Pearl of China: A Novel
By Anchee Min
3.5/5
()
About this ebook
Pearl is head-strong, independent and fiercely intelligent, and will grow up to be Pearl S Buck, the Pulitzer- and Nobel Prize-winning writer and humanitarian activist, but for now all Willow knows is that she has never met anyone like her in all her life. From the start the two are thick as thieves, but when the Boxer Rebellion rocks the nation, Pearl's family is forced to leave China to flee religious persecution. As the twentieth century unfolds in all its turmoil, through right-wing military coups and Mao's Red Revolution, through bad marriages and broken dreams, the two girls cling to their lifelong friendship across the sea.
In this ambitious and moving new novel, Anchee Min, acclaimed author of Empress Orchid and Red Azalea, brings to life a courageous and passionate woman who loved the country of her childhood and who has been hailed in China as a modern heroine.
Editor's Note
Fascinating fictionalization…
From the internationally bestselling author of “Red Azalea” comes a fascinating fictional portrait of the novelist Pearl S. Buck, as narrated by her devoted, life-long friend, Willow.
Anchee Min
Anchee Min was born in Shanghai in 1957. At seventeen she was sent to a labor collective, where a talent scout for Madame Mao's Shanghai Film Studio recruited her to work as a movie actress. She moved to the United States in 1984. Her first memoir, Red Azalea, was an international bestseller, published in twenty countries. She has since published six novels, including the Richard & Judy choice Empress Orchid and, most recently, Pearl of China.
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Reviews for Pearl of China
261 ratings69 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Disappointing.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This story is not about Pearl Buck. It is the story of two girls from different cultures who became friends -the best of friends. We should all have the opportunity to share our lives with someone special. Willow (and China) was as special and important to Pearl as Pearl was to Willow."Joy, gratitude, and a sense of peace are what this moment means to me. I thank God for the fortune of having known you." Written by Willow as she honors Pearl at Pearl's grave in America. Who would be able to say those words about you?The condensed history of China in the 20th century helped put some names and historical events into a perspective that, when it was happening, I didn't really understand their importance.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Review for the unabridged audiobook.I listened to the Audible version of this book and therefore did not have a cover to inform me that this was a biographical novel. It was not until I was about a third of the way through that the penny dropped and it gradually dawned on me that I was reading the life story of Pearl S.Buck.Sadly, I have never read any of Ms Bucks writng, though there are three of her books lurking in my shelves. However, I had obiviously heard of her, and once I realised the significance of the characters, this novel took on a whole new meaning.In an interview by KPBS, Anchee Min relates how she came to write this book about a character who had been considered persona non-grata by the Chinese authorities during her teens (1971). Ms Min was amazed to discover that Pearl Buck actually loved Chinese peasants and didn't hate the Chinese at all. Thus Anchee Min's appetitie was whetted and Pearl of China is the result.It did, however, seem to be more about Pearl's (fictional?) friend, Willow, than about Pearl herself. Willow is from a poor family and is used in the novel to illustrate the lives of this strata of the population during the revolution that resulted in Mao's rise to power.Pearl Buck was from a missionary family and the book covers the fall of the Christian Church under the leadership of overseas missionaries. Interestingly, this is correlated in the book I am currently reading, The Woman Who Lost China by Rhiannon Jenkins Tsang.After Pearl left China in 1934 she was never again allowed to return, which distressed her greatly. America was an alien place to her, and she considered China to be her home.My one complaint about the book was the emphasis on Pearl's friend Willow, otherwise an interesting listen.Also read:Empress Orchid by Anchee Min (4 stars)
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I really liked it until about half way - then I really didnt mind if I just stopped reading it. So I gave 4 stars for the first half because it was a nice read - but not enough to sustain a whole book. Maybe Ill revisit it some other time.....
