Virginia Pye (1)Reseñas

Dreams of the Red Phoenix by Virginia Pye was a book that I was fully expecting to love but instead, had rather a mixed reaction. The story of a recent widow and her teenage son trapped by the invading Japanese Army in northern China in 1937 was indeed a story of courage, idealism, and treachery. Unfortunately I wasn’t enamoured by the writing or the characters.

As the book opens, both mother, Shirley Carson and son, Charles are adjusting to losing missionary husband and father, Caleb, several weeks ago. Being a trained nurse, when Japan launches an attack, she opens the mission and tends to the wounded. But she is torn between helping the Chinese fight the invaders and her desire to leave this dangerous country and take herself and her son home to America. As the war grows more intense, both Shirley and Charles realize that their status as neutral Americans is not the protection that they thought.

I am sure there is a fantastic story to be told here and although inspired by the experiences of her grandparents who were missionaries in China, I don’t think the author’s writing was up to the task. I felt the book was poorly paced and lacked the ability to draw the reader in. I never was able to understand the motives behind Shirley’s actions, and I found the character of Charles rather unbelievable. Dreams of the Red Phoenix had all the ingredients that I look for so I was quite disappointed that it just didn’t work for me.½

I will be the first to admit that my knowledge of this period in history is limited at best. I know very little about the relationship between China and Japan other than it wasn’t friendly. This book is not lengthy at 288 pages yet it packs a lot of story between the covers.

World War II hasn’t begun yet in 1937 when this story begins but the start of the Japanese invasion of China is beginning. A young American woman, married to a preacher and living at an American Mission learns that her husband has died suddenly leaving her far from home with her son. She is bereft and unable to function while the world around her slowly starts to implode. Her son is growing into a young man and she barely notices. Circumstances force her out of her mourning stupor to face the facts of a possible war in her backyard.

What she learns about herself, her surroundings and the world as a whole will change her life forever and perhaps alter her in ways from which she can’t come back. I loved this character – she was a ball of confusion at the start but she grew into a strong woman through circumstance and a love for her adopted country.

Ms. Pye’s writing style is simple yet she really knows how to draw her reader into the story. She brings her characters alive from the protagonist to the smallest, seemingly insignificant character they all shine. I want to read this one again because I know I will find things I missed this first time around.½

River of Dust begins in rural China in 1910, as an American missionary couple watches in horror as their child is taken from their doorstep by a group of Mongol bandits. Though the Reverend and his family are among the first Christians to return to China following the Boxer Rebellion, he is determined to find his son and sets off into the dangerous plains, leaving his pregnant wife, Grace, behind. As the Reverend loses himself in his new nomadic life, strangely connected to the people he encounters, Grace must survive with only her faith and the family's Chinese servants to guide her.

Virginia Pye has a stand-out voice for creating fantastic imagery and the plains of China seem to be waiting for her narration. The first few paragraphs of River of Dust, taken from the excerpt on the book's website, will easily transport you.

"The Reverend loomed over the barren plain. He stared at the blank horizon as if in search of something, although to Grace’s eyes, nothing of significance was out there. Sunset burned his silhouette into a vast and gaudy sky. Standing tall in his long coat on the porch above his wife and son, he appeared to be a giant—grand and otherworldly. Perhaps this was how the Chinese saw him, she thought.

Her husband spread his arms toward the blazing clouds and shadowed flatlands as if to say that all this was now in the Lord’s embrace.
The breeze shifted, and billows of smoke circled their way. Grace watched the Reverend’s outline waft and shimmer. She would not have been surprised if his body had gone up in flames right there before her eyes, ignited in a holy conflagration with only a pile of ash left behind to mark his time on this earth. Grace shook the strange notion from her mind, although she wondered how so good a man could appear so sinister in such glorious light."

River of Dust peeks into a corner of the past rarely examined by historical fiction, which is a refreshing change. Even beyond a new setting are the bigger questions raised by the world Pye introduces readers to; imperialism, evangelism and faith swirl around the novel from front to back without leaving the story feeling like it has a religious agenda.

With a step into this history niche, however, I am slightly concerned that some details may be lost on readers unfamiliar with the Boxer Rebellion. While a few mentions of the uprising are woven in quite delicately, it would benefit those with no knowledge of Chinese history to have some background before reading.

Based on the journals penned by her grandfather while serving a similar mission in China, Virginia Pye has written a novel blending a rich, historic setting with an engaging story that explores the limits of faith. Richmond has yet another writer to add to its growing list of accomplished novelists.

