The Call: An American Missionary in China

by John Hersey

An American missionary in China, David Treadup, is the protagonist of John Hersey’s magnificent novel, a novel whose richness of character, color, and incident both explores the evangelical impulse in this country—the peculiarly American spirit of wanting to help others—and reflects the whole complex history of China from 1900 to the aftermath of World War II.
            The Callis the story of one man’s spiritual odyssey as he strives to reconcile his commitment to God with his love of the struggling mass of Chinese humanity, to whom he pledges his life. It is the story of an American family choosing to make a home for themselves in an alien world that is sometimes exhilarating, sometimes overwhelming, always surprising—and periodically inundated by history, famine, war, revolution. It is the story of a marriage of abiding partnership, of a wife at once strong and vulnerable, struggling to be close to a husband whose awesome challenge to somehow make the world a better place for the Chinese people will always claim him.
            Treadup’s large adventure opens out from rural upstate New York, where he is raised on a struggling, isolated farm, to the Syracuse campus where, caught up in evangelical fervor, he is struck by a blinding light (through the voice of a Scottish rugby player) and answers the Call, to vast and turbulent China, where he is sent by the Y.M.C.A. to save souls. There, in the face of this three-thousand-year-old civilization, the tall, gregarious, ambitious American becomes quickly aware of his own insufficiency. But Treadup’s astonishing resourcefulness (who would think that a gyroscope could sway multitudes?), and his ever-growing passion to penetrate to the heart of China to bring its yearning people into the twentieth century, fire his energies again and again over the years of triumphs and frustrations, of rekindled vision and lost hopes.
            John Hersey, himself the child of a missionary family in China, brings to this deeply human story a profound and intimate knowledge of the life it encompasses, giving us an extraordinary authenticity of place and feeling. It is his crowning achievement.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, China, Literature, Novels

709 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

John Richard Hersey, a Pulitzer Prize-winning American writer, earliest practiced the "new journalism," which fuses storytelling devices of the novel with nonfiction reportage. A 36-member panel under the aegis of journalism department of New York University adjudged account of Hersey of the aftermath of the atomic bomb, dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, as the finest piece of journalism of the 20th century.

Reviews

[Lewis Weinstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've only read the first 200 pages but so far it is a fascinating portrait of the missionary movement in China ... what I find most appalling, although not surprising, is the arrogant attitude of the American missionaries as they sought to bring Christ to the heathens of China

... two excerpts make the point

... Mark you the providence of the Lord in opening the door of faith unto the Chinese Gentiles ... God sent the gunboats and he cannons ... He let us use the English strength to hold the heathen still so he would listen to us ...

... western nations are superior because of Christianity our Christian missions have a duty to instill in these heathen nations a new conscience to rid them of moral laxity and social injustice

REALLY? ... and don't think for a minute that the Chinese don't remember and will patiently wait for their revenge

[Karen R. Dickson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I decided to delve into this mammoth book (690 pages), mostly because I so loved Hersey's A Bell for Adano. Feels like I have lived a lifetime as I read this epic tale of David Treadup, from before he was born until 25 years after his death...a long time! But, in order to truly feel the grandeur and ultimately depressing saga of China...a nation whose history had predated this story by thousands of years, the pages were necessary and at times fascinating, often incredibly sad.

Treadup is a young missionary commissioned by the YMCA to serve in China. There was so much great information about the country, the work of missionaries, and the nation of China through the turbulent times (1905-1970). Yet, it seems turbulent times just goes hand in hand with this ancient land. It is also an in-depth look at a lifetime of work, dealings with family and children, so much! It will probably stay in my mind and heart for a long long time.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting tale of a missionary trying to do the right thing. Nothing trite or dogmatic about how religion is shown.

[Barbie N · Rating 3 out of 5]

At almost 700 pages, this book is no joke. I enjoyed the historical history of this time period in China, from the perspective of aYMCA missionary. It's a slow start, but well written. Somewhere after page 600 the story line seriously disappointed me. Blah.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this novel until the unsatisfying ending. You learn a lot about Chinese culture before World War II. I did not think the portrayal of the Christians did them justice though.