The Examination: A Novel

by Malcolm Bosse

Fifteen-year-old Hong and his older brother Chen face famine, flood, pirates, and jealous rivals on their journey through fifteenth century China as Chen pursues his calling as a scholar and Hong becomes involved with a secret society known as the White Lotus.

Genres: Historical Fiction, China, Young Adult, School, Historical, Fiction, Asian Literature

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Malcolm Joseph Bosse (May 6, 1926 – May 3, 2002) was an American author of both young adult and adult novels. His novels are often set in Asia, and have been praised for their cultural and historical information relating to the character's adventures. Bosse mostly wrote historical fiction novels after the publication of The Warlord, a historical fiction work set in 1920's China, which became a best-seller.
He also won the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis in 1983.

Bosse was born in Detroit, Michigan and died in New York City. He was a graduate of Yale University and served in the U.S. Navy. Bosse was also an English teacher in City College of New York in Manhattan.

Reviews

[Sheri · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't make it too far in this one. Cricket fighting is only so interesting, and I had no idea it could be so gory.

[Gabsss · Rating 1 out of 5]

WORST BOOK IN THE WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Kris · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really great novel set in 16th century China. It follows two brothers as they make their way across China as the older brother rises through the examination process. I loved seeing so many of the places I've visited and appreciated the author's inclusion of so many minor parts of daily life. He didn't shrink away from pirates, floods, famines, etc, but tempered it all with poetry and philosophy from China's greats. This was not a pretty book or a happy book, but it wasn't a downer either. I also really appreciated that the author did not take a standard western tone. You could tell he wasn't native Chinese, but there was none of the gratuitous sensationalism that normally comes from Western books about China (ahem, Lisa See).

[Ted Hunt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice readable novel that provides some insights concerning life in China in the late Ming era. At one point, Lao Tze, the "father" of Taoism, is quoted: "When one comes to a fork in the road, take it." Who knew that Yogi Berra was actually a Taoist?

[Alternat2vetrap · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to read this book for school and I found it mediocre at best. The book follows 2 brothers from a Chinese Province in the sixteenth century, one of these brothers being Chen and the other being Hong. Chen is a brilliant kid, especially for his socioeconomic status, and he ends up competing in the Confucius civil service examinations. Hong is seen as a shame to his brother and is often ridiculed since he is known to be a trouble maker. Hong hopes to see his brother succeed since he is already seen as a failure and his father is a drunkard who is weighing down the family. To achieve this, Hong makes money by cricket fighting to eventually allow him and his brother to journey to the examination locations.
We see these brothers continue their journey throughout the whole book, facing a great variety of obstacles in the way.

I was not excited to read this book at first because it just seemed super uninteresting to me. However, I do think I enjoyed it more than I thought I would (still didn’t enjoy it a lot though). I feel like this book was only made for the sole purpose to educate about China at this time period. Unfortunately, while doing this, the author leaves out actual interesting parts to the book and focuses heavily on details. There were countless parts in this book where instead of including a full conversation, the author just wrote “____ talked to ____ about ____”. Doing this just feels so lazy and removes a great deal of enjoyment from the book. If he was going to replace these conversations with details, at least make the details somewhat interesting! There were so many pages that I genuinely just breezed through because the author either included unnecessary details or just reminded us about something that has already been heavily enforced (ex: the letters).

I think this book was mediocre for what it was but I would not recommend this book to anyone. I would say 2 stars is a pretty fair score.

[OLIVIA · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to read this for my AP World History summer assignment and I was kind of dreading it lol. Last year, I read the Good Earth By Pearl Buck for another history summer assignment and I really really hated it. So, I went into this book with the mindset from August 2024, not expecting much besides a lot of work and boring passages.

However, I did actually enjoy this a little? It's a story of adventure that takes place in 16th century China, during the Ming Dynasty. It follows two brothers, the younger, Hong, accompanies his older, book-smart brother, Chen, during his travel across China towards Beijing for Chen to take the civil service exam in order to become a government official. I did learn about this last year in history, and it's a system based upon merit and revolves around the Confucian ideology.

I liked this book more than last year's because it was more interesting, especially with the adventures and travelling. I did not like keeping up with any of the names of the government officials that were met throughout the book because frankly, I did not really care. That was what made it really boring for me. I also didn't like having to tab every single significant or insignificant detail for me to include in my notes, so that may have strained my relationship with this book. My notes are 11 pages long.

Otherwise, I do think I would have enjoyed this book had it not been for those components. I've read better stories. Also, I cannot comment on the historical accuracy because I have never lived through Ming China nor have I learned about it yet in school.

2 stars.

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this a lot. I’m always up for a book about pre-modern China and this one featured two very different but fully-realized main characters. It wasn’t quite YA or Afult, but that did not bother me.

[Kathie Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set in the Ming Dynasty, following two very different brothers, Hong the wily and street smart 15-year-old cricket fighter who is more like an older brother to 19-year-old Chen the scholar. Hong must accompany Chen on a foot journey of over 3,000 miles to sit for a series of scholarly examinations that test the intellect, writing skill and will. Those who pass the grueling tests are guaranteed cushy government jobs, but Chen is more interested in learning for learning's sake, and his brilliant brain seems stuck in the clouds as he quotes poetry and Confucius, often disconnected from his surroundings. Hong's keen wit and judgement saves them in many a scrape as they are kidnapped by pirates, travel through devastated areas of famine, and cities filled with people who wish to do them harm. I would rank this book with the classics The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck and The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings in the beauty of writing, and immersive experience in a distant time and culture. Some brutal reality makes this a good choice for age 12+, but it's a must read for everyone.

