Edna Hong

Reviewed by Peter J. Scaer on 08/26/2022

The book’s idyllic title seems undermined by its jarring subtitle. What is it that makes for a wonderful life, a life well lived? What do we prize? Many would list health and happiness, a good home with parents who care, followed then, perhaps by a family of our own. But Edna Hong takes us beyond surface smiles into a deep and abiding joy that can be found in Christ and in the Christian love of those who care. Hong tells us of flowers in the midst of thorns, hope that thrives in the desolation of human frailty against the backdrop of Nazi horrors.

Hong introduces us to Gunther, an epileptic with limbs feeble and deformed. Children may thrive on words of affirmation, but Gunther was told that he was “no good for anything.” And that was from his grandma. But to Grandma’s credit, she stepped in when Gunther’s mom wanted nothing to do with him. She may have been ashamed of her grandchild, but she had just enough maternal instinct to spoon feed the child and ultimately take him to Patmos, a Christian home for disabled children, and that would make all the difference. It was there, in this little boarding school, that Gunther was first loved, really loved, and heard a deaconesses sing, “O Jesus so meek, O Jesus so kind.”

Indeed, the book has a kind of soundtrack, sweet and gentle hymns that played in the background of Patmos, and then in the boarding school to follow. Gunther had not much of a family to speak of, but he was brought into a communion of love, a place where the pastor took special care and treated the children, whom he called birds, as his own. A place where music filled their ears and hymns were placed in their hearts and upon their tongues. There Gunther learned to walk, at least in his own way. And it was there at Patmos that Gunther learned the true meaning of Christmas, how Christ came to patch things up, because, as they learned, “There is a crack in everything.”

This book is a splash of joy in what for too many is a joyless world. Emotionally charged, this is no easy read. At first, I read it all at once. This is not a story easily put away. The second reading, if anything, was harder, but in the best of ways. For those susceptible to weeping, tissues should be close at hand. But hardly any eye will be left unmoistened. Every life matters, and there can be great joy in the midst of sadness. And this is made possible by Christian love, and by the kind of songs written by the likes of Paul Gerhardt, the kind of treasures that can be found in Lutheran Service Book and any hymnal worth its salt. Life is precious, and music matters. Gunther’s life is a testimony to such deep and abiding truth.