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Madame Wu

4.1 of 5 stars 4.10 · rating details · 3,578 ratings · 292 reviews

From the author of The Good Earth comes the story of Madame Wu, a woman whose surprising decision to retire from married life and select a concubine for her husband upsets her extended household. "A searching, adult study of women written with high seriousness and sympathy." - The New York Times Book Review

Mass Market Paperback, 516 pages

Published September 1992 by Gramedia Pustaka Utama (first published 1946)

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Apr 10, 2013 Jesse rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I was surprised to get so drawn into Pearl S. Buck's "Pavilion of Women." Buck has a subtle writing style that transcends time, making you forget that the book was written in 1946. Though I was intrigued to read it, given that Buck received both a Nobel and Pulitzer prize.

"Pavilion of Women" follows a mother and wife "Madame Wu" who, on her 40th birthday, chooses to provide her husband with a concubine instead of ever allowing him back into her physical world. There is absolutely nothing bad I c...more

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Feb 08, 2010 Mia Queen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: touch-of-asia

Tidak seperti yang saya kira, novel sastra cina ternyata bisa membuat saya hampir tidak bisa berhenti membacanya, kesalib dikit ama death note sih, tapi secara keseluruhan buku ini sangat bagus, ditulis dengan manis dan indah oleh Pearl S Buck.

Review awal menceritakan tentang seorang nyonya rumah bijaksana bernama Madame Wu, pada ulang tahun ke 40 ia mengambil keputusan heboh. Mencarikan istri muda untuk suaminya.

Review itu sudah cukup membuat saya tertarik untuk membeli novel ini, dan saya ti...more Tidak seperti yang saya kira, novel sastra cina ternyata bisa membuat saya hampir tidak bisa berhenti membacanya, kesalib dikit ama death note sih, tapi secara keseluruhan buku ini sangat bagus, ditulis dengan manis dan indah oleh Pearl S Buck.

Review awal menceritakan tentang seorang nyonya rumah bijaksana bernama Madame Wu, pada ulang tahun ke 40 ia mengambil keputusan heboh. Mencarikan istri muda untuk suaminya.

Review itu sudah cukup membuat saya tertarik untuk membeli novel ini, dan saya tidak salah pilih, bukunya bagus banget. Saya pikir selanjutnya akan bercerita tentang intrik yang akan terjadi setelah istri baru menempati kediaman Mr Wu. Ternyata saya salah besar, buku ini mengajarkan akan kebebasan berpikir, proses pendewasaan seorang nyonya rumah yang membawa perubahan baik dalam mendidik anak maupun kebebasan jiwanya sendiri.

Bagian awal, dengan mudah saya mengambil kesimpulan betapa tersiksanya wanita Cina jaman dulu, kerjaannya hanya melayani suami sampai puas tanpa memikirkan dirinya sendiri, memasak dan mengatur rumah tangga, tidak usah belajar karena wanita itu tidak butuh otak, hanya badan saja, dan tak lupa tugas mulianya yang lain, melahirkan anak laki-laki. Anak perempuan tak ada gunanya.

Nah, jaman dulu belum ada kontrasepsi rupanya, Madame Wu mengambil keputusan untuk mencarikan istri lagi karena doi ga pengen hamil lagi dan menikmati hari tuanya sebagai wanita. Walaupun badan masih kencang, karena ia tak pernah menyusui anaknya, ada ibu susu sendiri untuk tiap anak. Akhirnya terpilih gadis yatim sebagai istri muda Mr Wu, yang sintal dan agak bodoh. Tapi yang namanya manusia bukan binatang, hidup bukan hanya berkisar di bawah pusar, Mr Wu tidak mencintai istri mudanya, parahnya lagi istri mudanya malah jatuh cinta dnegan anak ketiga mereka. Nah lho...

Pertengahan cerita ada lagi tokoh baru, brader Andre, seorang pendeta berbadan besar, berkaki besar dan berbulu lebat. Dari Andre, madame Wu belajar banyak hal dan ia mengalami perubahan yang luar biasa, bahkan ia menyadari bahwa selama ini ia sama sekali tidak mencintai suaminya. *jreng jreng*

Selanjutnya saya malah takut jadi spoiler, mending baca sendiri deh. Recommended! *setelah nulis repiew ganti bintang ah, 5 bintang sepertinya pantas untuk buku ini* Jadi inget dulu pernah nonton pilem judulnya sama pavillion of women, dibintangi oleh William dafoe kalo ga salah agak mirip dengan novel ini...(less)

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Sep 16, 2012 Caroline rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a story is set in pre-Communist China, just before and during the Second World War. It is centred around a wealthy old-fashioned family called Wu, and explores the psychology of the different relationships between members of this extended family. The central figure of the story is Madame Wu -intelligent, cool, self-possessed and ordered, she runs a large household of over 60 people, with great efficiency – but always in a very understated and subtle way. She also oversees the administrat...more This is a story is set in pre-Communist China, just before and during the Second World War. It is centred around a wealthy old-fashioned family called Wu, and explores the psychology of the different relationships between members of this extended family. The central figure of the story is Madame Wu -intelligent, cool, self-possessed and ordered, she runs a large household of over 60 people, with great efficiency – but always in a very understated and subtle way. She also oversees the administration of her husband’s land and tenants.