[Elizabeth · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had to read this book for class and I flat out hated it. It takes a lot for me to say I hate a book. I could see where people could think it was good, but for me it was strained. It wasn't free flowing and unpredictable. It was stiff and unchanging.
The book follows two brothers on a journey through China. I kept getting the characters mixed up and I couldn't follow them.
the "exciting" parts fell flat and weren't dramatic enough, very monotone. I so wanted to love this book, but it did not happen :(

[AJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of my favorite books growing up. I wish I hadn't read all the negative reviews - I can't believe anyone would so vehemently hate this book! At the very least it's a descriptive historical children's book!

[XXX · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed ending the year with this book (long time in coming). I'd really give this like a 3.5 stars if it were possible.

To be a bit critical, the book is a bit "explainy" of Ming-era China toward a western audience, which sometimes interrupts the narrative flow. However, the overall premise is strong: there are two brothers, one of whom lives the life of the mind and needs to take the imperial/civil service examinations. The other lives the life of the world. In their travels to different cities to take more and more advanced parts of the exam, they see a lot of China and many different things, ranging from villages to plagues to pirates to the Confucian shrine... there's a bit of a tendency of the work to use this as a vehicle to showcase parts of (historic) China to an unfamiliar reader (tbc, I am in that category)

I sort of liked the ending, but it had some weak points. The younger brother (of the world) joins a rebellious organization that will ultimately lead to the Ming's downfall. It was never really clear to me why he liked their version of the world, how would it solve the problems he saw (which continued into the next dynasty). The older brother (of the mind) becomes a bit more practical and has seen the flaws of the current system (e.g., in a starving village) and so, despite ultimately coming first in the nation in the final exam that year, doesn't have the heart to join the civil service and is instead put in a prominent position administering the rights in the shrine to Confucius (where he can return to the life of the mind and ignore the difficulties of the world, it seems to me).

While I sort of see why this is (he reflects on a tough choice they made in giving food to someone starving in a village while there were others who might have taken it from her), it just ultimately didn't come alive for me. Neither did the love plot for him (or lack thereof). He seems distracted by certain women, but ultimately decides he mostly misses a girl back home (he's worried she's died of a plague of locusts). When a traveler informs them that their village was spared, he also realizes he didn't really love her either.

[Izzy Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite as traumatizing as The Kite Runner, but be warned of the violence of the pirates. Things to look forward to: secret societies, old world SATs, firm morals, crushes and blunders, and a writing style that frequently reminds readers of the vastness of China.

[Unicorn Queen · Rating 2 out of 5]

meh.

[Ya Boy · Rating 5 out of 5]

It be cool cuz ya boy J. Boss man

[Kayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a very interesting book, and by far the best historical fiction book I've ever read !! :)

[meryem · Rating 4 out of 5]

erm lacks effective realistic dialouge. okay read btw.

[Monica Bond-Lamberty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great YA historical fiction.
For APWH students it shows the examination system but also life in the countryside, the struggles of social mobility, cricket fighting, etc.

[Fred Lerpert · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favourite book during teenage years.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I decided to read my son's summer reading assignment because why not. Anyway: the author has done a lot of research and it is all right there on the page, which includes passages that sound something like, "And then Hong noticed a red bird, which reminded him that his name meant red and that red is traditionally a happy color associated with weddings," or "He had heard that vegetable dumplings were a specialty of the region, where they were often prepared with two kinds of dipping sauce," etc. There was also a LOT of not very inspired descriptive prose focusing on the landscape.

That being said, I get why it was assigned: it gives an awful lot of information about Chinese culture and Confucianism fairly painlessly, and I did find it involving and even suspenseful. And I'd never read of a cricket match with actual crickets, so there's that.

[Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was another summer reading book for school. It wasn't a book I would typically pick up to read but there was a lot of good information in it. I probably wouldn't read it ever again but anyone who likes learning about ancient China would love this book!

[Brandon Gee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book holds alot of interesting facts of history about China in the Qui dynasty. The pace is a little slow, but it's a good book if you want to know more about history or if you are doing a project related to China

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

CRICKET FIGHT!

[R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This strangely stuck with me. Myseventh grade techer read this to us, but it has soe cool scenes.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this to the girls. Learned a lot about China during that time period. Interesting story...kept their attention.

[***Lulu*** · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hate this book!!!! Its soooo boring!

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another 7th grade summer reading book - that Emma didn't chose to read but I did- hard, long, meandering and sometimes boring read.

[Mickie · Rating 3 out of 5]

My son had to read this for school and it seemed interesting and it was. I learned a little about China and some of its history.

[Regan · Rating 1 out of 5]

sucked

[Crystal Yu · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book that i read back in 8th grade. I thought it was pretty interesting.

[Minty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Remember this book from my childhood. <3