SO I had a moment and revisited this book...it was slow in the middle really....but things picked up at the 70% mark and I found myself getting emotional at the end. I still keep it at 4. A nice read if you have the time, but not one to go hunt for unless youre into Pearl S Buck. Nice Historical Fiction. - Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5In 1971, as a middle schooler in Shanghai, Anchee Min was ordered denounce American author Pearl S. Buck as an enemy of China. It wasn't until 1996 that she finally had a chance to read The Good Earth, after it was given to her by a woman attending her book-signing, who told her "Pearl S. Buck taught me to love China." Min read the book in one sitting, tears streaming down her face. 'Pearl of China' is Min's love letter to Pearl S. Buck, her way to honor the woman who loved China more than anything in the world.
That's not the plot of the book, that is how it came to be written. In 'Pearl of China', Anchee Min tells the story of the life of Pearl S. Buck and the rise and fall of the Cultural Revolution through the eyes of Pearl's childhood friend Willow.
This was a beautiful, and above all, moving book. - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I've never read anything by Anchee Min, or Pearl Buck but this book made me crave more. Min's writing had me actually seeing the things she described in China, smelling the jasmine and the cooking, and wanting to know everything.
The two main characters Willow and Pearl are lifelong best friends, and the characters were very strongly developed. They were in my head even when I wasn't reading. This story engulfed me. All I wanted to do the last few days was be in the book.
I love Min's writing style, the people - all of them, that were so real and came to life on the pages, and all the political events that happened during the span of Willow's life. I felt like a part of the family.
This book is magical. - Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Interesting, but the prose seemed flat to me.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5**This was a reviewer copy provided by Library Thing**Pearl of China is a fictionalized account of the life of Pearl Buck as told by her best friend, Willow Yee. From Buck's childhood as a missionary's daughter in China to her life in America during Mao's Great Leap Forward, we see Buck's life through Willow's eyes and, as a result, what her work meant to the Chinese people. Having been raised in China, Buck is presented as more Chinese than American and as the only Westerner who could communicate the Chinese culture without bias, stereotypes, or misunderstanding.This is a slim book and a fairly quick read, although it seemed longer because I found so much of the novel to be tedious. I appreciate what Min was trying to achieve, but I think perhaps a biography may have better served her purposes than a fictionalized account ever could. Its brevity is problematic in that events move quickly and the transitions are often choppy and unclear. The passage of time is difficult to track as entire decades may pass between one paragraph and the next. This also leads to seeming inconsistencies within the development of characters. In the beginning, Willow and Pearl despise one another and then, inexplicably, they're best friends. Both Willow and her father have problems with the faith preached by Absalom, Pearl's father, but both inexplicably become true believers (this is especially unclear in Willow's case). We never get to fully know Willow or Pearl, which makes it difficult to care about either.Much of the novel, especially toward the second half, reads more like a textbook being narrated by Willow. There's a great deal of "this happened and then that happened," and this fact-dropping often stands in as evidence for the supposedly deep friendship between Willow and Pearl. As a result, I never really understood how these women became devoted lifelong friends. The second half is also set in Mao's China and for the last 100 pages mentions of Pearl are reduced to "Pearl was once again denied entry to China" statements. We have no idea what life was like for Pearl during this time period, although we do see Willow's suffering as a result of her inability to give up her faith in God which would also be a rejection of Pearl. Even in what should be the most moving part of the novel, Willow's flat and toneless narration of events makes it difficult to connect with the characters.While I do respect Min's attempt to show what Pearl Buck means to Chinese culture through Chinese eyes, one's time would be better spent reading Buck's body of work.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I couldn't put this book down! Min completely destroyed my childhood image of Pearl Buck as an "old lady." She has become a vital, vibrant, real person to me. I enjoyed this book for the friendship between Pearl and Willow, and wonder if any of the real friends in the real Pearl's life had been this close. I also enjoyed it for the Chinese perspective. For years all I knew of China were Pearl Buck's stories. Min validates Buck's view of China, for me.