On her 40th birthday she announces her withdrawal from the marriage bed, and her decision to get her husband a concubine. For years she has given much of her time to family affairs; but in this and in other respects she now wants more time to herself. This causes a furore, with her husband and with other members of the household, but nevertheless she goes ahead with her plan. She introduces a young country girl (given the title and status of Second Lady), into the household.... and as time goes by people adjust to her decision.

But her plans for a life of quiet retreat are disrupted. Into her life comes Father André, a foreign tutor to one of her sons. He is deeply spiritual, but not in traditional Christian way, and they share many philosophical conversations. (view spoiler) In the latter part of the book we see Madame Wu’s outlook change, and we see the effect this has on her family.

This book is written in quite a simple and artless fashion, and so many of its descriptions are pretty.... It made me think of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado – and the song Three Little Maids From School Are We...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXWkIZ...
Everything in Madame Wu’s world is so perfect, and runs so smoothly, and with such charm. Even the negative incidents are treated with a cool acceptance.

Then I checked out Wikipedia for a biog of the author..... Pearl S Buck was born in 1892 to two Southern Presbyterian missionary parents. When she was a baby her parents left America and went to China. She was raised bilingual – speaking both English and classical Chinese. In 1911 she returned to America to go to college in Virginia. Afterwards, like her parents, she served as a Presbyterian missionary, but her views became controversial, and she resigned. In 1914 she returned to China, and got married to an English (American?) agricultural economist. From 1920-1933 she taught English Literature at Nanking University, but eventually, in 1934, they had to flee China after turbulence with nationalist troops, Communist forces and assorted warlord uprisings.
She and her husband returned to America. Shortly afterwards they divorced, and she remarried.

Given the nature of Pearl Buck – her great experience of Chinese culture, her great experience of religious arguments of the time and darn it - even her experience of love, this book takes on a whole new dimension for me. It isn’t the fantasy world of the Mikado – rather it is the view of life in a Chinese household seen through the eyes of someone who has had a fascinating and idiosyncratic life. I think she really writes from the heart and from her experiences.

I thought this book was very unusual. I enjoyed it enormously, and greatly look forward to reading more by this author.

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Sep 17, 2012 Jo Ann ❤ rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, asian, around-the-world-2012, library-books, favorites, classics

My personal belief is that some books wait for us to come along and discover them they lie quietly, patiently, waiting for years maybe for the correct moment in our lives to be found. This book is one of them for me. I'll admit if I was to have read this book say 20 years ago I probably would not have enjoyed it so much or been able to appreciate the philosophical deepness of it. This book felt like it had waited for me to pick it up at just the right moment. I don't think I have ever read a boo...more
My personal belief is that some books wait for us to come along and discover them they lie quietly, patiently, waiting for years maybe for the correct moment in our lives to be found. This book is one of them for me. I'll admit if I was to have read this book say 20 years ago I probably would not have enjoyed it so much or been able to appreciate the philosophical deepness of it. This book felt like it had waited for me to pick it up at just the right moment. I don't think I have ever read a book that has touched me in such a personal way as this one has.

Madame Wu lives in two worlds one of the "old ways" and yet she is a very modern thinker of the new. When I first started reading this story I felt a little put off by Madame Wu and how she strived to be so perfect so in control of everything she did. For the first time ever I actually felt a little jealous over a fictional character. I have read a lot of books that made me feel many emotions but never envy. She had me stopping and thinking as to how I measured up as a wife and mother and maybe as a human being in general. As the story progresses we begin to see the real person that Madame Wu is she has reached the age of 40 and now she feels that she wants her time to do what she wants to do. She's done with bearing children and keeping her husband entertained and happy she's done her duty running a household and keeping everything in order and everyone satisfied. She wants a life of her own she wants to feel free to read books and to be herself and do the things she was never able to do.

And so begins her plan if I can make everybody happy in the family then they will all go off into their own worlds and leave me alone to be in mine. Madame Wu was torn with a tough decision as to what to do about her husband if she continued to have sex with him she could find herself pregnant past forty. She also knew that if she refused him he'd just go down to the local flower house and take care of it himself so she makes a drastic decision against her friends and family's opinions and decides on a concubine. Will just fix Mr. Wu up with a nice girl of my choosing and then after everything settles down I can start my life or at least that's how the plan was suppose to work out.

Slowly disaster after disaster arises and the family is thrown into chaos. She starts to study with Brother Andre a tutor she hired for her third son and he opens up her mind to a whole new way of thinking. Madame Wu comes to fully realize the complicated bonds between men and women are not so easily arranged and maybe in a way men and women are not so different, that we all need to feel love and be happy to achieve our highest potential.

