The Bird in the Bamboo Cage is a moving account of a missionary school in China during the years of World War II. Based on true incidents and told from the perspective of students and teachers of the school, its is a tale of love, friendship, sacrifice, loss, pain and hope.

Having read numerous World War II books, it never manages to intrigue me that there are still so many untold stories of the horrors of that period. Especially moving are the tales told from the perspective of children, as I marvel at how they still managed to hold on to their innocence and sense of wonder after having witnessed some of the bleakest times in human history.

The plot of this book was especially unique, of an entire school held captive in a camp in China for 4 years. As the author rightly mentions, for them, it was not a war of guns and bombs, but rather of everyday survival in the grimmest of surrounding. It was heart-wrenching to read about young children reduced to having swat flies, eat powdered egg shells for calcium and losing friends to death and disease. Separated from their parents at an emotionally and physically demanding phase of their life, their teachers and friends are all the family that they have. At the same time, it was awe-inspiring that even under these circumstances, they continued their lessons, stayed upbeat and managed to hold onto their innocence.

Although the concept and plot of the story were exceedingly good, my issues were with the language. Unfortunately, the words failed to lend the emotion that the entire story demanded. As a regular reader of novels of this period, I am usually moved to tears at the horrors of the war. However, the prose of this book did not manage to induce that kind of emotion in me.

Additionally, what bugged me was the very evident special treatment given by Elspeth to Nancy and Joan. Though it is not unusual for teachers to form a special bond with a few students, especially under the unimaginable situations of the camp, the story did not sufficiently back it up with any particular incident that forged such a deep connection between them. More often that not, it seemed to exist only for the purposes of the book and hence felt somewhat hollow.

I don't know where to start. So beautifully written and captivating from beginning to end. An amazing journey told not only though the eyes of an adult but of a child too. I was taken back to the days of being a Brownie singing Brownie bells and then onto being a leader as an adult. I went to sleep singing Taps and often said my Promise. I smiled and cried buckets, this is a book that searches out your every emotion and brings it to the surface. Truly wonderful from beginning to end.

This was an amazing story. Utterly spellbinding. I could not put it down. The characters individual stories as well as their combined experiences at the hands of the Japanese soldiers during WWII were so well written and you felt their emotions of pain and joy. Brilliant book

A fascinating story about a part of history that I did not know. I could not put the book down as it kept me involved from start to finish. Definitely recommended to those readers who enjoy reading this genre.

Although this is a fictional story it is based on true life events. It is about a school in China that gets caught up in WW11. It tells the story of their journey through several internment camps from the perspective of a child and a teacher. The descriptions of the camps were so believable that you felt you were there. An excellent book.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction for the Arc of this book

The Bird in the Bamboo Cage is a wonderful piece of World War 2 fiction, set in China during the years of Japanese occupation, and inspired by real life accounts and experiences. Set in a school populated largely by the children of missionaries and expats , we are introduced to Elspeth Kent, a teacher who has fled from tragedy in England, and Nancy Plummer, who is ten at the start of the book, and boarding at the school while her missionary parents travel to the depths of the Chinese countryside. With the attack on Pearl Harbour the war is officially declared and the school is soon occupied by Japanese soldiers. While life carries on and the staff try to create a sense of normality for the girls, it is clear that things are becoming more difficult and more dangerous. As time goes on the school community is moved on to an internment camp, and despite all the heartache and hardships they are forced to endure, the bond between teachers and students remains strong.
I found this a very moving book to read, and I loved the fact that we had two narrators of such different ages who had different perspectives on the war and the dangers that they faced. The book is incredibly immersive, at times almost too much so, as the descriptions of the toilet facilities had me retching , but I applaud the author's skill at describing everything so vividly that I almost felt myself to be there. Although it is a difficult book to read at times, the overall feeling is of hope, and of the strength to endure,
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

This beautiful book will be in my thoughts for some time. This is a historical fictional novel wrote from the viewpoints of Nancy (Plum) a young girl and Elspeth Kent, Miss Kent, one of the teachers from the Chinese missionary.Both characters along with many more students and a handful of teachers are in a missionary school when Japan invade China during World War II
We hear the story of their internment in Weihsein camp and their six year nightmare while they are subject to the horrors of the Japanese.
The story all too familiar in war talks about selflessness, fear, hunger, uncertainty, brutality and death.Yet at the same time friendship, loyalty and huge accounts of bravery.
Hazel Gaynor has brought this piece of sad history together and we see what life was like for children in the camps and the teachers needing to be their protectors, stand in parents and instructing them on how to be young adults as events unfold and emotions run wild.Children missing their parents, homes, affection, life’s necessities and the teachers battling daily to educate and care and keep the daily motivations going.
The young girls and Nancy followed the Brownies and Girl Guides principles of trustworthiness, loyalty and to be helpful and kind at all times, handbooks were read and badges awarded and gave a purpose and structure and a much needed distraction from the hours of hell around them.
The bravery and courage everyone showed made me swell with pride and it touched my heart in so many ways.Often when we read World War II books they are usually around the horrors of France, Germany and the concentration camps.The Chefoo teachers were incredibly brave and innovative, truly resourceful in keeping the children’s spirits up.
Their determination to keep going months after VE Day was celebrated for the end of war in Europe when the war still raged withJapan was staggering.
As Hazel Gaynor says at the end of her book “I hope we will keep discovering; writing, reading, and sharing these stories.They are part of our pasts, and we must never forget them”

