Rated of 5
by Elise B. (Macedonia, OH) More about Pearl Pearl of China is an excellent portrayal of life in China primarily during the Mao regime. Anchee Min really brings this time period to life with her descriptions of the landscape, adaptability of the people, and day to day life. The main character, Willow, has a beautiful and touching life-long friendship with Pearl S. Buck; however, I never felt like I got to know Pearl that well. I would have liked Anchee Min to give Pearl more presence and depth.
Rated of 5
by Beatrice D. (Floral Park, New York) Remembering Pearl Buck
Ainchee Min has utilized the genre of a historical fiction novel to bring us the story of Pearl Buck, a world renowned author and China expert. The author inserts a great deal of narration about Chinese customs in the early part of the 20th century. The story vacillates between novel and straight delivery of historical fact. The section on the Cultural Revolution under Mao and his wife is certainly important and interesting, but ascribing behaviors to fictional character felt forced to the point where nearly all the characters have to live into their eighties and nineties in order to cover all the history. I think this story would serve the audience better if it were written as a biography of Pearl Buck.
Rated of 5
by Colleen L. (Casco, Maine) Pearl of China
A compelling and heartfelt novel about Pearl Buck and her life in China. Be prepared to stay up all night till you have finished this novel as it will capture your attention from page one. This is a story told from the perspective of Pearl's best friend, Willow Yee. The reader sees Pearl and Willow growing up together as friends and living through many of China's historic moments. But it is not a story of history so much as a story of enduring friendship. Have tissues close at hand. An excellent novel that you will remember long after you have finished it.
Rated of 5
by Maxine D. (Effingham, IL) Pearl of China
The title gives the reader the impression that htis book is a fictionalized biography of Pearl S. Buck, but in fact it is a story of an ordinary Chinese woman's life - her trials and tribulations, brought on in part because of her lifelong friendship with Ms. Buck. It presents a well written and graphic view of life in China before, during and after Mao, and as such is a worthy read.
Rated of 5
by Harriette K. (Weston, FL) Pearl of China
The author imagines a friendship between a young, impoverished Chinese girl and the very young Pearl Buck. Their lives take them from the early 20th century through the Boxer Rebellion, the many changes in China and the Cultural Revolution. The real Pearl Buck grows up to be a distinguished author and Nobel Prize winner in Literature. The story is beautifully written, and the author gives us a marvelous picture of the times. I, for one, am planning to re-read "The Good Earth", Buck's masterpiece. I suggest that the reader do the same and, also, the author's memoir "Red Azalea", which tells the story of her youth in China during the Cultural Revolution.
Rated of 5
by Constance S. (Sacramento, CA) Pearl of China byAnchee Min
If the purpose of this novel is to show an enduring friendship between two disparate women, one an American, Pearl and the other, Willow, Chinese, the result is quite stunning. Every nuance of the relationship is explored through many years, even the agony they experienced when both women fell in love with the handsome poet,Hsu-Chih-mo (time for tears, readers) But,I was unimpressed with the author's descriptions of the throes of change China experienced at this time: the bloody civil war, the war with Japan and triumph of Chairman Mao and communism. My love for the people of China grounded in the books by Pearl Buck left me disappointed by her characterization of the majority of them. They came across as caricatures. I don't think Pearl would have approved.
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Although heavy on the scientific details, which slowed down the story for me (OK, I admit, I was one of those liberal arts majors who skipped out on...
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British Parliament asks Amazon to clarify why it pays $9 million in income tax on $23 billion of UK sales.(May 20 2013) Amazon will be called back to give further evidence to members of the British Parliament "to clarify how its activities in the U.K. justify its low corporate...
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of 5
by Elise B. (Macedonia, OH) 
of 5
by Beatrice D. (Floral Park, New York) 
of 5
by Colleen L. (Casco, Maine) 