With wit, humor and layer upon layer of thought provoking dialogue author Pearl S. Buck is able to transcend time between the past and the present. This story makes you look at the relationships between men and women with a whole new appreciation.
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2 likes · like · see review

May 16, 2011 Sue rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads, historical-fiction, read-in-2011, women, china

Initially I want to say that I received this book through the Goodreads First Reads program.

This book has added to an area that I know needs strengthening for me, knowledge of the life of Chinese people. It is set in mid 20th century, prior to WWII, a time of change around the world and a time of growing change in China. It is the story of cultural and personal transition. Pearl Buck writes from her knowledge of the country and her knowledge as a woman.

We see all that happens through the eyes of...more

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Apr 19, 2007 Sarah rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Pearl Buck's writings about China take me back to a place I visited long ago. Her stories and characters are absolutely engrossing; this was no exception. Sometimes a book is full of quotes that I can't resist noting, and this was one of those:

"... Madame Wu had long ago learned that the affairs of a great household must be managed one by one and in order.... She had tried to [do sometihng else]... and Heaven had prevented it. The time was not ripe, therefore. And as she had learned to do, while...more

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Jul 27, 2011 Myles rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: literary

Among my library's odd collection consisting of varied donations and years of accepting all tired, huddled masses of books is an assortment of beautiful editions of Pearl S. Buck's works, many of them retaining their dust-jackets. I'm not sure what drew me towards this particular book as opposed to, say, The Good Earth or The Living Reed, but the premise is compelling.

Madame Wu after 32 years of marriage and 25 years as the head of a large, venerable and prosperous household, decides to retire f...more

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Nov 03, 2012 Kaloyana rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Тази книга ми хареса повече отколкото "Източен вятър, западен вятър", въпреки че са с една тематика. Има много мъдрост, но не само от изтока, ами и такава - от запада. Хареса ми това, че има какво да се прочете за човешките взаимоотношения и нравите - такива каквито са били през миналия век в Китай - доста различни от всичко познато на нас, хората "отвъд моретата".
Основното обаче, е промяната (почти катарзисна!), която един човек може да преживее заради друг, повлиян от него. Всеобхватна промян...more

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Dec 09, 2011 Lisa N rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites-fiction

This is the story of the Wu family in Pre-Communist China. The story begins when Madame Wu, on her 40th birthday, decides to relinquish her conjugal duties and choose a concubine for her husband.

Chinese culture is so alien to me, I typically cannot connect to it or embrace it. The concept of second class wives and concubinage is something I have never been able to wrap my mind around, in any culture.

Some of the dialogue was surprisingly universal, I found myself wondering if it was authentic....more

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Oct 31, 2011 Vira Cla rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, novel

Novel tentang perempuan Cina abad 20 awal. Novel klasik karangan seorang Amerika yang sejak kecil tinggal di Cina, Pearl S Buck. Pavilion of Women berkisah tentang perkawinan Madame Wu, perempuan kaya terpandang yang menikah dengan laki-laki pilihan orangtuanya. Madame Wu menjadi sosok istri yang sempurna. Ia cantik dan cerdas, tapi kecerdasannya tak pernah ditunjukkan melebihi suaminya. Di saat perempuan masih banyak yang buta huruf, Madame Wu tertarik pada buku-buku di perpustakaan ayah mertua...more Novel tentang perempuan Cina abad 20 awal. Novel klasik karangan seorang Amerika yang sejak kecil tinggal di Cina, Pearl S Buck. Pavilion of Women berkisah tentang perkawinan Madame Wu, perempuan kaya terpandang yang menikah dengan laki-laki pilihan orangtuanya. Madame Wu menjadi sosok istri yang sempurna. Ia cantik dan cerdas, tapi kecerdasannya tak pernah ditunjukkan melebihi suaminya. Di saat perempuan masih banyak yang buta huruf, Madame Wu tertarik pada buku-buku di perpustakaan ayah mertuanya. Walaupun ia cerdas, ia tetap mengikuti aturan adat bagaimana menjadi perempuan semestinya. Sampai kemudian hari ketika ia merayakan ulangtahunnya ke-40 tahun, ia menyatakan melepaskan diri dari pengabdiannya pada suaminya. Ia memutuskan untuk mencarikan istri muda bagi suaminya. Madame Wu telah memberikan sepenuh jiwa raga untuk merawat keluarganya dengan baik. Semua anggota keluarga telah merasakan bagaimana pelayanan Madame Wu sebagai istri dan ibu. Karena itulah ia memutuskan untuk mencari kepuasaan jiwanya sendiri. Dengan mencarikan istri muda bagi suaminya, Madame Wu ingin melepaskan diri dari segala kepenatan dan tanggung jawabnya. Salah satu alasannya, seorang perempuan mempunyai daya yang terbatas untuk melayani suami. Perempuan tak seperti laki-laki yang sampai tua renta pun tetap membutuhkan kepuasan seksual. Dan, sekelumit alasan lainnya yang membuatnya menyatakan keputusan yang sulit diterima keluarganya itu. Namun, akhirnya, Madame Wu menyadari keegoisannya setelah bertemu dengan cinta sejatinya seorang pastor dari Eropa yang mengasingkan diri dari negerinya. Berkat pengertian yang ditanamkan oleh Andre sang Pastor, ia menyadari keangkuhannya yang merasa telah menjadi perempuan sempurna bagi keluarganya. Dengan cinta kasih yang tuluslah jiwanya bisa menjadi bebas juga abadi. Ada kutipan Madame Wu yang saya suka:

“Aku ini sebenarnya perempuan jahat, hidupku hanya untuk diriku sendiri saja.”

Setelah membaca novel ini, saya menyadari bahwa mau tak mau seorang istri dan ibu harus terlibat penuh dalam keluarganya. Tanpa adanya sosok istri atau sosok ibu, maka sebuah keluarga tidaklah sempurna. Istri atau ibu yang menjadi fondasi kebahagiaan keluarga. Kalau ibu atau istri tidak bahagia, dijamin keluarga itu pun tidak akan bahagia. Hm, mungkin! Ini kesimpulan saya saja.(less)

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Oct 27, 2011 Michelle Miller rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In Pavilion of Women, Pearl S. Buck tells the story of the House of Wu, and Madame Wu in particular, in simple and elegant prose. When Madame Wu celebrates her 40th birthday she embraces the custom of an older time and retires from physical relations with her husband. She then chooses a concubine for his bed, freeing her to run the household and engage in reading and intellectual pursuits. Madame Wu's decision sends her household into an uproar, and the story that follows deals with the ramifica...more

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Aug 24, 2011 Andrea rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-books

Beautiful book. My first Pearl Buck, and I'm now a fan. The inciting action is that on her 40th birthday, Madame Wu informs her husband that she is getting him a concubine. She does this in order to retire from her duties as a wife. Her household is thrown out of balance due to this announcement, and the rest of the book goes from there. Many unexpected and beautiful musings about life, scholarship, beauty and faith. Here are some favorite quotes:

"My faith? It is in space and in emptiness, in su...more

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Jun 24, 2011 Sarah rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Madame Wu is the perfect wife in one of the most respected rich households in China. The Wu household has stood proudly for centuries, taking care of its farms and tenants, and for the past 24 years, Madame Wu has been the one making sure everything has run smoothly. From the raising of her sons to the hiring of the proper respectable servants, from checking the household accounts to pleasing her husband in every way, she has succeeded. Now, on her 40th birthday, Madame Wu throws everything into...more Madame Wu is the perfect wife in one of the most respected rich households in China. The Wu household has stood proudly for centuries, taking care of its farms and tenants, and for the past 24 years, Madame Wu has been the one making sure everything has run smoothly. From the raising of her sons to the hiring of the proper respectable servants, from checking the household accounts to pleasing her husband in every way, she has succeeded. Now, on her 40th birthday, Madame Wu throws everything into chaos. She announces she will be retiring from living with her husband and will choose for him a second wife. Despite her family’s horror and protest, she finds a simple and sweet country girl to take her place in her husband’s bed. She moves to her late father-in-law’s chambers and proceeds to spend her free time reading, thinking, and getting to know herself. But when her son begins to learn English from a foreign priest in order to please his fiancee, Madame Wu finds her beliefs about herself and her values to be greatly challenged by a man of God who she has begrudgingly come to respect. All of her pre-conceived ideas about the roles of men and women will be re-examined and what happens as a result will change the house of Wu forever.

Pearl S. Buck’s novels are in a very select group of authors whose works I save for when I’m desperate for a fantastic piece of literature. She manages to just brush the line between gentle reading and thought-provoking. I finish every novel with a sense of fulfillment and a sense of challenge to utilize what I didn’t even realize I was learning. This book struck me especially. It not only looked at how women can pigeon-hole themselves into the role of wife and housemother but a way to change that. It challenged me to take a deeper look at how I am working to become a better wife to my husband, whether the things I do are for myself or for him or for both of us or for the simple reason that wives are expected to do them. Sometimes I berate myself for not running my household the way that I think my mother (in law or my own) would want me to, or the way that my friends expect me to. It’s hard to strike a balance in between what works and what challenges, and as women I think we sometimes get too caught up in being perfect and failing rather than finding fulfillment in the simple things we can do to please God and our families.

