The Examination
Author: Malcolm Bosse
Original language: English
Published: October 1994
Publishers: Farrar, Strauss & Giroux NY.
ISBN13: 9780374422233
Price: € 12.99
Age: 15 years and up
We have just started in a beautiful book, The Exam by Malcolm Bosse, an American author, born in 1926. In 1979 he wrote his first young adult novel: The seventy nine squares, translated into Dutch as The garden of your life. His great success came in 1983 / 84 when his novel Warlord became a worldwide bestseller, but we chose to read The Examination.
The Examination, the long road to Beijing paints a realistic picture of the life and hardship of two young man in 16th century China. The Imperial Palace and the forbidden City play a big part in the book. The story is not immediately out of your thoughts, when you finished the book.
The book is not a very easy read but you do not want to put it down. The story is adventurous, exciting, moving, shocking, sometimes gross and Malcolm Bosse does not shy away from any difficult, nasty or violent subject. But most of all this book is interesting and a must-read for everyone who wants to know more than average about the traditions and politics of medieval China.
3 powerful shining stars for The Examination, the snazzie readers give with pleasure!