Thank you Netgalley and Harperfictionpr for this remarkable book.

Just finished this book and I loved it loved the setting of China.Hazels book are always fab but I think this is my favourite by her so far.

This was simply incredible. Such a beautifully written, touching story based on true events. Despite tremendous hardships and difficult events, the story itself is so beautifully crafted and told, I couldn’t put the book down and cried on the final pages.

Whilst I read a lot of World War fiction, I knew very little about the war that took place between the Allies and Asia, and this was written in such an intricate and detailed way. It is a fantastic piece of historic fiction. I’m so glad I read it, and would recommend it to anyone.

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The Bird in the Bamboo Cage is a story that will stay with me for quite some time. Beautifully told with compassion and empathy, the many characters I met throughout these pages became more like friends than fictional personalities. Nancy, Sprout, Mouse, Miss Kent, Minnie, Charlie, Edward, Larry, and even Home Run filled my mind and brought me on a journey I won’t forget.

The Bird in the Bamboo Cage is told from two points of view. Nancy (Plum) a young British girl in a Chinese Missionary school and Elspeth, Miss Kent one of the school teachers that nurtures and cares for the children. The story is told over the period of 6 years as Japan takes control of China during World War II and the children are moved from their school and into internment. Every day life for the children is thrown into turmoil and it is the courage and strength of the teachers that keeps some semblance of normality going. The girls go from childhood to womanhood during their incarceration every milestone every cruel aspect of the journey is told with such care whilst still keeping it very real. it is a powerful story of struggle, hope, faith, and insurance, and one that I’m sure everyone will love.

Throughout the book, I was in awe of the compassion and empathy in which the author told the story and the stunning prose that brought everything to life. I read with baited breath in parts, and allowed silent tears to flow as my heart broke for the characters. This is without a doubt one of the best books I’ve read in 2020 and the research and thorough in depth of knowledge that the author has shown through her words is outstanding.

I have no doubt this will be one of the most talked about books of the summer and autumn and expect to see it hitting the bestseller lists. A well deserved 5 stars and a story that I am so grateful to have read.

