Publisher's Weekly Review
Caldwell (The Distant Land of My Father) draws from the biographies of missionaries in northern China during the turbulent first half of the 20th century in this mixed second novel. It traces the story of two young, hopeful Midwesterners-shy, bright Oklahoma farmer Will Kiehn and brave Cleveland deaconess Katherine Friesen-as they journey to the brink of China's civil war in the isolated town of Kuang P'ing Ch'eng: the "City of Tranquil Light." In the unforgiving "land of naught," they live the joys and perils of missionary life, including famine, spiritual rejection, the dramatic 1926 rise of Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang, and the forcible, often violent, exile of fellow missionaries. Throughout the unrelenting hardship, the remarkably stable couple remain in China, bound to their newfound roots and to the ideals of their larger mission. At times this novel seems more about rhetoric than relationships-the couple's unwavering dedication to each other and their mission is unbelievable at times-but Katherine's diary entries are emotionally deft, capturing the romance and anxiety of cultural estrangement. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
In 1906, Mennonite missionaries move to China to proselytize through providing health care and food. A farmer's boy from the Midwest and a young nurse, they marry and spend the better part of their lives suffering with, and becoming close to, their adopted Chinese community.After a visit by a charismatic minister, Will Kiehn feels called upon to carry the word of God to China. There he meets Katherine and after a brief and initially chilly, then suddenly cordial courtship, they marry and are sent off to start a mission in the remote city of Kuang P'ing Ch'eng (aka "The City of Tranquil Light"). The intrepid couple produces a child, experiences run-ins with bandits and faces perilous xenophobia, all while maintaining an outpost that, along with Christianity, dispenses medical help, famine relief and housing for the displaced. What transformations of character there are remain insufficiently explained; for example, there's the miraculous conversion of a notorious bandit into a good man, a radical change brought about, it seems, by his witnessing Will's faith-fortified calm in the face of danger. The impression of there being real stakes is constantly thwarted by the endless reserves of faith in these missionaries' hearts. Too easily, they overcome obstacles through unswerving dedication and a Zen-like relinquishment of their hearts and minds to Christ. In accomplished but bland, sometimes academically rigid prose, Caldwell (The Distant Land of My Father, 2001) draws her story from the lives of her grandparents, exploring, to some extent, Mennonite religion and history. But her characters lack substantial development. They mourn their losses and narrate their hopes and dreams, while forever seeming to float above their surroundings.The lack of any real transformation and pervasive, single-minded religiosity make for a dull story.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Caldwell set her first novel in pre-WWII Shanghai. She returns to China in her second, inspired by the story of her missionary grandparents. Her fictionalized version begins in 1906 when Will, 21, and Katherine, a year older, join a group of Mennonite missionaries on their journey from Seattle to China--he an enraptured recruit, she a nursing student whose sister is married to the group's charismatic leader. Several years later Will and Katherine marry, and are sent to Kuang P'ing Ch'eng, or the City of Tranquil Light, on the North China Plain, where they stay for nearly 25 years. Caldwell masterfully interweaves their remarkable sojourn during which they run an ever-expanding church, establish an orphanage, and struggle with their faith when their cherished daughter dies of dysentery at 11 months with China's tumultuous history during those years marked by civil war. Caldwell perceptively explores the deepening faith shared by her grandparents while at the same time painting a vivid portrait of the country they came to love more deeply than their own.--Donovan, Deborah Copyright 2010 Booklist
Library Journal Review
Caldwell (The Distant Land of My Father) draws on the lives of her grandparents for source material for her second novel. The story is told in two voices. In 1966, Will, who has been widowed for 20 years, remembers his former life with his wife, Katherine, starting with their meeting as young Mennonite missionaries on a ship headed for China in 1906. Interspersed through his tale are excerpts from the journal Katherine kept during their three decades in China. Katherine had nursing training, but Will had only his love for the Lord and his desire to share it. The two worked side by side, healing bodies and engaging souls through famines, earthquakes, civil war, encounters with bandits, and winters that were "five coats cold." They realize the many ways in which their neighbors enriched their lives as they see them through good times and bad, including the birth and death of their only child. VERDICT This is a sweet tale of an enduring love between this couple, their love of China and its people, and their love for their God. The novel will probably find its strongest readership among devotees of Christian fiction. Recommended for public libraries. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 4/1/10.]-Debbie Bogenschutz, Cincinnati State Technical & Community Coll. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.