The Boy from Clearwater

Gr 7 Up–The Boy from Clearwater is a subtle examination of a life sculpted outwardly by circumstance and internally by self-preservation. Tsai Kun-lin, born in Japanese-occupied Taiwan in 1930, spoke Hoklo Taiwanese at home, was educated in Japanese, and observed life events and seasonal shifts with a mix of Buddhist and Shinto traditions. He enjoyed a peaceful childhood filled with familial affection and dragonfly-gazing. As World War II came to a head, Tsai and his peers were drafted as “student soldiers” in Japan’s service. When Japan surrendered, the island was ceded to the Republic of China’s government in exile. Education in Mandarin and increasing efforts at ideological control swiftly replaced Japanese language and customs. In this new environment, a brief stint in a high school book club lands Tsai, much to his disbelief, in a government reeducation camp for an entire decade. Tsai’s life story skillfully demonstrates how greatly sociopolitical upheavals beyond Taiwan’s borders affected the course of life for its people. A particularly shocking moment comes when Tsai reveals he knew barely anything about Mao’s Communist Revolution until he was already imprisoned for being a Communist spy. Visually idyllic, elegant illustrations of Tsai’s youth give way to dark wood-block style illustrations communicating the heavy strictures of imprisonment.