[In Rebels of the Heavenly Kingdom] Wang and Mei Lin are swept into the marches and battles of the Taiping and experience an endless parade of death and violence. Separated during the course of the war campaigns, their ultimate meeting and marriage seems almost an anticlimax after the fearful ordeals they have endured. The book portrays a sweeping panorama of human experience during a bitter period of Chinese history, but Wang and Mei Lin emerge less as real people than as pawns flung hither and thither by the tides of war. As always, the author's control over her material lends credibility to the writing and sheds light on a time which will be unfamiliar to most readers; some of them, however, may miss the involvement of heart and emotion which is so noticeable in her other work.
Ethel R. Twichell, in a review of "Rebels of the Heavenly Kingdom," in The Horn Book Magazine, Vol. LIX, No. 4, August, 1983, p. 456.
This is a free excerpt of 162 words. There are 167 words (approx.
1 page at 300 words per page) in the full critical essay.
Read the rest of this Criticism with our Paterson, Katherine (Womeldorf) 1932–: Critical Essay by Ethel R. Twichell Access Pass.
