Book Review: The Straw House

The Straw House by Cao Wenxuan, is a Chinese children’s novel. Cao Wenxuan is a professor of Chinese literature at Beijing University, and is a two-time winner of Soong Ching Ling Children’s Literature Award. This novel was translated from Chinese to English, by Sylvia Yu, Julian Chen, and Christopher Malone. This novel is a historical fiction story as it takes place in China’s Jiangnan area in the early 1960’s (Wenxuan). The Straw House is a coming to age story, that follows Sang Sang around on his journeys to show what ordinary village life would look like in 1962 China.

Sang Sang is principal Sang Qiao’s son, he was transferred to Youmadi Primary School. Sang Sang and his family lived on the school-ground like many of the others who attended Youmadi Primary School, in the straw houses. Sang Sang loved the straw houses, everybody knew who Sang Sang was, because he was different from the other students. Even though the story follows Sang Sang and his coming of age story, the novel is not about just Sang Sang. Each chapter is based on a particular character and their story, but Sang Sang is always involved in these in some way. Sang Sang is very innocent and naive in the beginning of the book, always curious about new ideas that usually involve him getting into trouble by his mother. As the book progressed Sang Sang is getting into less trouble, where his mother actually starts to wonder what has happened. While all these stories intertwined with each other, we see Sang Sang maturing and losing that childhood innocence that he once had in the beginning of the novel.

In my opinion, this novel was really well written and allowed me to compare the differences between Chinese and American children’s literature. This book discussed the daily tasks and what is expected of the children in the Youmadi village. The novel was very realistic at times, and discussed some of the hardships of transitioning from a child to an adult. I felt like this novel did a really good job in making you feel like you were apart of this village, and to be a child in the Jiangnan time period. These children were held to high standards by their families, peers, and their school. Sang Sang had this personality that affected so many people in the village, which was shown throughout each chapter. This made the reader see how much just one person can affect others, whether he affected them positively or negatively it was shown how their lives intertwined in some way. Sang Sang wanted attention, and got jealous of others who were receiving more attention than he was. As a character Sang Sang was extremely relatable, which allowed the reader to understand the feelings and the message Wenxuan was trying to achieve. This kept the story entertaining and allowed children to understand the cultural differences, but also gave them something to relate to. While there are differences present in how these children are raised and the responsibilities they have, they are still children going through similar changes of growing up and finding who they are. When I was choosing this book, I was not really quite sure if I would be able to understand the story plot, given that it is set in the early 1960s of China. I did not know much about how life was for children in this time period, but Cao Wenxuan made the reader feel as though they were a part of the story living as Sang Sang. Even though Wenxuan did not go into details about the time period or what was going on in China around this time, I still understood the message and the intended feelings of the story. Which I feel is really important in understanding any story, there was so much detail in his method of storytelling that made it relatable.

I have never read a story like this one before, it has left an impression on me that makes me want to read more books by Cao Wenxuan. The way he describes life as a child in China was amazing, it really makes you understand the differences, but also the similarities in the cultures. I feel this is important because it seems like China and America are totally different, but this novel shows that they are not as different as they may seem. This book takes place in the early 1960s, but the readers are still able to make connections to this story and relate to the characters. While some of the matters discussed in this novel were a little unsuitable for younger children, like the mentions of fighting. There were few of these matters but, I think that this helps children really relate to what it was like and how they dealt with their issues. This novel teaches children about the historical differences in how they live, but also the similarities in what it means to grow up. I would highly recommend The Straw House to anybody who is struggling with that in between age, where they are trying to find that place between childhood and adulthood. I felt this book did a wonderful job in displaying this awkward phase of growing up, even though there is a difference in culture and lifestyle the reader can connect to many of the feelings that occur in this novel. Overall, The Straw House is a great coming of age story, that describes the challenges faced with growing up and saying goodbye to the innocence of childhood.

Reference:

Wenxuan, Cao. The Straw House. Translated by Sylvia Yu, Julian Chen, and Christopher Malone.Shanghai Press, 2005.