Pearl S. Buck, The Mother (Pocket, 1934)

It is hard to know what to make of this early novel (her fourth) by Pearl S. Buck, who had won the Pulitzer Prize the year before for The Good Earth (her second) and would, in a few years, be a Nobel laureate. Hard because it is difficult to reconcile such a widely-acclaimed author with a novel such as this.

In her autobiography, Buck mentions that she almost destroyed the manuscript of The Mother, fearing it wasn't as good as her previously published novels. In this, she was correct. The Mother is not so much a novel as it as a combination of character study and morality play. Other reviewers have commented on the Biblical nature of the events herein, which is likely as apt a description as one is likely to find. The story revolves around, of course, a mother. She is never named, nor are any other members of her family (her husband's last name is mentioned once in the book's two hundred pages, but in such a way as to make it as forgettable as possible). One assumes this is an attempt to give the characters an "everyman" quality. The mother and her family have a hard life, and the mother's life gets harder as time goes on. The crux of the story happens about halfway through the novel, when she is forced to make a decision she ends up regretting for the rest of her life; she blames her hardships from there on out on that decision, forgetting that the hardships that came before put her in that position. (In other words, this is not a criticism of the novel so much as of the character; it is entirely possible Buck meant the character to be erroneous in her judgments, but that doesn't make it any less annoying.) In essence, the novel becomes the chronicles of the hardships of one person, a relentless, depressing catalog of failures unleavened by any successes whatsoever.

Other reviewers have also commented on the universality of the character. I pity them, and anyone else who overidentifies with the mother here. Anyone who has truly suffered this much hardship without the slightest glimmer of joy has been dealt the worst of lots in life, and need all the escapism they can get. It is probable, however, that the majority of readers do, at least, have a few moments of happiness, or at least contentment, now and again. They are rather more likely to question the tunnelvision of the character, and perhaps that of the author as well. Rightly so. * ½

For any woman who's feeling a bit put-upon, a bit hard done by, "The Woman" would soon shake her back into perspective.I know that this has ever been the lot of women in poor farming communities in third world countries, but it's frightening to realise just how little things have changed since these long past times of the beginning of the beginning of communism in China.We never learn the mothers name as she is simply that--the mother of the children of a poor farmer, a co-worker in the fields and the carer of his elderly mother. It's a hand to mouth existence with only the hope of enough food to sustain them on a daily basis and enough money from the crops that they can spare to be sold, to pay the rent of their fields. When her husband runs off in search of a more exciting life, the mother is left with the care of the family and is forced to work like a beast of burden in order to exist. Only her indomitable spirit sustains them ,even though her life is shattered by a series of events that would break a lesser woman.

In Pearl Buck's autobiography, "My Several Worlds," she reveals that she almost destroyed the manuscript of "The Mother", feeling that it was not worthy of publication. Had this happened, literature would have suffered a great loss. The characters that Ms. Buck created here - the tragically blind daughter, the grandmother who wears her own shroud in anticipation of death, and especially the mother - are exquisitely drawn and memorable. The suffering of the mother, whose life after the strange disappearance of her husband seems an endless series of heartbreaks, is almost unbearable for the reader. But ultimately the mother is comforted, as is every mother, by the birth of children and grandchildren. This is the story of a seemingly insignificant woman, worlds away from me, whose dreams and longings and difficulties are not so very different from my own. This book is definitely and very enthusiastically recommended.

Well, I might say this is a great book, believe me. It was the first book i read of the author and I enjoy it for over 7 years. And for 6 years i looked it all over my country and didn't found it. [thanks God there are places like Amazon.com :-) ] This novel makes you dream inside the characters. I love China, although I am not of that country and this book makes me feel the difficulties of the epoch, the thinking and the hope of people. I can grant that you won't be dissapointed. 4 stars up! ENJOY

If you read Dragon Seed, the prequel to this book, you will know that you read this book because you couldn't live with the ending that was given! So you read this book and it continues to provide more historical information and answer some of those questions that you had from the last book. However, by the time this book ends, you seem to have more questions than before. I won't spoil it for you, but I was thinking that perhaps the title might explain all unanswered questions simutaneously! Also, the book tends to become a little boring at some parts. Yet every second of boredom is compensated for by later events of extreme excitement. Doubtlessly though, it is a GREAT book and a fine sequel, though more could have been done with the plot. Read it!

Pearl S. Buck, A Bridge for Passing (Pocket, 1962)

The strength of Pearl Buck's writing, it becomes evident from page one, is in her ability to tell a story as if she were sitting next to you sipping lemonade on an unseasonably cool August day. Her observations are flowery, well-described, and often at least a touch naïve; one wonders, had she written the book ten years later, if it would have had the same tone it does.

A Bridge for Passing intertwines the filming of her novel The Big Wave, the first major collaboration between Japanese and American filmmakers (and now unforgivably obscure), with the death of her husband of twenty-five years. And oddly, though the ratio of the two in page real estate is about 90/10, the reviews, the blurbs, and the cover reverse the ratio when talking about the book. To the rest of the world, it seems, A Bridge for Passing was a precursor to the spate of books that started appearing roughly a decade later about how to handle major life crises. The movie was just an afterthought.

