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75th out of 246 books
—
90 voters
The Three Daughters of Madame Liang
After her husband takes a concubine, Madame Liang sets out on her own, starting an upscale restaurant and sending her daughters to America to be educated. At the restaurant, the leaders of the People's Republic wine and dine and Madame Liang must keep a low profile for her daughters' sake.
Soon her two eldest daughters are called back to serve the People's Republic. Her old
...morePaperback, 315 pages
Published
January 1st 2008
by Moyer Bell
(first published January 1st 1969)
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Many of Pearl Buck's stories happen in Imperial China (Peony, Imperial Woman, The Good Earth) while others happen in revolutionary China (Sons, A House Divided, Pavilion of Women), but this book is set in an era where Chairman Mao already rules China, and is set somewhere in the fifties. Some of Mao's policies (communal farms, Great Leap Forward, forcing people to move here and there for whatever reason) happen in this book, so it was interesting to read a book that was written by Ms. Buck later...more
The story felt very realistic and enabled me to understand why first generation overseas Chinese wanted to return to China, despite the terrible state of things. It was both personal and broad, touching on larger themes, such as whether one type of political system fits all nations, why Chinese have dominated the business world wherever they go and the significance of being Chinese.
By the end of the book, the three daughters represent the spectrum of attitudes that overseas Chinese have towards...more
By the end of the book, the three daughters represent the spectrum of attitudes that overseas Chinese have towards...more
I chanced upon this book and find that I am drawn to the stories of the Pulitzer Prize winner and Noble laureate, Pearl S. Buck. She spoke Chinese and lived in China for several years. So she has credibility with regard to her subject matter.
Madame Liang was educated in Paris and was, at the time, a young revolutionary who supported Sun Yat-sen in the overthrow of the imperial throne. Over time she begins to believe that she, together with the other 500+/- revolutionaries, brought about China's...more
Madame Liang was educated in Paris and was, at the time, a young revolutionary who supported Sun Yat-sen in the overthrow of the imperial throne. Over time she begins to believe that she, together with the other 500+/- revolutionaries, brought about China's...more
Without unnecessary drama, in a style that is more reflective and clinical than emotional, Pearl Buck has illustrated the collapse of traditional values through the story of one family during Mao’s communist regime. Unfortunately, the new order proves unable to provide values that replace the social structures it has tried to eradicate. Through the fairly explicit musings of Madame Liang and her son-in-law John, Buck delves into an analysis of how human nature renders Mao’s ideals impossible in...more
Pearl S. Buck is one of my favorite authors. Her stories are clear, heartfelt, and always tell the story of a culture different than anything I know. She makes the culture, old ways, wisdom, knowledge, and beauty of Chinese people so real to me. She has convinced me that it is the most wonderful culture on the earth. But, as always, with most/best, the fall can be the worst. The book is set between the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. But the story is about how the Chinese charact...more
Found this book written in 1969 in our library and had a quick read. Very interesting perspective of China during Mao's time and before; written primarily from the viewpoint of four women, a strong Mother and her three daughters she had sent to America to be raised in freedom. Two come back to live in China.
A bit of sterotyping (Americans are all kind and happy) and a few "gay" times, so a little dated, but a good perspective on some of the struggles China has gone through. Many references to h...more
A bit of sterotyping (Americans are all kind and happy) and a few "gay" times, so a little dated, but a good perspective on some of the struggles China has gone through. Many references to h...more
This is definitively one of her best books - it's tragic, moving and a real pageturner.
Some of her best character depictions.
Some of her best character depictions.
I loved it. I think this is most favorite Pearl Buck book so far (although I also loved Dragon Seed -- a different point in time). This one takes place around 1960. Madame Liang's 3 daughters are all living in the USA, and Madame Liang is glad they are safely there instead of having to survive the dangerous political climate as she does in China. Then two of her daughters decide to come back to China because they love their country and want to serve the revolution. Very interesting what happens...more
This is one of the best book I've ever read. Pearl S.Buck always portraying human's soul perfectly. I think this book is not only a story, but semi-documenter.
Cerita ini menggambarkan Cina pada masa peralihan pemerintahan kuno ke modern. Digambarkan dari sudut pandang Madame Liang sebagai seorang ibu, dan juga dari sudut pandang ketiga putrinya.
Ketiga putrinya mempunyai pangilan hidup yang berbeda2, dan dengan demikian punya tanggapan yang berbeda2 juga pada keadaan. Salah satu penggambaran pal...more
Cerita ini menggambarkan Cina pada masa peralihan pemerintahan kuno ke modern. Digambarkan dari sudut pandang Madame Liang sebagai seorang ibu, dan juga dari sudut pandang ketiga putrinya.
Ketiga putrinya mempunyai pangilan hidup yang berbeda2, dan dengan demikian punya tanggapan yang berbeda2 juga pada keadaan. Salah satu penggambaran pal...more
This is what I've been looking for the last several weeks! A book that I would just LOVE to read, and want to sit and read, and make excuses to read! Wonderful. A story of "modern" post-war China (1961). Madame Liang's two daughters return to China after spending their adolsence in America. The third daughter stays in the US. It's the story of how they fit back in, cope, and learn important lessons of the NEW CHINA. Sigh. Loved it, the ending was appropriate. Fan of Pearl S. Buck? Try this one.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. SUPER fascinating commentary on the rebellion in China and the myriad of aspects/opinions people take/must feel. I thought the author was incredible to weave SO many thoughts and opinions and stories of different people living different lives and how those lives are affected by age, circumstances, beliefs, etc. She did a phenomenal job in bringing so many thoughts to the table in one story.