It’s a delight to see an established (and HWA Gold Crown nominated) historical fiction author in Hazel Gaynor turn her hand to a China-set story with The Bird In The Bamboo Cage (or When We Were Young And Brave in the US / Canada). And it’s a double delight for me personally to see that it is set in Chefoo (part of Yantai). Yantai was the first Chinese city I set foot in when I taught there for a summer, and as a treaty port should lend itself well to historical fiction. I’m not aware of any other novel taking Chefoo as its main setting, neither can I think of any other novel telling a female-led approach to Japanese internment camps, so this felt quite fresh to me.
Gaynor specialises in female-led stories of the early twentieth century and, Chinese setting aside, Bamboo Cage is very much in keeping with her previous work. Inspired by real events, we witness the impact of the Second World War in China on the staff and pupils of Chefoo School, educating the children of western missionaries and diplomats. We start in the school itself, as it is occupied by Japanese troops, before they are moved to another site and finally to Weixian Civilian Assembly Centre – time passes quickly, and covers most of the War.
There are some clear risks to this approach. Firstly, with a cast of characters largely resembling an English girls school, the war could come across at best prim and coy, at worst rather jolly-hockeysticks, more concerned with the state of the cricket field and their Christmas goose than the wider war. Gaynor manages to avoid this by telling the story through two main protagonists’ points of view: 10 year old Nancy Plummer, the daughter of missionaries whose girlish preoccupations such as her friends, the kitten Tinkerbell and her box of letters from her mother take on more sombre resonances as the war progresses; and Elspeth Kent, who left an unhappy life in England and who was due to return before the Japanese take over the school. The dual perspectives work well – events which affect both characters acquire an extra depth, and the more mature perspective of Elspeth, who is the victim of sexual assault by a guard and witness to more grown-up plotting, balances Nancy’s concern well. Nancy’s perspective, in turn, beautifully conveys the raw, lost innocence of someone witnessing the deaths of increasingly close characters. It is the little perceptions of her child’s view, such as comparing the blackened bread roll to a rounders ball which build Nancy into a real girl. It’s a mark of success that I could tell the voices apart immediately, and that I didn’t prefer one character’s voice over the other – they are distinct and equal. Certainly the portrayal of the horrors of war is more coy than Chinese fiction about the period or, say, Empire of the Sun, and the characters do acknowledge that other camps had it worse, but it is very affecting without needing to be graphic.
The other risk is that, by choosing to focus on Chefoo school, Chinese characters are relegated to passive supporting roles. The view of the Second World War in China as the perpetuation of horrific crimes to a supine mass of people without agency is quite common and very unfair. Because of the setting chosen Gaynor is very sympathetic to the Chinese but does not have many Chinese characters, and the few here (Shu Lan and Wei Huan, servants at the school who are refugees of Nanjing) only report off-page action and have limited English, making them more objects of pity for the main characters, but who do account for main characters being aware of wider events in China. I think that is a missed opportunity, but I understand why Gaynor has done this. But then most characters here, are by virtue of their situation, quite passive in the face of the enormous events, and that is where the novel derives its emotional power. This even extends to one sympathetic Japanese guard who is powerless and ashamed under his own regime, which is a surprisingly humanitarian addition to the plot.
Gaynor’s research is thorough (I was pleased to see shout-outs for Pearl Buck, Isabella Bird and a cameo for Eric Liddell), although I would nitpick that I’m sceptical the characters would have been aware of comfort women, who are referred to. Many details of characters’ lives are particularly touching, really building the portrayal of survival and friendship – one woman passing round her perfume because ‘I don’t exactly have any special occasions to save it for’ any more, for instance, or the stiff-upper-lip persistence of the Girl Guides in creating the ‘Weihsien Star’ special award. I don’t think the coda set in the 1970s added much to the story, and it may even have been more effective without it (I am always sceptical of such framing devices).
I was profoundly moved by the fates of Nancy and Elspeth in The Bird In The Bamboo Cage – it is a great historical novel and a fine addition to the short canon of China-set historical fiction.

Based on the true story of a school in China during the years of Japanese occupation, this tells the story of how the teachers and students survived those times. At first, under Japanese control in their school buildings, then moved to new premises, then to an internment camp.
A story of growing up and survival under extreme conditions for which there is no preparation.
Told alternately from the viewpoint of one of the teachers and one of the students, this is a graphic illustration of cruelty and kindness in dark times.
A good read.

I very well written book about an extremely harrowing era. Lots of accurate details that had me googling real events both during and after my read. My one slight criticism is that I felt it didn't depict the awful conditions realistically enough. I felt it just brushed the top layer rather like it was intended as a young adult read, shying away from wanting to shock. Enjoyed it all the same.

A lovely heartbreaking story of Elspeth and Nancy teacher and pupil of the Chefoo school in china during Japans invasion in ww2. A book i highly recommend others read.5*

Unbelievably good. Beautifully written and heart breaking, unforgettable and inspiring. I really enjoyed this book and heartily recommend to any fans of historic fiction. Set in China during Japan’s invasion in WW2 the book follows the plight of the Chefoo school and their relocation to the Weihsien Internment Camp. The characters were wonderfully written and you never stop feeling their joy, pain and hope. Amazing book.

Thanks to netgalley for an early copy in return for an honest review.
Absolutely love this Author's work, and this moving books just shows how sensitive and caring she is I adored this work of art and can highly recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction for the Arc of this book❤️

Also thank you to Hazel Gaynor for writing this sensational novel ☺️

Follows the Japanese Occupation in World War 2, following a teacher named Elspeth and a student named Nancy. talks about their captivity within this time as well as Interment and then finally the liberation at the end of this book!! Hazel really engaged on what it was like and the living conditions for each settings as ongoing life for them.both was unravelling as they reach out to others in the same camp as well it had a well rounded off ending as well as information about them both at the end of the book

She told it in an amazing and sensational way which was so heartwarming and gripping so well done Hazel Gaynor for this

Definitely recommend for anyone who loves to read Historical Fiction

5 Stars!! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I couldn’t put this book down. An absolute winner for anyone who liked Tenko. The two main narrators were very believable. I highly recommend it.

Very poignant story set in China during WW2 under Japanese rule. Follows the feelings and thoughts of the 2 main characters from a British run Mission School. Miss Kent and Nancy Plummer, teacher and schoolgirl respectively. It is set within the horrors of internment during WW2 but also shows loyalty, stoicism and triumph of the human spirit. A very enjoyable read and I loved the cameo of Eric Liddell,