This is the debut novel by a local Richmond, VA author, that our local book club is discussing next week. I really enjoyed the book and learned a lot about China/ Mongolia in the early 1900's. those missionaries had a brutal time of it back then, unfortunately. The story captured my interest from the beginning and I read the entire book in ne day. I thought the author wrote very well, and the book gave me a lot to think about. I hope she continues writing, because I want to read more! A sequel could even be done....... I highly recommend this book and look forward to our discussion. I think the author, herself, is joining us! I won't say anything about the plot because you can read it here on Goodreads. I read the Kindle version, btw, and there were some editing issues that need to be fixed, like words run together and some wide spacing.

This is the debut novel by a local Richmond, VA author, that our local book club is discussing next week. I really enjoyed the book and learned a lot about China/ Mongolia in the early 1900's. those missionaries had a brutal time of it back then, unfortunately. The story captured my interest from the beginning and I read the entire book in ne day. I thought the author wrote very well, and the book gave me a lot to think about. I hope she continues writing, because I want to read more! A sequel could even be done....... I highly recommend this book and look forward to our discussion. I think the author, herself, is joining us! I won't say anything about the plot because you can read it here on Goodreads. I read the Kindle version, btw, and there were some editing issues that need to be fixed, like words run together and some wide spacing.

This is the debut novel by a local Richmond, VA author, that our local book club is discussing next week. I really enjoyed the book and learned a lot about China/ Mongolia in the early 1900's. those missionaries had a brutal time of it back then, unfortunately. The story captured my interest from the beginning and I read the entire book in ne day. I thought the author wrote very well, and the book gave me a lot to think about. I hope she continues writing, because I want to read more! A sequel could even be done....... I highly recommend this book and look forward to our discussion. I think the author, herself, is joining us! I won't say anything about the plot because you can read it here on Goodreads. I read the Kindle version, btw, and there were some editing issues that need to be fixed, like words run together and some wide spacing.

This is the debut novel by a local Richmond, VA author, that our local book club is discussing next week. I really enjoyed the book and learned a lot about China/ Mongolia in the early 1900's. those missionaries had a brutal time of it back then, unfortunately. The story captured my interest from the beginning and I read the entire book in ne day. I thought the author wrote very well, and the book gave me a lot to think about. I hope she continues writing, because I want to read more! A sequel could even be done....... I highly recommend this book and look forward to our discussion. I think the author, herself, is joining us! I won't say anything about the plot because you can read it here on Goodreads. I read the Kindle version, btw, and there were some editing issues that need to be fixed, like words run together and some wide spacing.

This is the debut novel by a local Richmond, VA author, that our local book club is discussing next week. I really enjoyed the book and learned a lot about China/ Mongolia in the early 1900's. those missionaries had a brutal time of it back then, unfortunately. The story captured my interest from the beginning and I read the entire book in ne day. I thought the author wrote very well, and the book gave me a lot to think about. I hope she continues writing, because I want to read more! A sequel could even be done....... I highly recommend this book and look forward to our discussion. I think the author, herself, is joining us! I won't say anything about the plot because you can read it here on Goodreads. I read the Kindle version, btw, and there were some editing issues that need to be fixed, like words run together and some wide spacing.

This is the debut novel by a local Richmond, VA author, that our local book club is discussing next week. I really enjoyed the book and learned a lot about China/ Mongolia in the early 1900's. those missionaries had a brutal time of it back then, unfortunately. The story captured my interest from the beginning and I read the entire book in ne day. I thought the author wrote very well, and the book gave me a lot to think about. I hope she continues writing, because I want to read more! A sequel could even be done....... I highly recommend this book and look forward to our discussion. I think the author, herself, is joining us! I won't say anything about the plot because you can read it here on Goodreads. I read the Kindle version, btw, and there were some editing issues that need to be fixed, like words run together and some wide spacing.

This is the debut novel by a local Richmond, VA author, that our local book club is discussing next week. I really enjoyed the book and learned a lot about China/ Mongolia in the early 1900's. those missionaries had a brutal time of it back then, unfortunately. The story captured my interest from the beginning and I read the entire book in ne day. I thought the author wrote very well, and the book gave me a lot to think about. I hope she continues writing, because I want to read more! A sequel could even be done....... I highly recommend this book and look forward to our discussion. I think the author, herself, is joining us! I won't say anything about the plot because you can read it here on Goodreads. I read the Kindle version, btw, and there were some editing issues that need to be fixed, like words run together and some wide spacing.

hmmmm....Another book that's tough to judge. Interesting concept, location, events and conclusion. Haunting in many ways. Enjoyed that I didn't know where the story line was leading. I think it will 'grow on me' over the next days, as I muse over it. Not top of my list, but, as usual, glad I read and finished it. Read the professional reviews and make your choice.

hmmmm....Another book that's tough to judge. Interesting concept, location, events and conclusion. Haunting in many ways. Enjoyed that I didn't know where the story line was leading. I think it will 'grow on me' over the next days, as I muse over it. Not top of my list, but, as usual, glad I read and finished it. Read the professional reviews and make your choice.

