All Under Heaven

by Pearl S. Buck

READING CREASE ON SPINE. NO READING OR WRITING ON PAGES. LIGHT DISCOLORATION ON SPINE.

Genres: Fiction

191 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

Pearl Comfort Sydenstricker Buck was an American writer and novelist. She is best known for The Good Earth, the best-selling novel in the United States in 1931 and 1932 and which won her the Pulitzer Prize in 1932. In 1938, Buck became the first American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature "for her rich and truly epic descriptions of peasant life in China" and for her "masterpieces", two memoir-biographies of her missionary parents.
Buck was born in West Virginia, but in October 1892, her parents took their 4-month-old baby to China. As the daughter of missionaries and later as a missionary herself, Buck spent most of her life before 1934 in Zhenjiang, with her parents, and in Nanjing, with her first husband. She and her parents spent their summers in a villa in Kuling, Mount Lu, Jiujiang, and it was during this annual pilgrimage that the young girl decided to become a writer. She graduated from Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Lynchburg, Virginia, then returned to China. From 1914 to 1932, after marrying John Lossing Buck she served as a Presbyterian missionary, but she came to doubt the need for foreign missions. Her views became controversial during the Fundamentalist–Modernist controversy, leading to her resignation. After returning to the United States in 1935, she married the publisher Richard J. Walsh and continued writing prolifically. She became an activist and prominent advocate of the rights of women and racial equality, and wrote widely on Chinese and Asian cultures, becoming particularly well known for her efforts on behalf of Asian and mixed-race adoption.

Reviews

[Drew F. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some reviewers have claimed that All Under Heaven seems dated; I strongly disagree. Many Americans (past and present) have difficulty understanding and/or valuing cultures found in different countries. Either through intolerance, ambivalence, or ignorance, we Americans oftentimes separate ourselves from the world's affairs. When we do get involved, some adhere to an "us" against "them" mentality. Nuance of relationship escapes us or becomes something too difficult with which to bother. It is easier to categorize, to create divisions, to label ourselves the eternal protagonists rather than seek out truth. When potential conflict arises, some see quick, unmeasured violence as the best solution. Through this novel, Pearl S. Buck attempts to dispel this notion. With the weight and credibility of her own foreign experience behind her, Buck promotes a "diplomacy first" philosophy. She wants us to remember that the entirety of the world's citizens are "under heaven," not just a select few and certainly not just Americans. We have an obligation to think, to understand, to communicate, to learn; our emotions, especially those tied to foreign affairs and cultures, should always be tempered with reason. Buck's principles are timeless and universal, far from being dated.

[Alessandra Avella · Rating 2 out of 5]

Il titolo del romanzo traduce parzialmente un’antica citazione letteraria cinese, «P’u t’ien tse hsia wei gung», che significa “tutti sotto il cielo sono uno”, a rappresentare la speranza in un futuro di conciliazione e reciprocità fra popoli condivisa dall’autrice e dal suo personaggio protagonista, Malcom.

Pearl S. Buck ha impiantato in Malcom la propria biografia e i propri ideali. Entrambi costretti per motivi politici a un’esistenza divisa tra Cina e Stati Uniti, mai totalmente cinesi e mai totalmente americani, sono fermamente convinti dell’impatto concreto che l’attività degli intellettuali dovrebbe avere in una società. Chi sa ha il dovere morale di mettere a disposizione degli altri ciò che ha imparato, affinché si eviti che le emozioni siano la forza motrice della Storia; affinché si comprenda che la Storia non la fanno i giornali, che sono faziosi.

Mai perdere la speranza, certo, che ci aiuta a sopportare più agevolmente quanto di ingiusto e doloroso accade nel presente, e lo stesso vale per le utopie. La realtà dei fatti mostra, però, che ci sarà sempre qualcuno, come avrà modo di constatare Malcom nel suo tentativo di avere un ruolo determinante nella costruzione di una nuova coscienza comune, che vedrà nell’annientamento dell’altro una soluzione più immediata ed efficace ai conflitti - tutti umani.

I propositi di questo romanzo, esplicitati dalla stessa autrice nella postfazione, tuttavia, hanno dato luogo a una grande occasione mancata, in particolare da parte di chi, avendo trascorso ampie porzioni della propria vita tra Cina e Stati Uniti, ha potuto ottenere una conoscenza diretta di due culture antitetiche come quella orientale e quella occidentale, per di più in anni molto critici della storia del Novecento. La preziosa esperienza della Buck avrebbe potuto dare luogo a testimonianze e argomentazioni di gran lunga più ampie e stimolanti a riguardo. Ogni riflessione, invece, appare soltanto accennata, interrotta nel momento in cui si presenta un’ottima opportunità di offrire un discorso articolato e completo che funga da manifesto del proprio pensiero.