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This is the story of a friendship. The friendship of the young Pearl Buck as told through the eyes of her fictional friend, Willow Yee. Pearl's father is a missionary in China where he converts Willow's father, and that is how Pearl and Willow meet. When there is unrest in China, particularly against foreigners, Pearl is sent to Shanghai for her safety. From there, she is sent to America to attend college. When she returns to China for her wedding, she reunites with Willow. Willow is now unhappily married and is the founder of a newspaper. Their friendship is tested when they both fall in love with the same man.When the 1949 revolution is imminent, Pearl flees China and Willow's husband becomes Mao's right hand man. This leads to an ultimate showdown between Willow and Madame Mao, where Willow refuses to denounce her friend.Pearl went on to write many books about China and the Chinese people. She was the first American woman to win a Nobel Prize.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5When I was growing up I loved the books of Pearl S. Buck and was excited to read this to learn more about her life. The book was well written and enjoyable to an extent, but the characters felt flat to me and I had a hard time finishing it. It WAS well researched, also, and I learned a lot about the history of that time period.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Told from the viewpoint of a "fictional childhood friend" of Pearl Buck, this novel covers Ms. Buck's years in China. Though born in the United States, Ms. Buck was taken to China at an early age by her missionary parents. She learned many dialects of Chinese and much about of the culture of China. She was forced to return to the United States when Mao Tse-Tung and the Communist party came in to power. Ms. Buck never returned to China, but she never forgot the country she loved. The story continues with that of her friend, Willow, and of life in China until the 1970s. I thoroughly enjoyed this blend of fiction and fact and when I finished the book I took to reading other sources regarding Ms. Buck's life. I have several of her books in my house and will be moving them up my TBR pile.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Anchee Min, like Pearl S. Buck, is a Storyteller in the most compelling sense of the word. I'm an ardent fan of Pearl Buck (and now I will be looking for everything else Anchee Min has ever written) so the opportunity to learn a bit more about her life in China was too good to pass up. I think Min was both very brave and very wise to write Pearl's story as fiction. There are those who will be critical of the choice, wanting and expecting to read a traditional biography. Personally, the novelization gave me the opportunity to forget my preconceptions and set aside what I already knew of Pearl Buck. Once that happened, I immersed myself in the lives of Pearl and her best friend Willow and found that the book was extremely difficult to put down. My only complaint is that the book probably should have been longer. There is so much "story" to tell and Anchee Min writes so beautifully that I found myself wanting to know more about the later events of the book. Should Min have decided to pen another five hundred pages, the book would have earned a full five stars!Definitely a book for fans of friendship, Pearl S. Buck, Anchee Min, and China.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I was excited to read Pearl of China, as I knew nothing of Pearl Buck's life as a young girl growing up in China as the daughter of missionaries. The story is told in first person by Pearl's fictional childhood friend Willow Yee. The narrator's voice as a young girl "sounds" just like her age and I found the first eight chapters fascinating, as the American girl becomes one with her adopted country. The first part of the book covers the years 1898 to 1901, and describes the difficulties Pearl's parents Absalom and Carie Sydenstricker experience with their Christian mission in Chin-kiang. Then the characters grow up. The chapters become shorter and decades are described in only a paragraph or two. The story begins to revolve around Willow, because by the 1930s, Pearl lived in the United States. When Pearl leaves the story, it became less interesting to me, although having little knowledge of Chinese history, I found the descriptions of the Communist takeover and life under Mao Tse Tung to be compelling. I appreciated that the narrator's voice matured as the character aged. However I was somewhat disappointed that I really didn't get to know Pearl--she felt an arm's distance away as I read, and that is the problem with first person narration. I wanted to understand her motivations, but all I knew was what the narrator described. As far as characterizations, I felt that Pearl's parents, Absalom and Carie were strong, but the Chinese characters tended to be one note, and I'm not sure that was the intent.(less)
