The Yellow River Is Freezed Over

This book is narrated by the author as a young boy, who listens to his mother read out letters from her absent sister-in-law, a Catholic nun doing missionary work in far-off China. The letters are written in a rather formal style that contrasts noticeably with the family’s relaxed vernacular speech. Language is an important feature of this book, including the grammatical error in the title.

The aunt’s adventurous life opens up new worlds for the boy, and he has a hard time reconciling the woman of the letters with the emaciated, neurotic nun who returns to live with them for a short time before setting off again, this time for India. The novelty is the narration of the story from a child’s perspective – a child who is so close to the ground that he tells people apart by their feet.