When We Were Young and Brave
The trouble with writing a World War II novel, I imagine, is figuring out how to describe the indescribable. How does an author with no first-hand experience of unimaginable suffering do justice to the people subjected to the horrors of man’s darkest hour? This is why authors like Hazel Gaynor, author of When We Were Young and Brave, are literary wizards sent to earth to breathe life into history so that we mere mortals can learn from the mistakes of our forebears.
When We Were Young and Brave Summary
When We Were Young and Brave is a fictional account of the WWII internment experiences of the children enrolled at the Chefoo School, a mission school in China. The Chefoo School was a Christian boarding school located in Chefoo in Shandong province in northern China. It no longer exists, but in its heyday, the Chefoo School educated the children of foreign missionaries, diplomats, and businessmen. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese Imperial Army took control of the school. In 1942, the teachers and students were moved to an internment camp called Temple Hill. In 1943, they were moved to Weihsien Internment Camp where they remained until the end of the war.
When We Were Young and Brave is a collection of historical facts, woven together with fictional characters. Though the events of the book closely follow the accounts of internment on Weihsien Paintings, Gaynor brings the events to life in a way only an excellent author can.
The book follows Nancy Plum, a student, and Elspeth Kent, a teacher. Nancy and her brother were sent to Chefoo School while their parents worked as missionaries. The book begins in December 1941 with Elspeth giving Nancy the disappointing news that her parents can’t get to the school to pick her and her brother up for the Christmas holiday. It wasn’t safe to travel due to the fighting between the Chinese and Japanese armies. When Nancy says it’s unfair, Elspeth replies, “We all have to make the best of the circumstances we are given Nancy…All things considered, I’d say we have plenty to be thankful for. Don’t you?” This exchange sets the tone for the rest of the book. It’s ironic in a way, but it’s also the attitude that helps Nancy, Elspeth, and the rest of the Chefoo school survive the following four years.
When We Were Young and Brave Book Review
The most interesting thing about When We Were Young and Brave is that it is about a school. So many families were separated during WWII. It’s amazing to me that an entire school was able to stick together. In the book, it’s inspiring to see how the teachers draw as much strength from the children as the children draw from them. The teachers are particularly resourceful, and it seems that this resourcefulness also played out in real life. While at Weihsien, the teachers in the book feed the students ground up eggshells to help with calcium deficiencies. Writing for BBC about Mary Previte, a formerly interned Chefoo student, Michael Bristow explains that the doctors in the prison collected eggshells from black-market eggs for the same purpose.
A bookseller once told me that she doesn’t care for WWII books because they all end the same, and for the most part, she’s right. But for me, harrowing tales about WWII never get old. It’s hard not to be fascinated by dramatizations of a war that we’re still feeling reverberations of today. Though When We Were Young and Brave shows us the cruelty humans are capable of, through lovable characters, it also shows us that we’re capable of profound kindness and cooperation.
When We Were Young & Brave
By Hazel Gaynor
