The Examination

In sixteenth century China, two brothers could be as different from each other as brothers are today. Chen - the older brother - is a brilliant scholar facing the difficult government examinations. Chen is ready to face his tests, if only he can get from his small village all the way to far-off Beijing. Hong, number-two brother, can take him there. No scholar himself, he would rather fly kites. But to honor their dead mother, Hong will protect his brother from the dangers along the way, with the additional duty of delivering a letter to a barber in Chengdu. After great trials and tribulations, the brothers finally make it for Chen to take his tests, while his brother gets caught up in the White Lotus Society because of the letter. Exquisite detail and haunting images of faraway worlds are the hallmarks of Malcolm Bosse’s historical fiction. As each step of the journey brings the brothers closer to their destinies, readers will find that, across the centuries, the struggle to survive and flourish remains unchanged.