Summary:
All her life, Mulan has trained for one purpose: to win the duel that every generation in her family must fight. If she prevails, she can reunite a pair of priceless heirloom swords separated decades earlier, and avenge her father, who was paralyzed in his own duel.
Then a messenger from the Emperor arrives, demanding that all families send one soldier to fight the Rouran invaders in the north. Mulan’s father cannot go. Her brother is just a child. So she ties up her hair, takes up her sword, and joins the army as a man.
My take: 3 looks
This was an engaging story of Mulan, told in a simple and straightforward manner, and written with a YA tone and readability. There were a few things that threw me off, though. And, I have to admit that the animated Disney movie “Mulan” is as close to the legend that I had ever come.
However, the basic tenets from the 12th century poem are simple: Mulan was a woman in ancient China who takes her father’s place in the army, posing as a man, leads troops of men in a war spanning 12 years, returns home, and only then does she reveal her sex to her comrades.
Pretty simple, and anything more has been added over the years.
There are a couple of interesting additions to Thomas’ retelling with which I disagree. First, the fact that Mulan is a woman was apparent to her commanding officer almost immediately. Not only is this inaccurate according to the source poem, it does not stand up culturally for a woman to fight alongside a man. Basically, it is so wrong that it can’t be dismissed.
The other issue I had was the undertone of homosexuality. I don’t oppose the theme in the least, as long as it’s presented with some degree of accuracy. The fact is, there was homosexuality in ancient China. It was celebrated in the earliest of records, then tolerated until the middle of the 1600s. With that, there was no need for subtly or subversion, especially among soldiers in battle. It was understood that men would fulfill their role of continuing the family line, but to have a relationship with the same sex was completely accepted, even assumed in times of war.
With this in mind, the furtive glances, the hand resting on the arm a bit longer than necessary, etc. seemed more to pander to an LGBT audience, rather than honestly present it. Perhaps care was taken when considering the YA audience, but it still rings as inauthentic, and does an injustice to YA readers feeling these feelings themselves.
I give three stars here because it was an easy read, was entertaining, got the main points across. No more because I am a bit of a purist when it comes to historical figures.
Recommended.