But I don’t want to digress away from a review and into my own theories. If you enjoy historical fiction, especially Chinese, or stories about families – I highly recommend the works of Buck. She was the first American woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, and was a very prolific author. There are novels enough of hers for you to find something just as thought-provoking for yourself as this was for me.(less)

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Feb 21, 2010 Truly rated it 4 of 5 stars

Chiuming berarti musim gugur yang cerah.
Jiu Ming (dibaca ciu ming) berarti tolong

Entah disegaja atau tidak, kedua kata yang diucapkan nyaris sama mempunyai arti yang berbeda namun secara harafiah memiliki makna yang sama bagi Madame Wu

Saat berusia 40 tahun, Madame Wu memutuskan untuk mencarikan suaminya seorang istri baru. Melalui jasa seorang Mak Comblang seorang wanita yang tidak terlalu cantik namun menawan, berusia lebih muda dari dirinya namun lebih tua dari para menantunya telah dipilih un...more

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Oct 24, 2009 rr added it · review of another edition

Chris and I both decided to read this book and then have a little book-group discussion of our own about it. Chris suggested it because he had just finished The Good Earth and was wanting to try another novel by Buck. I was game.

Buck makes the situation feel very concrete. I've never been in a large aristocratic Chinese household in the 1940s, but as I read this book I definitely felt like I was a fly on a wall in one. I'm not sure that the main character and her love for the mysterious (and wes...more

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Nov 29, 2011 Sophie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Good Passages:

"Old lady staggered to her feet. 'I am going to bed,' she said. 'I must prepare to be ill.'"

"All the quiet strength of her decision would gather around the opportune moment, and then it would become actually right."

"But Old Lady whenever she felt sad immediately felt hunger also. The picture made her sad. She turned to Madame We with a piteous look. 'I am hungry,' she said. 'I haven't eaten anything for hours.'"

"The steward had written down in his little snakelike letters, 'Ninetee...more

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May 03, 2013 Taryn rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

What an utterly fascinating premise- a wealthy (Chinese) woman turns 40, and decides her husband needs a concubine so he'll leave her the h*** alone. She is fond of him, but is simply tired of having to perform her main wifely duty, and having already given him 4 sons, and being frightened of the dangers of late life pregnancies, she selects the concubine herself. Her family is horrified.

At a certain point she befriends a foreign monk, whose exact religion is never clear, and her life is change...more

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Feb 12, 2013 Yuska Vonita rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: classics, chinese-lit, historical-fiction, tbr-2013

Pertama kali dengar nama Pearl S. Buck waktu duduk di bangku SMP. Waktu itu, guru Bahasa Indonesia pernah bertanya tentang penulis favorit anak-anak. Dengan mata berbinar, beliau bercerita tentang betapa indahnya buku-buku karya Pearl S. Buck. Baru sekarang gue ngerti perasaan guru Bahasa Indonesia gue itu. Memang sangat indah. I was blown away. Sayang, nyokap gue bukan penggemar Pearl S. Buck, jadi gue baru sekarang bisa mencicipi buku-bukunya. Waktu sekolah dulu biasanya gue melalap buku di ra...more Pertama kali dengar nama Pearl S. Buck waktu duduk di bangku SMP. Waktu itu, guru Bahasa Indonesia pernah bertanya tentang penulis favorit anak-anak. Dengan mata berbinar, beliau bercerita tentang betapa indahnya buku-buku karya Pearl S. Buck. Baru sekarang gue ngerti perasaan guru Bahasa Indonesia gue itu. Memang sangat indah. I was blown away. Sayang, nyokap gue bukan penggemar Pearl S. Buck, jadi gue baru sekarang bisa mencicipi buku-bukunya. Waktu sekolah dulu biasanya gue melalap buku di rak nyokap.

Mengambil latar waktu sebelum perang dunia kedua di Cina, novel ini berkisah tentang pencarian cinta sejati dan makna hidup. Bahwa sesungguhnya banyak aturan atau adat yang mengkungkung kebebasan dan bertentangan dengan kata hati yang sesungguhnya.

Tokoh sentral dalam novel ini adalah Madame Wu (yang memiliki nama kecil Ailien). Ia adalah penghubung dari semua tokoh-tokoh yang ada di buku ini. Biasanya gue nggak terlalu suka dengan novel yang tokohnya agak banyak, tapi tidak dengan novel ini. Karena tiap tokoh punya peranan, bukan asal tempel saja.

Mr. Wu adalah suami Madame Wu. Lalu, ada keempat anak laki-laki beserta menantunya, ibu dan bapak mertuanya (kadang diceritakan secara flashback). Selain itu, ada asisten pribadi Madame Wu, Bruder Andre yang mengajarkan filosofi hidup, Madame Kang, Suster Hsia, dan dua gundik Mr. Wu.

Di halaman 340-an, mata gue basah. Udah lama nggak nangis waktu baca novel. Gue nggak mau cerita apa yang membuat mata gue basah, karena nanti jadi spoiler.

Gue suka sekali sama novel ini karena perubahan pada tokoh-tokohnya signifikan, endingnya juga memuaskan walau diselipi beberapa kematian tokoh-tokohnya. Banyak perenungan dan pembelajaran dari novel ini, juga quote-quote yang jleb.

