The Bird in the Bamboo Cage – Hazel Gaynor – Review and Blog Tour

Already a fan of Hazel Gaynor’s books I am thrilled to be one
of the bloggers kicking off the Random Things Blog Tour for her very latest title, The Bird in the Bamboo Cage. Like her previous novels which include The Cottingley Secret and The

The cover conveys the mood of this book wonderfully with the young and older females under the barbed wire and overlooked by a kingfisher, the significance of which you’ll discover, woven into this joyful yet heart-rending story. Hazel Gaynor’s latest novel takes us back in time to China, which in
1941 is in a dangerous position with war between Japan and Allied forces.

Set in a school for the offspring of Expats in China, much
of the story is told by ten year old Nancy Plummer a British girl, boarding at
the school whilst her parents work as missionaries in Northern China. Nancy and
her friends view life from the safety of their school and girl guide troop. The
youth of this narrator lends an innocence and naivety to the terrible events
unfolding as Japanese soldiers seize control of the school. She has a delightful charm which had me rooting for her all the way through.

An alternative point of view is that of teacher Elspeth who
is determined to uphold her promise to Nancy’s parents to look after her, despite it being increasingly difficult she and her fellow teachers devote their lives to the pupils entrusted to them

As the world descends into the mayhem of war the teachers and pupils
are forced to abandon the schoolhouse and take up residence in a Japanese
internment camp.

The whole story is a delightful testament to loyalty, friendship and the determination to overcome hardship which is as relevant today as it was back in the 1940s.

I won’t tell a lie, I cried at some of the events. The narrative unfolding in such a candid and wide eyed view of a young girl makes the
brutality, when it happens (and it DOES happen and it IS brutal) seem all the harder to bear. Viewed through the eyes of an innocent young girl and a kind and devoted teacher, the bleakness of the internment camp combined with the hopefulness of schooldays and the increasingly important girl guide troop.

The underlying optimism and endurance made this the perfect lockdown read for me. It is beautifully researched and accurate. Captivating and heart breaking, always with a glint of better things to come, this book had me rattling through the pages, holding my breath and sighing deeply by the end.

Thank you #HarperFiction and #HazelGaynor for my copy of #TheBirdintheBambooCage and for capturing my heart and setting it free to soar like a bird above the barbed wire.

The Blurb

When war imprisons them, only kindness will free them…

China, 1941. Elspeth Kent has fled an unhappy life in England for a teaching post at a missionary school in northern China. But when Japan declares war on the Allies and occupies the school, security and home comforts are replaced by privation, uncertainty and fear.

For ten-year-old Nancy Plummer and her school friends, now separated from their parents indefinitely, Miss Kent’s new Girl Guide patrol provides a precious reminder of home in a land where they are now the enemy.

Elspeth and her fellow teachers, and Nancy and her friends, need courage, friendship and fortitude as they pray for liberation. But worse is to come. Removed from the school, they face even greater uncertainty and danger at a Japanese internment camp, where cruelty and punishment reign. 

Inspired by true events, this is an unforgettable read about a remarkable community faced with unimaginable hardship, and the life-changing bonds formed in a distant corner of a terrible war.

The Author