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I've read several other books by Anchee Min. I received this one as an Early Reviewer copy and was a little skeptical as to whether I would enjoy it or not. I had previously found the author to be a little too caught up in history and not enough in the story, particularly with Madame Mao, which I found hard to get through.The same was true with Pearl of China. While I found this book a more enjoyable read than Madame Mao, there were certainly similarities. I had hoped for and expected more of the story to center around Pearl Buck, about whom I was interested in learning more. However, after the first part of the book which focuses nicely on the life of Pearl and her Chinese best friend, Willow, the book takes a turn to focus much more on Willow. In my opinion, she was the less interesting character to choose from.Obviously these were not happy times in China and so one could expect that this was not going to be a happy book. I just wanted a little more out of it.That said, I do still believe this is a worthwhile read and quite eye-opening about the culture and situation in that time in China's history.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I absolutely loved this novel. It follows the life of Willow as she recounts it in her moments, thoughts, and feelings with her friend Pearl. I loved the open language and the observations. For me, someone who dreams of returning to China, as Pearl had, it was wonderful to experience the cultue both in ways I knew and in ways I could never imagine to experience. The book is well written and artistic, as befit to a Chinese novelist. I would recommend to those who enjoy memoir style writings and to those who enjoy being immersed into a culture.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A beautifully told story of Willow and Pearl Buck. I enjoyed "watching" this friendship develop and grow. Anchee Min has a exquisite style to her writing and I enjoyed this book very much.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Anchee Min has long been one of my favorite writers. Her first book, Red Azalea, is one that I have recommended many times to many people. In the beginning, I was seduced by her wonderful, lyrical writing. Both Red Azalea and her second book, Katherine, were not only gorgeously written but also full of an unexpected eroticism that seemed to deepen the writing and draw one even tigher into Min's literary web.Over time, Min has changed her focus somewhat in order to tell China's history and provide us with her unique version of historical fiction to bring forth the lives of famous Chinese such as Madame Mao. Min is undeniably one of the best writers today in bringing Chinese life and history to the Western world. Her books are a pleasure to read not only for the sensitive prose but also for the sense of past times, the way politics and history have intertwined and influenced China as a country over time.But what of her newest book? What of Pearl of China? Again, Min has taken on an actual person - in this case, the famous writer Pearl Buck - and has written a fictionalized version of her life based in quite a bit of historical fact. The book will not please Buck purists who are looking for a traditional biography. For one familiar with Buck and her life and work, perhaps Pearl of China will serve as a pleasant and fascinating "add on," or something to read after one has read a detailed biography.Or, it is possible to read Pearl of China knowing nothing at all of Buck. Perhaps in the reading, one will become intrigued with the child of missionaries who grew up in China and later wrote insightful books about the country, winning literary prizes and gaining worldwide attention. Perhaps Min's latest writing will create an upswing of interest in Buck among younger readers. It is also possible to read Pearl of China without any emphasis on Buck at all and view her simply as a background character. After all, the book is more about Willow, Buck's childhood friend in China and her life. One of the most memorable characters in the novel is Papa, Willow's father who both comically and touchingly manages to walk a tightrope between Buddhism and Christianity and between con man and church man in order to survive through decades of difficult times in China.Fans of Anchee Min will read this book, but it probably will not be anyone's favorite book by Min. In fact, Pearl of China feels very much like a Min running out of steam. Her writing - always very good - seems less lyrical, more narrative. One misses the poetic quality of her earlier novels. Also missing is the amazing eroticism that Min used to be able to render in almost every novel. Perhaps the idea of combining Pearl Buck with an erotic factor did not seem wise or even imaginable. But the romance that Min dreamed up for Buck did not seem to work either. Perhaps, in the end, Buck was too difficult and too real a person to fictionalize.Min touches on the Boxer Rebellion and, as always, the Cultural Revloution in China. She manages - as usual - to fill her readers with the horrors of those times. She has done this so well, so many times over now, that one begins to wish for Min to ease up a bit on the political and allow herself to go back to the dream-like early writings with the pages that read as poetry and the building eroticism lurking behind the flowered words. At this point in her life, Min is, perhaps, too serious. Her own writing self seems to be too wired to past political traumas in China. Perhaps this is the time for her to try a different kind of novel. Pearl of China is not it. I, for one, am waiting for the poetry to come back.