I’m old enough to remember the days when, to find a book at the local library, you would be referred to the card catalog.
Often housed in vintage wooden cases and jammed tightly together, these typed—and sometimes handwritten—cards carried series of numbers, titles, authors, and brief descriptions of shelved books to be found in the labyrinth of thousands of books, all carefully cataloged and each in their place.
In Search of the Truth
Young 12-year-old Bird Gardner lives a quiet existence with his father, a former linguist who works at the university library shelving books. Bird knows that his Chinese American mother was a poet, but he is unfamiliar with her work and doesn’t care, as she was lost to them when he was 9 years old.The novel has a dystopian feel. The Gardners’ world is consumed by fear. Bird doesn’t ask many questions and doesn’t stray off the path. Laws written to preserve American culture and encourage patriotism have Asian Americans targeted. Libraries have been forced to remove questionable titles, including the works of his mother. In the guise of squelching violence and restoring economic security, authorities are allowed to relocate children of identified dissidents.
Bird doesn’t know what has happened to his mother; and his father, seemingly broken in spirit, disavows her relationship with them. Then a mysterious letter arrives, a letter filled with cryptic drawings of cats and a tiny cabinet. What does it all mean?
The letter serves as a creative catalyst for the young adventurer. He decides to search for his mother, to go on a quest to unravel the mystery of her disappearance. With each clue that he uncovers, his mind and heart open to the many folk tales and stories that she infused into his memory as a young child. He begins to know her spirit and soul. He yearns for her unconditional love and warmth to return to his life.
Charismatic Characters
The story begins with Bird, this young boy who lost his mother and decides to find her. Along the way, the reader will learn more about his mother, Margaret, who was forced to leave her husband and child, and how her poetry has empowered a movement. Readers will also meet his father, who is sworn to secrecy but committed to protecting his son. And then there are myriad friendships whose separate lives weave their own stories and intertwine with those of the main protagonists. One of those characters is Sadie, Bird’s best friend. She has also gone missing, perhaps as one of the relocated children.On his journey, Bird discovers an underground network of librarians. He finds temporary sanctuary and respite with them, and they help him on his quest to find his mother, and perhaps to find his friend.
The power to make loving and effective choices is explored as a major theme. Bird’s choice is to leave the security of his sheltered life in search of his mother; Margaret’s choice to leave in the first place and then later to reconnect with her son, even while knowing the inherent risks to both, given the chaotic climate of their times.
Ng plays with ironies in a world where a supposedly civilized community ignores blatant wrongs; the virtues best preserved are lost to paranoid ideologies. Readers will learn of Margaret’s defiant, desperate act to make a difference in a world gone haywire in terms of its humanity. Will it be the end or the beginning of a much-needed change? This novel takes place in a broken world, but the characters are fighters in their own ways. They take up their own shields and weapons. The human spirit survives and triumphs.
The essence of art and its powers and limitations of influence is another theme of Ng’s story. No doubt, this novel, like the poetry created by Margaret, is meant to influence, and to make readers think and ponder the nature of change with all its consequences.
At the core of this engaging novel, with its complex characters and poignant plot line, is the ultimate and unbreakable bond between mother and child. Ng delves into the powerful and often heartbreaking ways that events can tie two people together, or tear them apart to be left dangling. Life lessons are to be learned. Legacies are to be left. What do we pass on to our children?
This is a suspenseful page turner. It’s part mystery, part love story, and part dystopia mixed in with politics and philosophy. It’s about the power of words.
The story is cleverly crafted, compassionate, and at times unsparing in its harshness and injustice. The various plots connect in completely compelling ways, with memorable and magical twists.
Readers will want to know what happens to all of these characters, particularly the young boy and his mother. Both are on their own quests. It’s about how our hearts remain intact along the journey.
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