Paul Yee,
Blood and Iron: Building the Railway (I am Canada Series)
Scholastic Canada, 2010.

Rating: G*

When I was a child, I remember seeing the Canadian Heritage Moment entitled ‘Nitro’. It stayed with me due to the statement ‘They say that for every mile of railway, one Chinese man died," (Heritage moment found here: http://www.histori.ca/minutes/minute.do?id=10196). The book Blood and Iron tells the story of Lee Heen-gwong, one of those Chinese males who worked on the railway. In this novel, Lee is a fourteen year old Chinese boy who has joined his father, Ba, in Canada to earn money to help their family at home. Told in journal format, we follow the story of their travel from China, various and dangerous jobs on the railway and the eventual return to China. Through the narrative, we are introduced to Bookman, Mouse, Old Fire, Thunder God, Tiger Face and other workers on the railways. They are part of the Chinese work crew who are given the physically challenging and life threatening jobs on the railway. Lee writes of the family debts that have been obtained through gambling - he is joining his father in Canada to pay off debts his grandfather has incurred, his father then incurs his own debts gambling on the boat on the way over and then continually after they leave. Lee tells the story of his life on the railroad construction gang, tallying his earnings each week (he works for a dollar a day, however, his expenses take most of that). The story ends with Lee back in China, having earned $42.67 for his 234 days of deadly work. The story Lee tells is both frustrating and heartbreaking - Lee is so earnest in his pursuits and yet he cannot get ahead or rewarded for putting his life on the line.

This novel tells a rarely told story - the plight of the Chinese workers on the Canadian railway. While this story is not true, it could be the story of any of the young workers who gave their lives for the Iron Road. There is a note at the beginning referencing a translator; however, this story is fictional. The use of obvious nicknames for the workers means that this could be the story of any of the workers from the railway. The choice of the story of the railway for this series is a good one. The I Am Canada Series is focussed on the retelling of the story of Canada through the eyes of young men. It would be very easy for Scholastic to tell the stories of young men at war - and the other two books in the series do just that - so the focus on having a story that is racially diverse from those that would be told in war, and that highlights some of the lower points in the history of Canada is a brave and admirable one. There are issues in some of the writing - for example, with so many nicknames, there are times that the characters are hard to follow - but those are minor compared to the importance of the story being told and the believability of Lee. This book is a good start to a lesson in Canadian History and Human Rights.

Students interested in the history of Canada would enjoy this novel. As well, it would be a good book to recommend for boys who are looking for a book that is easier to read and contains action, adventure and honesty in a single tome.

Alison Edwards
Vol. 16, number 4
April 2011

*Rating System:
E - Excellent, enduring, everyone should see it!
G - Good, even great at times, generally useful!
A - Average, all right, has its applications.
P - Problematic, puzzling, poorly presented.