Not so, Othello. The movie is the mechanism by which Buck learns to deal with her grief, true, but there is much more to it than that. This is no fictional memoir; we are treated to the lives of real people, most of whom have remained obscure from the American perspective, but some of whom are not (Big Wave director Ted Danielewski, for example, has a pair of kids well known to media critics, House of Leaves author Mark Danielewski and his sister, the singer known as Poe). And when one keeps one's mind on the idea that these are real people, one starts to realize the enormity of the task Buck and her cohorts have set themselves. This is not just an on location shoot, this is politics of the highest order (and only fifteen years after the unpleasantness at the end of World War II).

There is much to be said for the way in which her husband's death pervades the book, but any Buck fans who have avoided this, fearing it to be nothing but a celebrity-penned self-help tome, put your fears at ease. This one's a keeper. *** ½

Este libro es muy fantastico, pero mi espanol es muy mal. Tambien mira a el libro "El Hombre mas Rico en Babylon". Adios, yo necesito estudiar espanol ahora...

Its the story of an american missioner named Andrew, who was strolling China's paths for over than 500 years, he arrived there young and died there. He had so many adventures that couldn't fit in just one book. He saw the chinese people in their most intimate moments at home, like in weddings, sickness and death.

This story covers the coming-of-age of four American-raised Chinese young people in the early 1900's. James, a talented young surgeon, decides to devote his life to serving the poor in China, and his siblings follow him. His teacher-sister Mary is equally devoted, but their younger brother Peter is disillusioned by the China he sees & listens sympathetically to the growing communist party. The youngest sister, Louise, has become very westernized & can imagine no home for herself but America. The story paints an interesting picture of how these brothers & sisters struggle to find their own identity in a world that is no longer simple.

For someone who has tried to read the Bible several times but been unsuccessful at keeping it up due to the conplexity of the language used, this book was golden. In it, Pearl S Buck retells the bible stories in an interesting and informative way. I have read the book through over several days and could not wait until evening when I would have time to get back to the stories. I was also able to retain the stories and their meanings. It would be a great for primer for pre-teen kids and, of course, adults.

Searching for inspiration & a suitable subject for his paintings, the son of a wealthy family comes across a simple country home with a lovely daughter. Struck by her beauty & simplicity, he paints his best picture ever of her working in her parents' kitchen. Returning to the wealthy world of his parents, he cannot forget the girl & returns to marry her. The book follows the subsequent ups & downs of a marriage between a poor hard-working girl and a man accustomed to wealth and leisure, how their love impacts those around them & especially each other. Set in the early 1900's and extending past World War II, it also is a novel evocative of our country's roots.

This third book in The Good Earth series was somewhat a slower read the the previous two. However, the story was wonderful, and despite the ending, which some might find unrealistic, I enjoyed it. I was so pleased that Yuan found happiness, acceptance and love.

I found the themes of the book relevant today in that our culture, ideas, lifestyles, and the influence and relationships with our children, effect their lives and influence future choices.

Yaun was deeply loved by the Tiger, however, was not free to grow into an individual. This somewhat stunted Yuan emotionally, and he found himself in constant conflict over the ideas of his father and the new China. His time in America began to mature Yuan. It allowed him to return home to begin his journey into manhood and make choices about his future. However, although he now had choices, he was still duty bound to his family by a debt incurred by the Tiger.

The book was wonderful and I am sorry to see the Good Earth series end.

I would have ranked this book five-star, if the ending had not been so abrupt and unrealistic.

A House Divided is a novel with many good contrasts in its themes. Certainly, in almost all Pearl's novels, there is the contrast of the East and the West. Then there comes the comparison of the different generations. In addition, the conflict of the old and the new ideas is also successfully portrayed. People from different class have very difficult behaviours. Throughout the story, the book focuses more on "The rich have the rich's things to worry," a sentence in the first Volume of the Good Earth.

Characters are three-dimensional. Their behaviours are most of the time Chinese-like, though we have to accept the fact that Pearl has been influenced greatly by western romancism love tremendously, being an American herself. I would like to praise the part of the story in which Yuan goes to America to study. I think it is very faithfully written. Perhaps one of the reasons why I prefer this book to its first volume "The Good Earth" is because A House Divided is closer to my life ---- I am a teenager who is studying in a foreign country alone. That is what Literature is all about ---- our life. I truly have reflected upon all the difficulties Yuan has faced during his American studying, and it matches my situation well.

If you are a reader who is very interested in Chinese culture, this book is definitely a good choice for you. It has helped me to understand my home country -- China better too. I indeed am surprised by the good work of Pearl Buck. She has indeed shown the West the East well.

The story ends in the near-death time of Yuan's father, the Tiger who has treated Yuan extremely well despite his bad temper. However, Pearl ended by writing that Yuan tried to kiss Meiling, the girl who he loved. I do not think this is appropriate in a situation where a person, especialy the father is to die. What filial piety does this Chinese son have? Well, I shall the chance is so slim that it is almost zero percent.