Menilik kultur dan sejarah Cina, pada masa itu memang masih berlaku perjodohan. Biasanya, orangtua memilihkan calon pasangan untuk anak memakai jasa Mei Ren atau Mak Comblang. Bahkan, pengantin pria belum melihat wajah pasangannya sebelum malam pertama.
Begitu juga dengan Madame Wu yang menjodohkan anak-anaknya, kecuali Tsemo yang ngotot menikah dengan pilihannya sendiri. Madame Wu pada awalnya kurang suka sehingga pasangan itu agak terasing di rumah mereka. Menurut kepercayaan orang Cina, laki-laki harus mengambil istri yang umurnya lebih muda dan lebih baik kurang pendidikannya. Sedangkan istri Tsemo lebih tua satu tahun dan berpendidikan. Bahkan ia menjadi aktivis memprotes kebijakan pemerintah.

Yang mearik lagi adalah masalah poligami. Sekitar tahun 1930an, praktek poligami seharusnya sudah dilarang karena ada Undang Undang yang menyatakan demikian, tapi tidak dalam prakteknya.

Sewaktu Madame Wu memutuskan untuk mengambil gundik untuk Mr. Wu, Rulan (istri Tsemo) protes dan mengatakan bahwa ada larangan untuk itu, dan poligami itu sudah kolot. Tapi Madame Wu menjawab bahwa pelarangan itu hanya aturan yang tertulis saja. Pada prakteknya, memang masih banyak yang melakukan poligami. Madame Wu melakukan itu untuk mencegah suaminya pergi ke rumah pelacuran, walau ia juga kecolongan karena Mr. Wu pergi ke sana bersama besannya, Mr. Kang.

Hanya satu kelemahan novel ini, terlalu banyak memakai kata 'insyaf' yang bisa diganti dengan kata 'sadar'.
A perfect Chinese New Year reading.

Novel ini sudah difilmkan kalo nggak salah.(less)

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Mar 02, 2012 Liz Valette rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Written in 1946 it gives an interesting insight into pre revolutionary China.

This is a strange love story. The setting is the time of Chinese nationalisation, just before the Communist revolution. It's also about the struggle of old vs new.

The main character is Madame Wu, an accomplished lady and wife of a wealthy landowner. She is agelessly beautiful, she rules her household with its extended family of sons, wives and grandchildren with the cool control and wisdom learned from Chinese Tao. Her...more

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May 26, 2013 Smitha rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: borrowed, ethereal, female-authors-challenge-1, historical, oriental-and-african

Reading Pearl S Buck after a long gap, and I am pretty sure this is a reread for me, for many a thing is familiar. The story centres around Madame Aileen Wu, an emotionally strong chinese aristocrat who has a seemingly rich and content life with her easy going husband, four sons and myriad of servants. The book opens at Wu's 40th birthday, when she decides she will get a concubine for her husband and thus free herself from her wifely duties allowing herself more time to grow mentally. She is ver...more

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May 17, 2010 Hilda rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: tears

Di ulangtahunnya yang keempat puluh, Madame Wu membuat sebuah keputusan. Dia akan mengambil istri muda untuk suaminya. Tindakan yang drastis dan mengundang tanda tanya dari semua orang. Sahabatnya, Madame Liang. Pelayan setianya, Ying. Keempat anak lelakinya. Kedua menantunya. Dan terutama kebingungan dari Mr. Wu. Apakah istrinya sudah tidak mencintainya lagi?

Meskipun menimbulkan goncangan pada keluarga terhormat Wu, Madame Wu tetap gigih pada pendiriannya. Akhirnya ia menemukan Chiuming, gadis...more

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Sep 20, 2012 Brookel is currently reading it · review of another edition

The is a progress report, I'm on page 34.
I'm not sure of what this book is about yet. I haven't read many reviews on it. It's about a middle aged madam of a large household back in 20th century china. She is the head of the household. So far this book has explained how she runs the house. She is very smart and beautiful and everyone there adores her. The book began the night before her 40th birthday. At this time she is expected to give her title of madam to her eldest son's wife. But as the bir...more

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Jun 10, 2010 Imas rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: karya-perempuan

Setelah membaca the good earth jadi tergila2 memburu karya Pearl S Buck....Kesulitan juga mencari trilogi itu, akhirnya ketemu juga sdr2...Setelah itu menyusul buku ini, aku temukan di Medan saat pulkam utk menghadiri pernikahan my cousin anggi....biasanya aku suka cari2 buku kalo didaerah krn kadang buku2 yg sdh sulit nyarinya di jkt di daerah msh ada...cihuuuiii ternyata berhasil mendptkan 2 buku Pearl S Buck, plus beberapa buku lainnya...Cuma kesulitannya kalo beli buku banyak pas keluar kota...more Setelah membaca the good earth jadi tergila2 memburu karya Pearl S Buck....Kesulitan juga mencari trilogi itu, akhirnya ketemu juga sdr2...Setelah itu menyusul buku ini, aku temukan di Medan saat pulkam utk menghadiri pernikahan my cousin anggi....biasanya aku suka cari2 buku kalo didaerah krn kadang buku2 yg sdh sulit nyarinya di jkt di daerah msh ada...cihuuuiii ternyata berhasil mendptkan 2 buku Pearl S Buck, plus beberapa buku lainnya...Cuma kesulitannya kalo beli buku banyak pas keluar kota terancam over bagasi...

