The Small Woman

Shortly before Christmas, I finished reading The Small Woman, by Alan Burgess. This is a novel based on the true life experiences of Gladys Aylward, an Englishwoman who traveled to China as a missionary in the 1930s. She fell in love with the country and the people, got swept up in the war between China and Japan, and spent the rest of her life serving the Chinese people.



The book was immensely popular, and a year after it was released it was turned into a film called The Inn of the Sixth Happiness, starring Ingrid Bergman and Curt Jurgens.



I actually saw the movie before I read the book. It's one of my mother's favorite movies, and she tried for years to get me to sit down and watch it with her. I'd seen a few scenes here and there throughout the years and had decided it wasn't an interesting movie, so I resisted her efforts rather strenuously. Finally, she played her trump card: if I liked the movie, she'd buy it for me (this also worked with The Naked Jungle).

I ADORED the movie. It was one of the most sweepingly romantic films I'd ever seen, and in spite of the questionable casting (Western actors playing Eastern characters, via dark hair dye and eyeliner) it made it onto my list of favorites, too. So I was rather eager to give the book a try, and picked up a cheap paperback copy at Powells for a few dollars.

Well. Hmmm. It was a good book, let me say that first, but I found it ultimately disappointing. The book and the movie are considerably different, and what I loved best about the movie (the romance) was lacking in the book. As well, the ultimate ending is left vague and open to interpretation in the movie, but is depressingly specific in the book. In the end, even though I could admire the book for its excellent rendition of wartime life in China, and one woman's sacrifices to fulfill her calling, it's not a book I'll probably reread. I just liked the movie, inaccurate though it was, so much better.

The Small Woman is worth reading at least once, if only for the historical value and a discussion about race and values, but my recommendation would be to pop some popcorn and watch the movie instead.