Give it a try. I like this last volume the most among the three Good Earth Volumes.

I would say that this book could certainly stand alone simply because there was so much happening in this turbulent setting of the revolution. In many ways "A House Divided" was my favorite of the "House of Earth" trilogy, (still, The Good Earth was beautiful!) because it was an adventure that spanned the globe. Yet there was no lack in telling how the main character evolved emotionally and intellectually from the first page to the last.

Many times throughout the book, Pearl Buck successfully showed how Yuan's world was filled with black and white; no grey. For example, a person was expected to be 100% revolutionary, or a 100% traditionalist. Or one had to be 100% Chinese, or 100% foreign. Yuan was a very conflicted man from the start and struggled with these issues pretty much until the end. To me that was the most intriguing part.

I was fascinated with Yuan's six-year stay in America. He experienced racism first-hand, the confusion of living in another country, trying to assimilate, seeing and appreciating the beauty of the country and the friendliness and openness of some of its people, the freedom to pursue one's happiness and potential, but clearly his own traditions and culture prevented him from fully accepting the foreigners into his heart.

I think the author gave some real insight into the minds of people living during the revolution. Many people, like Yuan's cousin, Meng, were fevently passionate about it. It was clear that it took a certain kind of person, with a linear, unwavering focus in order to hasten a violent change. In this case, that meant one had to be filled with anger and hatred.

Also through Yuan, we were exposed to the hypocrisy of the revolution as well. While the ideology spoke for the common people, the revolutionists were frustrated and repulsed by the common people's ways of life, such as they were for centuries. Eventually, many gave up on the older generation, and focused on the youth of the poor, because they were more easily influenced. Of course, it touched on the fact that no one was permitted to question this new state. Those who followed the cause were expected to accept it blindly.

In keeping with his torn mental state, Yuan's hesitation to decide where he stood in terms of the cause was understandable. His experience gave him first-hand knowledge of how frustrating it was to live under the old filial rules, yet he'd also witnessed the softer moments with his father, and others who represented the old world. He at least was mature enough to realize that people were deeply complicated, which made it impossible for him to truly believe that "rich people are evil, poor people are good." At the same time, as much as he loved the land, and found peace of mind working among the common people, he was at times, disgusted by their surroundings, their "odor" permeating his space no matter where he went.

Pearl Buck eloquently described the same black and white issues of the heart in Yuan. Time and time again, he wished to be emotionally open, yet didn't dare. Yuan was repulsed by the display of free behavior of the new generation of China and the young Americans. Again, his reaction to the American women who danced with his cousin Sheng was an interesting glimpse into his perception of himself. Although Yuan hated the white women who ignored or rejected Sheng because he was Chinese, he had no respect for the white women who did dance with Sheng. And he felt ashamed for Sheng for "lowering his standards" to such women.

Yes, perhaps the end was unrealistic, but as a hopeless romantic American, I can appreciate it. However, one can see the huge circle this book fills out with the trilogy. Yuan is ultimately the one who understands and respects his grandfather's efforts with the land, back in the first novel. Yuan is the one who finally repairs the ties to his father and ends the cycle of broken relationships. The trilogy ends as his father, the Tiger, spends his final days in the earthen house where he was born.

When I read certain books, I sometimes imagine what they would be like on film, and I think it would be fantastic to see it done with the entire "House of Earth" trilogy. But then again, is it even possible to make a film that would do this epic justice?

Better known for her youth in China, Pearl Buck has written an insightful tale set in undated Japan. Best friends Kino and Jiya grow in different situations as their fathers are engaged in seemingly opposed occupations: rice farmer and fisherman. But Buck's theme--the interweaving of skills which provide a balanced tapesty of Life--is gently expresssed in this little book. Besides the aspect of childhood friendships, she deals with the heavy topic of the role of Death in Life, by presenting the stoic Japanese philosophy which permits the renewal of hope despite overwhelming diaster.

Although short this tale is not really intended for children under 12. Depicting cataclysmic events and mature themes, this book serves as an excellent introduction to a unit on Asia--both its geology and its Oriental perspectives on man's role in the world. It might even be considered an Allegory for middle school readers. Serious and sobering, THE BIG WAVE is a fast read for thoughtful minds.

The book is about two kids named KIno and Jaya. They ate ina smal town were a gigantic sunami is going to hit. Kino and Jaya need to find a way to survive.

The messege is not to go back were you were because bad things are going to happen. I think that they shouldn't have went back.

It was a good because the big wave has action. So it was cool. I like the book because it showed how to survive.

"The Big Wave," by Pearl S. Buck, is a short novel that takes place in Japan. The main characters are Kino, a farm boy who lives on a mountainside, and his good friend Jiya, who is the son of a fisherman. The two boys bond despite the cultural differences between the farming and fishing communities. But with the presence of a volcano and the threat of the great ocean wave of the book's title, life holds danger for these boys.

This is a simple but beautifully told tale. Buck's themes include courage in the face of danger, the impact of geography upon the lives of the Japanese people, and the cycles of death and life. But most of all the book is about hope and friendship. For a good companion text, try one of Laura Ingalls Wilder's books.