On the windswept plains of northwestern China, an upright Midwestern minister develops a following among the Chinese peasants and is christened Ghost Man for what they perceive are his otherworldly powers. He and his wife may finally understand the vast distance they've come when their young son is kidnapped. The Reverend searches the desert while his pregnant wife, Grace, remains at the mission, ill with consumption. Summary HPL

Virginia Pye draws on her grandparents' experiences as missionaries in China for her first novel, RIVER OF DUST. It is written close to the style of the time, 1920s I believe, the Mongolian nomads, customs and terrain seen through American eyes. Wesley and Grace--telling names--are thoroughly tested not only by the trial of their son's abduction but also by the ruthless demands of missionary life in the Mongolian desert.

Atmospheric, tragic, sympathetic chronicle of (misguided) human bravery.

7.5 out of 10 Highly recommended to readers of Chinese history and intercultural fiction.½

Less than a decade after the Boxer Rebellion, where Chinese villagers killed many missionaries and their families, missionaries from the Midwest have returned. On the plains at the edge of the Gobi Desert the Reverend and his wife Grace, with their small son Wesley have settled with other missionaries and their families to once again try to convince the heathens to turn to Christ. All starts going wrong when Mongolian bandits swoop down and kidnap their son.

This is a novel set in an exotic but barren place. There is drought and famine, people are starving and the missionaries and their families have paid a huge price. A novel of secrets, a feud Grace know nothing about, guilt and finally retribution. A question of faith and at what price does one hold on to it and what price is paid when one disavows what they have believed for a lifetime. It contains the superstitions of the ages, and I absolutely loved the characters of Ahcho and Mail Lin, the two people who tried to care for the Reverend and his wife and their differing belief systems. Lastly it is a story about ghosts, the ghosts that keep us sane, the ghosts that call us to them. As Grace finally realizes, "There was no way to undo the past or to correct the way things had gone, but attention must be given to the secrets along the way, Ghosts spoke to us all the time, if we were only willing to listen. Not to do so was hubris." Very good and a very interesting story.

The river was flowing fast now, no longer with water but with dust. Who were they to try to stop it? – from River of Dust -

Grace and her husband have traveled to China as missionaries in the uneasy years following the Boxer Rebellion. The Reverend is a huge man who seems a giant in both stature and faith. He builds a summer home for Grace and their young son, Wesley, where they can look out over the Gobi Desert and watch the sun set. But when Grace and Wesley arrive for their first visit, they are startled to see two Mongolian bandits on horseback. What happens next seems inexplicable. As Grace runs toward the safety of their home with Wesley clutched in her arms, one of the men swoops past and rips the child from her. The kidnappers gallop away in a cloud of dust, with the Reverend in hot pursuit.

This singular event changes everything for both Grace and the Reverend. They eventually return to the mission grief-stricken. Grace, who is pregnant with another child, collapses in a haze of drug-induced slumber under the care of her maid, Mai Lin. The Reverend is determined to find Wesley, going out into the countryside with his faithful servant, Ahcho, where he begins to collect strange objects given to him by the local people who call him Ghost Man: a camel bell, a tatter of red cloth, and a strange pouch which holds something mysterious and gruesome.

Virginia Pye’s debut novel, River of Dust, is a novel about grief, retribution, and the question of faith vs. fate. Grace and the Reverend come to China to save the unfaithful, but what they discover is an unforgiving land of dust and famine, and a greater understanding of a culture and people they were once quick to criticize.

So little she and the Reverend had ever understood of what transpired around them in this strange land. How had they ever convinced themselves that they were anything but tourists? They were as ignorant as the most ignorant of coolies who eyed the white visitors with curiosity and fear. - from River of Dust -

When I first began reading this fascinating novel, I found it dark and despairing. But soon I began to see something beneath the narrative – a wry humor, a glimpse into the ridiculous nature of prejudice, and a story which began to feel like satire. As Grace and the Reverend struggle with their loss and with each other, the Chinese characters begin to assert their rightful place within the novel. Mai Lin’s loyalty to Grace includes manipulating her position within the household to remain at Grace’s side and usurping the white medical doctor when Grace gives birth. She spits betel juice across the room, bargains with prostitutes and questionable men to get food, and quickly sizes up every situation she encounters. Her blend of Eastern medicine, sardonic humor, and wisdom born of many years of experience, elevated her to my favorite character in the book.

River of Dust is a wholly original novel with luscious prose and compelling characters. Pye puts a spin on the essence of faith and in the waning pages reveals a dark secret which the Reverend has kept from his wife. The effect is a vividly imagined book that gives readers a glimpse into what life was like for Christian missionaries living in China in the early years of the 20th century. But more importantly, perhaps, it examines the importance of understanding cultures different from our own, and asks the essential question: What are the universal connections we have as humans, regardless of our culture or religion?

Highly recommended.