Gli stessi personaggi, alcuni più di altri, risultano sempre troppo opachi, per usare la metafora della trasparenza proposta da Dorrit Cohn, impedendo così al lettore, che li conosce troppo poco, di prendere a cuore la loro storia. Spesso e volentieri, sembrano delle caricature, innaturali, complice anche la traduzione italiana datata e mai aggiornata. Peccato.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found it a bit dated but kept reading and eventually started to pay attention to other themes in the novel. I related to the ex pats returning to their country only to be thought of as odd or different. I think today's immigrants and their children may feel similar pressure to blend in and belong. It was a bit sad, humourous, and nostalgic. The communism hysteria in the US was well balanced with the knowledge of this family's understanding of a communist country. It showed how the idea of communism wasn't really understood by most Americans and how it was turned into an insult, with no insight to the larger world. It was a quick read.

[Talbot Hook · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much better in message than in the telling, and fuller in conception than in the making. Through this novel, Buck strives to make a fictionalized version of herself, such that the line between evangelism and pleasure-reading becomes blurred. I can see why she would choose this over a straight essay or work of journalism: it's more moving, provided it's pulled off. Unfortunately, it is so on-the-nose that it doesn't quite work. The book reads saccharine, with the characters supremely underdeveloped, flat, and too good to be true. Especially the children. So, as a novel, the book is rather a failure, even if Buck's prose and descriptive powers deliver page after page of beauty. I must be clear: I enjoyed reading this book a great deal. I read it avidly and gratefully. Yet the story ultimately rings a bit hollow, as nothing substantive sits beneath the notions of home, family, and country so lovingly drawn. Buck's message, of course, is a good one: that although the Chinese are communist, we should seek to understand them regardless, and not simply bomb them out of existence. Yet this comes only at the tail-end of the book, and, again, is a bit underdeveloped as an argument. The book . . . well, it simply ends. Buck knows this, for she writes about it in her epilogue. She leaves it unfinished for us, the American people, to complete. While this is poetic, it isn't satisfying. Yet, the book has its merits. For instance, Buck's portrayal of the American populace is quite spot-on, even these fifty years later; Americans are still largely parochial, rather ignorant of the world and their place in it, and prefer big, easy action over any small amount of thought. She captures cultural differences naturally and without pretension. And her prose is simple, in a Biblical sort of way. I always enjoy listening to her words echo in my mind. As an idea, the book is lovely; as a book, it fails to reach the ideal.

[April Bauer · Rating 4 out of 5]

As usual Pearl Buck did a great job. I have read several of her books and enjoyed all of them. This one deals with a family returning/coming to America after being in China for so long and how they are trying to cope. Having lived outside of the US for many years I understand this dilemma. I also thought Ms. Buck made some really good points for me to think about regarding humanity.

[Emily Shields · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was not a Buck novel that made me fall in love with her stories again. It was, however, pleasant and engaging. The perspective of an American returning home with his foreign family... the love the all had for America, yet their criticisms of her culture and observations of her shortcomings - through the eyes of loving the land anyway... insightful.
Book seemed to end rather abruptly.

[Catherine Stickann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pearl S. Buck is a wonderful story teller. She develops the characters, the setting and the issues and this book was no exception. It had been a long time since I had read any of her work and I am now awakened. I can't wait to discover more of her work.

[Matteo Celeste · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5, in realtà...

[Carl Trachtenberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

To contrast this against The Good Earth,one realizes the differences in way of life between rural China, and modern upper class capitalist US.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think it would be nice if my library has more of her works. It's been a long while before I read one of her many works.

[Realistanocturna08 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Odié a este autor al sentir que la lectura no avanzaba hacia ningún lado

[Jodi · Rating 3 out of 5]

In ihrem letzten Buch widmet sich Pearl S. Buck dem Thema der Heimat. Was ist Heimat? Wo findet man sie? Kann man sich ein Heim erschaffen?

Buck hat selbst erfahren, wie es ist, sich ein neues Zuhause schaffen zu müssen. Das merkt man dem Roman auch an. Er beschäftigt sich mit den familiären Alltäglichkeiten, denen man sich stellen muss, wenn man an einem neuen Ort frisch anfangen muss.

Ganz leicht fädelt die Autorin dazu noch das Thema des Kalten Krieges ein, der während der Handlungszeit überall spürbar ist. Das macht es für die junge Familie in Amerika nicht einfacher. Auch die tiefe Bindung einiger Familienmitglieder zum zurückgelassenen China wird angesprochen.

