I read this very version when I was a child. I loved the drawings, especially those in color. Didn't feel offended then. Don't feel offeStill Love It!
I read this very version when I was a child. I loved the drawings, especially those in color. Didn't feel offended then. Don't feel offended now. Just a fanciful story about a family, some tigers, and some pancakes!...more
An American woman returns from China with her son after the revolution takes a turn and her Chinese husband thinks it best she take the child to her hAn American woman returns from China with her son after the revolution takes a turn and her Chinese husband thinks it best she take the child to her home. Upon returning to her lovely Vermont home, she learns to cope with the absence of her much beloved husband.
This story is a meditation on love, life, family, and movements from present, past, and future. Deeply internal, as is much of the monologue....more
A wealthy family's missionary legacy in India before and after independence. Good meditation on religion.A wealthy family's missionary legacy in India before and after independence. Good meditation on religion....more
Buck understood filicide, but advocated for life for every human being, no matter their imperfections. Straightforward, direct. Buck is like that no nBuck understood filicide, but advocated for life for every human being, no matter their imperfections. Straightforward, direct. Buck is like that no nonsense aunt who will tell you true....more
On a Pearl Buck jag. This story is about the aftermath of the Civil War on southern elites. The wife hates her husband...because he is a man. I detestOn a Pearl Buck jag. This story is about the aftermath of the Civil War on southern elites. The wife hates her husband...because he is a man. I detest Lucinda, but she is the original Karen, or Miss Ann, materialistic and cold. Husband Pierce is conflicted about life with his wife, but goes on because loving Lucinda has become a habit.
There are many characters, but the ones who create the most confusion are the daughters of miscegenation who work as servants where before the war they would have been slaves. Freedom, however, does not change the hearts of those who profited most from owning others that the elite could never come to accept as completely human.
Kwei-lan has been raised a traditional upper class Chinese woman, betrothed at birth to a man educated in the West. He has notions that collide with KKwei-lan has been raised a traditional upper class Chinese woman, betrothed at birth to a man educated in the West. He has notions that collide with Kwei-lan's understanding of how the world is supposed to work. Tradition vs modernity.
This was Buck's first published work. It is told as a conversation between Kwei-lan and someone who seems a lot like Buck in that she is a foreigner living in China....more
Love and devotion are two different things. Add duty into the mix and you have the makings of unexpected behaviors, at least to my American contemporaLove and devotion are two different things. Add duty into the mix and you have the makings of unexpected behaviors, at least to my American contemporary mind.
A fascinating look at Judaism in China. I had no knowledge of the Jewish presence in China....more
To have one's husband abandon the family is a shame for the mother. Sorrow upon sorrow, tragedy upon tragedy. Buck does not write stories that can be To have one's husband abandon the family is a shame for the mother. Sorrow upon sorrow, tragedy upon tragedy. Buck does not write stories that can be assumed to have an happy ending.
Compelling is the story of the fate of the blind maid when all females must be married. Everyone must marry and do their duty to the nation by producing sons, but especially women. Since it is women who do the producing, it is strange that they are not valued.
The story ends with death and birth, a mix that embodies the cycle of life.
First published in 1934, it is the story of rural life just as notions of communism were challenging the traditional order of things....more
I started with Imperial Woman and learned about the Empress Dowager Cixi. Quite a character, as she was depicted in the novel, and she was quite the cI started with Imperial Woman and learned about the Empress Dowager Cixi. Quite a character, as she was depicted in the novel, and she was quite the character in life. This book was my reintroduction to the writing of Pearl S. Buck as I had read The Good Earth many years ago. I had forgotten how engaging Buck's writing is.
Next up was Pavilion of Women. Madame Wu on her fortieth birthday claimed my attention immediately for her decision to get a concubine for her husband as she did not want to risk pregnancy at her advanced age. The cultural history for such a decision is exposed throughout the novel. I fell in love with the mind of Madame Wu.
Lastly, Peony. Such a lovely, sweet name. Peony demonstrated love and it was just as fascinating to walk through the mind of a bondmaid as it was to walk through the mind of a rich woman like Madame Wu. Chinese cultural history and practice, as well as a depiction of the Jewish presence in China, was central to Peony's story. There is also a well researched afterword that tells more of the Jewish presence in China. There is always more to learn.
I seldom like everything. I read by one author, but I have completely surrendered to Pearl S. Buck. It may be that I appreciate her work because I am now a woman of a certain age. Thus, I recommend Buck's work to older people who appreciate history and would like a different picture of China than the one currently extant in the modern era....more
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