Madame Wu memutuskan utk pensiun berhenti melayani suaminya secara fisik karena tdk ingin hamil lagi (berarti blm ada alat kontrasepsi yah..) dan ingin menikmati hidup dan kebebasan sebagai wanita pada usia nya yang ke 40 (what....?). jadi beliau mencari wanita yg kira2 tdk melebihi kecantikannya, kepintarannya tp jg bkn wanita jelek, dan yg penting tdk byk tuntutan dan bisa melayani suaminya dgn baik. Madam Wu menemukan perempuan itu, namun sayangnya semua tdk sesuai dgn rencana. Wanita tersebut malah jatuh cinta dg anaknya dan suaminya tdk mencintai wanita itu. Anak2nya tidak menjalankan kehidupan sesuai rencana yg dibuatnya sehingga mau tdk mau Madam Wu harus mengurus keluarga besarnya. Bahkan suaminya lebih senang ke tempat "P", hal yg sangat dibenci oleh Madam Wu. Akhirnya dgn berat, Madam Wu harus mengalah dengan mangijinkan suaminya membawa perempuan "P" kermh mereka drpd membiarkan suaminya berkeliaran disana. Ternyata lebih menyakitkan membiarkan suaminya memilih perempuan yg diinginkan drpd memilihkan suaminya perempuan yg dipilihnya sendiri....

Di lain pihak ada Andre, pastur yang mengisi kehidupan Madam Wu dan anaknya.Dimulai dgn mengajar bahasa Inggris kepada anaknya, Madam Wu menjadi murid selanjutnya. Madam Wu mendapat pencerahan dengan Andre, kematian Andre yg tiba2 memberikan kenyataan bahwa Madam Wu tidak mencintai suaminya tetapi mencintai Andre. Kehidupan Madam Wu masih terus berlanjut...so...read it..damn good..

Pearl S Buck memang ahli cerita berlatar belakang kehidupan di Cina....(less)

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Oct 10, 2012 Nettie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

On her fortieth birthday, Madame Wu arrives at a crossroads. She brings a concubine into the house of Wu to take over her wifely duties and retires to her own court and the company of her books. Retirement is not what Madame Wu expects it to be. Her course is altered by the influence of a mysterious Western priest, whom she brings into the house to educate one of her sons.

In the Pavilion of Women, Pearl S. Buck explores the intersections of East and West, Tradition and Modernity, Male and Female...more

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Oct 21, 2012 P.V. LeForge rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I don’t know why I'm surprised. I think maybe it is because, in my younger days, I saw Pearl Buck’s novels in the same pile as Frank Slaughter and Frank Yerby—two writers who are virtually forgotten today and who were never really taken seriously in the first place. Buck, of course, won a Nobel Prize for literature, but I had always assumed that she was just one of the few token women who the Nobel committed would throw a bone to every couple of decades.

For that reason, and probably others—I sta...more I don’t know why I'm surprised. I think maybe it is because, in my younger days, I saw Pearl Buck’s novels in the same pile as Frank Slaughter and Frank Yerby—two writers who are virtually forgotten today and who were never really taken seriously in the first place. Buck, of course, won a Nobel Prize for literature, but I had always assumed that she was just one of the few token women who the Nobel committed would throw a bone to every couple of decades.

For that reason, and probably others—I stayed away from Buck’s novels, even from The Good Earth, which is still taught in hundreds of high schools and colleges today. In fact, Pavillion of Women is the first of her novels I have ever opened. But when I did, it was hard to put down.

Madame Wu is the head of the richest household in her small town in inland China. On her 40th birthday, she decides to find her husband a concubine—a second wife—and move into another part of the vast compound that is her home. There she will essentially retire her body and open up her mind to things of the world.

But worlds have a way of intruding. The year is 1937 and the Japanese have invaded the Chinese capital of Nanking. The dynastic era has ended and the country is torn between the forces of the Nationalist government and that of Communist rebels. The Wu family compound is mercifully isolated from all this. But when two of her sons become restless and express an interest in the outside world, she hires a foreign priest—Brother Andre—as a tutor. And his teachings influence the rest of Madame Wu’s life. The question and answer sessions that occur between the two would highlight any work of fiction.