All diese Themen machen das Buch auch jetzt noch aktuell. Klar, an einigen Stellen merkt man dem Werk sein Alter an, aber die Fragen, die Buck aufgreift und verarbeitet, beschäftigen die Menschen noch heute. Zu Zeiten von Flüchtlingskrisen und Pandemien sowieso.

[Neeraja S · Rating 4 out of 5]

All Under Heaven is a book that deals with the acceptance of human beings as belonging to just one kind - Humankind, under the all encompassing and loving heavens. A distinguished American diplomat, having served in China for twenty five years, returns home to America with his loving Russian wife and two children. The family's sudden return was due to the imminent Communist Revolution that threatened to destroy many such foreign and noble families, merely because of their social standing. The McNeil family loved China and was integrated in it's rich culture. Except for Mr. McNeil, the rest of the family were as much Chinese as they were not Americans. Even Mr. McNeil, despite his American descent, felt more of a stranger after all his years away from the country. Added to this, was Mrs. McNeil's Russian heritage, intermingling a culture into the family that was founded out of love and the energy to bring forth peace and harmony. The book is a realistic recount of this "mixed" family's struggles and challenges to integrate into America, and their lessons on what it takes to be accepted as true Americans.

Our identities have their roots in the land in which we are nurtured. Our ways of thinking, cultural orientations, and ways of living get tainted by the experiences of the people and traditions of the land. When we enter a new land, our identities are forced to be reformed, to desperately fit in. There ensues a very familiar conflict between our torn personalities - one apprehensive of losing our essence and roots, and the other eager to fit in, to be accepted. In the process, some parts of us get subdued, dormant, fading away into a corner of the soul; some we integrate to form a clarified version of east and west, as a consolation of the best of two worlds, while some parts of our identities grow afresh, sprouting entirely as children of the new land and culture. Pearl Buck brings out these aspects in the book, as the diverse family struggles to be part of America, while fearful of not losing their true self. The adolescent children of the family find it more easier to grow into Americans and are eager to shed away their prejudiced associations, while the parents fear the integrity of such a growth.

Most of us have faced the challenges of entering a new country, a new culture and way of living. America as it is today, is seen as reasonably welcoming, speckled with diverse culture, cuisines and acceptance of liberal and independent ways of living. The transition has been made almost seamless. But more than five decades before, when revolutions were at their hilt and the world kept breaking and patching up, entering a new country that was wary of foreigners from Communist countries, did not promise such a welcoming experience. The book introduces the America of the yesteryear's - conservative and closed. Pearl Buck delicately brings out the prejudices towards communists, and ignorant beliefs towards them. She openly laments on how America shielded itself from world affairs and history, and people led their quick judgments to isolate anyone with a remote association with China or Russia. Warm-hearted young men wanted to bomb, without wanting to think, reason, or find a harmonious solution, while the white peasants were complacent to not worry about what was happening across the oceans.

The book touches upon Communism's impact on those intellectuals like the McNeil's family who desired harmonious existence, but were branded and discriminated due to their social class and heritage. In addition to the misunderstood concepts on Communism, the family's struggle to culturally fit in, forms a realistic and insightful tale.

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can understand how Pearl S. Buck received the Nobel Prize for literature. Beautifully written. Challenging themes.

[Paula]

I think I liked this the least of any Pearl S. Buck book that I have read. It had so much potential, but a plot never really happens. It's like the story skirts around the edges of life. My understanding is that she wrote it in the 1950s and then went back and finished it for publication in 1972. It still seems incomplete. The father's (Malcom) words and thoughts about truth/history on the last two pages are the most thought-provoking of the entire book.
I could not connect with the main characters Malcolm and Nadya. They seem to exist on a plane removed from normal human beings. Huge emotions, every emotional reaction requiring deep thought and explanation. Just not my style at all. The premise of this book was very interesting, but I feel like it fell far short of what it could be.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, so this book wasn't terrible, but I kind of just wanted it to be over while I was reading it. Malcolm was a good-hearted guy and I really liked how understanding and patient he was with his family. His wife really reminded me of my Mom and how I envision my Mom to have been when she first came to the US from Norway when she was about 18.

Not much to say about this book. It is what it is. Nothing spectacular, but it does have a great message about uprisings and how we are all human, no matter what. I liked that. Sometimes it's easy to get wrapped up in our own lives and forget that there is a whole world of people around us.

The books made me: 1. Appreciate what I have and 2. Open my eyes to the world around me a little more.

[Birgit Bottner]

Is there a better writer on things chinese? Amy Tan perhaps...

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a terrific, if abridged translation of the classic novel Shuihuzhuan.

[Maryam Alavi]

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