Perkins, Mitali. 2010. Bamboo People: A Novel. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge.
Plot Summary
Chiko is a Burmese teenager whose father has been taken to prison under suspicion of being a traitor to the government. It is not long after that Chiko is kidnapped by the Burmese government to fight in the army against the native Karenni people. Tu Reh is a Karenni refugee living on the Thailand border. Although the boys are on opposite sides of the fight, their lives converge unexpectedly.
Critical Analysis
Perkins tells a powerful story about the crisis in Burma by providing two sides of a story, that of a Burmese boy forced by corrupt military officials to fight in the army as well as the story of a Karenni boy willfully joining in the fight against the Burmese to resist the government’s taking of their land, homes, and other civil rights. The story is told in two parts, in which the first part develops Chiko’s story and the second is Tu Reh’s. Chiko’s character is developed wonderfully, and it seems as if Tu Reh’s character is not developed as well as Chiko’s although the intention is to make readers sympathetic to both. However, both characters achieve significant emotional growth throughout the novel. Chiko learns the true meaning of friendship by putting his own life in danger in place of another. Tu Reh comes to realize that the enemy is also a human being with family, fears, and kindnesses just like everyone else. These lessons are universal although the setting of a modern war torn Burma with child soldiers is extremely foreign to the average American.
The whole set-up of this story is specific to two Burmese cultures, the Burmese and Karenni people. In an author’s note, the author explains that she lived in Thailand and has first-hand experience with Karenni refugees as well as Burmese teens. Perkins showcases this knowledge in her overall story and also in smaller details throughout the story. For example, characters address each other in accordance to relationship, respect, and age. Chiko’s mother respectfully addresses her next-door neighbor as Ah-Ma, meaning older sister. Foods specific to the Burmese culture are also included in the text. For instance, Chiko’s mother fixes a meal of ngapi (shrimp paste), rice, and curry. However, when researching the culture, I found information explaining that ngapi is actually fish paste in the Burmese culture (Encyclopædia Britannica Online 2012). The shrimp paste is found in Thailand, and curry is a common Thai food as well (Encyclopædia Britannica Online 2012). I wonder how much of the culture is assumed, true, or even researched based on this. The religion seems accurate from what I have been able to find on the culture with mentioning of Buddhists and Christians (Central Intelligence Agency 2012). However, I am an outsider unfamiliar with the culture, and many things in the book may prove true and not easily found in a reference resource.
Despite the possible inaccuracies I have uncovered, I enjoyed this book and its message. I am appalled at the horrors that the people in Burma are currently facing, and my heart goes out to them. I am curious as to how people from within these cultures feel about the book’s cultural authenticity or if the message it sends is more important than anything.
Awards Won & Review Excerpts
- Asian Pacific American Award for Literature, 2010 and 2011 Honor Book
- Booklist: "Though occasionally didactic and a bit preachy, this is nevertheless a story that invites discussion of the realities of warfare rooted in long-standing antagonism and unreasoning hatred of 'the other.'"
- Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices: "Mitali Perkins sheds light on the current political oppression in Burma (Myanmar) in this eye-opening story."
- Kirkus Reviews: "While Perkins doesn't sugarcoat her subject—coming of age in a brutal, fascistic society—this is a gentle story with a lot of heart, suitable for younger readers than the subject matter might suggest."
- The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books: "Most problematic, though, is the improbable tidying of loose ends, in which all outcomes are far too rosy for even the most optimistic readers to expect in a war story."
- The Central Intelligence Agency’s World Factbook contains information about Burma: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/bm.html.
- Try reading this fictional book about Burma as well:
- Other books by Mitali Perkins:
Rickshaw Girl. ISBN 9781580893091
References
Central Intelligence Agency. 2012. “The World Factbook: East & Southeast Asia :: Burma.” Central Intelligence Agency. Accessed November 21. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/bm.html.
Encyclopædia Britannica Online. "Myanmar." Accessed November 21. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/400119/Myanmar.
Encyclopædia Britannica Online. "Thailand." Accessed November 21. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/589625/Thailand.
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