Member Reviews of forthcoming books.

Rated of 5

The story is believable. At times, I found myself responding to it as if the events really happened. The words are beautiful, especially the poetry that is interspersed throughout the book. Pearl and her friendship with Willow Yee seemed very real to me as did all of the characters. Anchee Min developed the personalities of each character to make them very real and believable.

I highly recommend this book, especially anyone who has enjoyed the stories developed by Buck about the people of China.

Rated of 5

This book is a treat. Pearl was born in the last part of the eighteen hundreds to a missionary father and a long suffering mother. Her father treated her as a regular parishioner of his church, rather than a daughter. From early childhood on, Pearl and Willow, both living in same village, became inseparable friends. Pearl was used to accepting reality so Willow's destitute, full of thieves, family circumstances did not in any way impact the friendship. Pearl's curiosity about everything around her, combined with her intense blue eyes and cascading blonde hair made her stand out among the villagers. She wore a black knitted cap, every day, regardless of the weather, so she would fit in among the villagers. The two girls were each other's strength as well as sounding boards.

Time marched on. Japan penetrated into China and took Manchuria. The girls became teenagers ,then young adults. There was a great deal of political persecution everywhere in China. WIllow got a job as a type of underground journalist. Meantime, Pearl was putting her feelings, her observations, her soul on paper. She wrote dozens of short stories, political columns and novels. Finally Pearl had the opportunity to study at university in America. Of course Willow was left behind. They corresponded by letter. Their friendship endured, grew, became an unbreakable bond. Pearl was married and had a child, mentally challenged. Pearl dealt with this blow as she had dealt with all other adversity in her life. In 1932 Pearl won the Pulitzer Prize for "The Good Earth" and in 1938 she won the Nobel Prize for Literature. There were many who very envious, in China and the USA, included a well known American author who was quoted as saying " if a woman can win the Nobel Prize for Literature, anyone can" . Pearl S. Buck wrote eighty books. She is still today read in a hundred countries, in their native language. Her favorite quote was of Madame Curie " the weak waits for opportunity, the strong one creates". Pearl S. Buck was denied an entrance visa by the Chinese government when President Nixon wanted her to accompany him on his visit to China. A few years later Pearl died, she was in her eighties. She is buried on her estate in Pennsylvania. Her grave is surrounded by trees, plants and flowers which she loved as part of her Chinese heritage. In her books Pearl depicts the life and strife of Chinese women of times gone by, yet true to history of China.

I highly recommend this book as it gives one a bird's eyes view of a great woman and a talented writer. A woman who never loved for herself. I also recommend one pick up a couple of Pearl's titles and lose themselves in a world we can not even imagine.

Rated of 5

I would recommend this book to all readers, even if you're not interested in China or Pearl S. Buck, because it's a dramatic story filled with the human emotions that are the same across all cultures.