Really more a two and a half. Buck shares her slant on Chinese politics and ideology in the mid-twentieth century. Madam Liang and her three American-educated daughters provide different lenses through which the changing culture and nation are portrayed.
Evidence of the author's agenda moves this novel into a much less engaging and personal set than her classic The Good Earth.
Evidence of the author's agenda moves this novel into a much less engaging and personal set than her classic The Good Earth.
After a rather slow start, the story picked up and didn't quit until the dramatic ending. Honest characterizations; historically interesting; minimally preachy. I learned much about events which occurred during my own lifetime but of which I had little information. A solid 4.
If you like this book, do yourself a favor and read the memoir _Life and Death in Shanghai_ by Nien Cheng, who survived Mao's Cultural Revolution.
If you like this book, do yourself a favor and read the memoir _Life and Death in Shanghai_ by Nien Cheng, who survived Mao's Cultural Revolution.
This book gave a good cultural perspective of China during the early days of Communism. I didn't always side with the characters actions, but I understood their viewpoints and motivations more through Pearl Buck's words. She gives a voice and insight into China that shows her love of the people and country, while not shying away from its harshness.
This is one of my favorite novels by Pearl Buck about a Chinese family caught in extraordinary events that occurred during the Chinese revolution. The characters are very well drawn, particularly Madame Liang, a woman of strength, courage and determination who struggles to survive in a hostile and repressive society. The story also includes her three daughters, each having to deal with a different life inside and outside China. Love and loyalty is a theme that flows throughout this novel, giving...more
I didn't find the novel satisfying. Could it be the way the dialogues flow? They are preachy and the characters talk like they were reading a script. All the same, I can see how Buck has influenced many writers who wrote about China and Chinese women. A tragic end.
This was an interesting journey into China just as Mao came to power with the Communists. It talkees place right before the Cultural Revolution and sheds some light on what the political atmoshphere was like back then.
jadi lupa detail2 ceritanya tapi tentu saja masih ingat betapa kuatnya Madam Liang sebagai kepala keluarga, melebihi suaminya (yang seharusnya menjadi kepala keluarga)...membaca buku seperti ini, gw belajar sejarah Timur...nice.
Another great tale by Pearl Buck. Being a huge fan of books about strong women I loved this. It is the story of four women and the different ways in which they handle the shift to communist China
Good one. What do you do when you've sent your daughters out of China for their safety, and they are called back? Living through the communist take over was not an easy thing.
This was fascinating. The perspective was one I know little about and yet felt a kinship with. I liked this book a lot. My only complaint was I felt it ended very abruptly.
Apr 30, 2009
Muriel
added it
This is definitely not a book I would have chosen for myself but I did get it finished just in time for book club. There was a lot of great discussion regarding this book and I enjoyed it.
I have read several books by Pearl S. Buck and this was just as good as any of them. I have also read a good bit about the Chinese Cultural Revolution, and I am amazed that Buck could have painted a pretty accurate picture of what life was like in that period. I was under the impression that not much information was coming out of China at the time, and she died before Mao did and before the Cultural Revolution was over.
The book is the story of a strong, Chinese woman and her three daughters, who...more
The book is the story of a strong, Chinese woman and her three daughters, who...more
I felt that this book was non-fiction at some points. It was quite an education on Chinese culture. Not a heck of a lot happens in this book, though.
Ranks up there as one of my favorite books. Ms. Buck portrays the stories of three daughters whose mother, Madame Liang, sent to America from China during the Cultural Revolution. Each story outlines the path each daughter takes to find her Chinese identity after being raised in America. The daughters' encounters with Western and Eastern medicine, personal and national ideologies, and their evolving sense of identity all stand to demonstrate the overall struggle of China in the late 20th century...more
Loved it. Buck does such a beautiful job of intertwining fictional stories with the realities of Historical China.
I didn't like this book nearly as much as Buck's The Pavilion of Women. She wrote it after she had to leave China with the onset of the Cultural Revolution. One could sense in her writing that she wasn't all that familiar with her subject matter.
This book wasn't nearly as philosophical and spiritual either. It was mostly an early, foreigner's expose of communist China. Now that we have so many first-hand Chinese emigree accounts of China in this time period, this book is noticeably dated.
That be...more
This book wasn't nearly as philosophical and spiritual either. It was mostly an early, foreigner's expose of communist China. Now that we have so many first-hand Chinese emigree accounts of China in this time period, this book is noticeably dated.
That be...more
One of the later books by Pearl Buck, describing the turmoil of the stuggles of the people after the communist take over in China... really thought provoking on several levels.
I loved this book. It reminded me of what is happening in my beloved Venezuela.
I would give the second half of this book a solid four stars. The first half was rather slow and somewhat redundant. This is a work of historical fiction that takes place during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. It was much more interesting for me to see how communism might have affected the lives of individuals rather than reading an impersonal account in a history book. It also provides a context for further exploration and understanding of that period in China's history. As a fan of Pearl Buck...more
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Pearl Sydenstricker Buck (1892–1973) was a bestselling and Nobel Prize–winning author. Her classic novel The Good Earth (1931) was awarded a Pulitzer Prize and William Dean Howells Medal. Born in Hillsboro, West Virginia, Buck was the daughter of missionaries and spent much of the first half of her life in China, where many of her books are set. In 1934, civil unrest in China forced Buck back to t...more
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John Sung itu Penginjil besar Cina pada saat itu.
Jun 01, 2010 09:38am