Songs of Willow Frost (by Jamie Ford)

(Amazon UK link)

As with so many of the books allocated for our local reading group, I had not heard of the author, Jamie Ford. I bought the book ‘Songs of Willow Frost’ earlier in the year from one of the online second-hand stores. It was going to be September’s choice for the group, but was moved to August. I was travelling, so unable to attend the meeting; but as soon as I got home, I decided to read it anyway. 

The book is mainly set in 1934, featuring a Chinese American boy called William Eng. He has lived in the Sacred Heart orphanage in Seattle for five years; it’s run by nuns, and as orphanages of the era go, it probably wasn’t so bad. There’s sufficient food, even if some of it is maggot-ridden, and the nuns who run it are mostly benign. There is a lot of corporal punishment, some of it for things like bed-wetting, but unfortunately that wasn’t unusual. 

William is mostly resigned to his existence. He has two good friends: a boy called Sunny, and a blind girl called Charlotte. William is the only Chinese boy, and knows he’s unlikely ever to be adopted. He has some memories of his past - of his mother being taken away, unconscious, after he found her in the bath. He has no idea who his father is. 

But the day we meet the children is the day allocated to celebrate all the boys’ birthdays. William is twelve. For a special treat they are taken into the town, given a few coins to spend, and treated to a film. This is after he’s had a chat with the school headmistress who answers some of his questions about the past - though not all of them. 

When William sees a poster, he is convinced that the woman on it - Willow Frost - is his mother. We don’t know at first whether he’s correct, or whether he’s deluding himself. But he is determined to see her. And he manages more than once to escape, convinced that if only she sees him, she will take him back. He cannot imagine why a mother might abandon her only child, and feels that perhaps it was a mistake.

The 1934 events continue, in and out of the orphanage. William escapes and returns, learning some new things but also increasingly puzzled about what he remembers of the past. The writing is evocative, mostly told from the point of view of this confused, kind-hearted and generous boy. We see glimpses into his past, partly in conversation, and partly because the book has chapters that take us back into the past - to 1921, before he was born, when we learn about his mother’s circumstances. 

We don’t learn until towards the end of the book exactly what happened, and why the two were parted. And there are some sordid things in William’s mother’s life, things she can’t admit to or explain. But I very much appreciated that the author did not go into gratuitous detail. He makes it clear what is happening, sometimes horrendous things, without spelling it out. 

There’s a lot of fascinating social history in this book, set in an era and culture I knew almost nothing about. But it’s primarily character-based, and the two main characters - William and his mother - are beautifully drawn, realistic and three-dimensional. There are some deeply sad scenes, one of which I was not expecting at all, although it was perhaps inevitable. And there’s a positive ending, too, even if it’s a tad abrupt.

I don’t suppose I’ll read this book again, but I’m very glad I did read it. I found it engrossing, at times moving, and at times shocking. It’s quite thought-provoking too, and the story is cleverly constructed, the story gradually unfolding as William discovers more about his past. 

Recommended.

Review copyright 2024 Sue's Book Reviews