The novel is about children and families, men and women, learning and ignorance, society and isolation. It is an intricate study of the roiling life of a large family forced by circumstances and tradition to live in close proximity. About the duties one has to the family, to the race, and to oneself.

It is such a thoroughly satisfying novel that I can’t imagine why I don’t give it a 5 instead of a 4 (4.5, actually, but I am constrained to use whole numbers) unless it is because the writing itself is more workmanlike than brilliant. But I still highly recommend this novel. Pavillion of Women is Nobel-Prize quality not only for her own day, but for this day as well.

(less)

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Jun 10, 2010 Arya rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The beginning of the book was very promising. It is about an elegant Chinese woman educated in the old traditional way. Since she was young, she was taught that women are no more than the ones responsible for making the family grow, thus they must play their roles as the perfect housewives. Madame Wu, the main character, when reaching the 40th year of her life, feels that her role as a "baby generator" is over. However, she still has one thing in her mind: considering that her husband is still y...more The beginning of the book was very promising. It is about an elegant Chinese woman educated in the old traditional way. Since she was young, she was taught that women are no more than the ones responsible for making the family grow, thus they must play their roles as the perfect housewives. Madame Wu, the main character, when reaching the 40th year of her life, feels that her role as a "baby generator" is over. However, she still has one thing in her mind: considering that her husband is still young and perfectly able to make more children, she decides to find him a suitable concubine. It's war time and with all the modernities taking place of ancient habits, the decision is imediately considered dreadful. In any other family, it would be unacceptable. Alas, Madame Wu is the supreme wisdom of the house and her words are the decisive ones.

At first, I thought that the story had all the requirements to be great. The main character is a strong women, full of attitude. Even if she's not the head of the house, the Wu family's perfect harmony was due to her decisions. And no one dares to disobey her. All the power is in her hands and, at the same time that she tries to cut her flesh relations with her husband, she keeps the order in the house in such a way that she always have everything under control, including the family members' happiness. Until the day she met a preacherman with whom she becomes quite interested. That's when the story starts to decay. Not because Madame Wu starts to contradict herself. On the very opposite, she keeps the same opinions from the beginning until the end of the book. What changed was the way she got to those conclusions. And that's exactly what didn't please me. I spent more than half of the book trying to understand why the heck did she stop to think in her charming selfish way. I even dare to say that her behavior changes happened from one page to the next one.

This is the kind of book that I read more because I was curious to know how it was going to end rather than because it was actually good. The conflicts are far from exciting, limiting themselves to regular family disagreements. Reading this book was like walking through a regular plain road: you only walk through it to get to the end. It is great when you think of cultural elements and chinese habits. But I've read better books.(less)

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Jun 12, 2012 Sara rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was another fabulous book by Buck (seriously, I love LOVE love her writing). The story surrounds Madame Wu, the head of a large and wealthy Chinese household and it starts out with her 40th birthday. At the age of 40, women in China (mid-century) were expected to stop giving birth to children. The problem with this? Their husbands still want their fun, so women faced a difficult choice - the social shame of possibly conceiving, or allowing their husbands to go to Flower Houses for whores, o...more

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May 06, 2013 Pat rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I love Pearl Buck - her easy way of writing. She's incredibly knowledgeable about Chinese culture and intuitive and descriptive about relationships and the emotions they inspire. I have read a couple of other books of hers - long, long ago; so wanted to go back and read her again. I don't know if I enjoyed this book less because I have gotten older, or if the memory of the books I read in my 30's/40's made them better. I'm thinking that maybe, at that time, those books had wisdom in them that I...more

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Dec 21, 2012 Jess rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really wanted to like this book more.

Buck's writing is lyrical and beautiful, but the story failed to grab me. As a lover of historical fiction, I expected this book to be right up my alley.

Instead, I found the story contrived. Madame Wu suffers in a loveless marriage, but at the age of 40 is free to find her husband a concubine, and retire gracefully from the marriage. (view spoiler)...more

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Jan 06, 2011 Kimmay rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, favorites

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I really loved this book on so many levels. There are not too many books that I say "I will read that again someday" but this book is one of those that I will keep and read again.
I already loved another book by this author, The Good Earth, so I had expected to like this book but hadn't realised just how much.
I do believe that this book may not appeal to some people, The main character is complex, and there were times i liked her, times I despised her and times I felt great pity for her. She re...more

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About Pearl S. Buck

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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Quotes from Madame Wu

“You are free when you gain back yourself,” Madame Wu said. “You can be as free within these walls as you could be in the whole world. And how could you be free if, however far you wander, you still carry inside yourself the constant thought of him? See where you belong in the stream of life. Let it flow through you, cool and strong. Do not dam it with your two hands, lest he break the dam and so escape you. Let him go free, and you will be free.” — 8 people liked it

“French is the most beautiful,” he said, “and Italian is the most poetic, and Russian the most powerful, German the most solid. But more business is done in English than in any other.” — 7 people liked it

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