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Author Anchee Min has fictionalized author Pearl Buck's life. She tells it through the life of Willow, who is a composite of several persons Pearl knew in China over the years. I enjoyed the story, but I knew that it differed from accounts of Pearl's life that I had read years ago. Pearl was the daughter of a Presbyterian missionary. In the story, Willow is the daughter of one of Pearl's father's first converts who eventually becomes a leader in the church although his initial motive for joining was purely selfish. The book covers a wide range of time, including the period after Pearl left China during the Revolution and never returned. The biggest problem with the book is the liberties that the author took with the story. That is always a danger when fictionalizing the life of a real person. Perhaps the author would have been wise to stick with the facts and make that narrative readable rather than creating a composite individual who would have know Pearl throughout her time in China. This book was received as a complimentary copy through GoodRead's First Reads Program with encouragement to write a review.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Pearl of China by Anchee Min is an inspiring and well written historical novel. Written through the eyes of Pearl Buck's best friend, Willow Yee, the reader experiences the changes in Chinese government through the 20th century. The character development helps the reader follow each character through their lives as they grow and change with the hardships of life. Anyone who enjoys Chinese history would enjoy this historical novel. Interest in China and the life of award winning author Pearl S. Buck is piqued in Pearl of China.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5I've read almost all of Anchee Min's works, and I have to say that Pearl of China is my least favorite. My mother was a huge fan of Pearl Buck, so I was intrigued by the dust jacket description along with what I knew of Buck from my mom. That all quickly took a backseat once I began the novel.I'd say that I enjoyed the first third of this novel quite a bit. The friendship between Willow and Pearl was sweet. The family dynamic of each girl was interesting. By the second third of the novel, I was pretty much done with Willow. The character had become increasingly annoying and unlikeable, which is unfortunate being that she was the narrator. Her story made up the bulk of the second and last thirds of the book. Pearl became an smaller and smaller part of the tale (which was actually part of the story), so being stuck with just Willow was hard since I had stopped caring about her and her story.Aside from my general dislike of Willow, I thought there were holes in the novel. Willow describes in detail her strained relationship with her daughter Rouge. Then, very suddenly and with no explanation, they are the best of friends. Rouge is caring for an aging Willow and there is no discussion of mending fences. It had a rushed and stumbled over feeling to it.Also, Willow's father must have been about 200 years old by the time he dies in the book. It was unrealistic that her father lived as long as he did and was as active as he was. Not that it couldn't happen, but given the life this character led, it was unbelievable to me as a reader.Overall, I just had a general dislike for this book. It was long, kind of boring, and definitely not the intense story of friendship that the dust jacket would have one believe. I cannot say I would recommend this book, although I would not hesitate to recommend other works by Anchee Min.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I can't say I'm completely disappointed, but this work is not representative of what the author can do. It's a good read, but not a great one. For many who have read Anchee Min's memoir Red Azalea, or her previous novels, this book may be a let down.But do not let it deter you from reading this author. It hasn't me. I plan on reading more of Min as her reputation surpasses this one, lesser work.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Anchee Min draws from history to craft a fine semi-fictional novel exploring the life of Nobel Prize winning author Pearl S. Buck. This fascinating narrative explores Buck's life in social, political, historical, and personal contexts. Min creates an engaging picture of Buck that makes me want to read The Good Earth for a second time.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Before reading this book i was not very familiar with pearl s. buck. I had heard her name, and for some reason remember a middle school teacher yammering on and on about her,... but id never gotten to really know her. Thanks to Pearl of China, i got a crash course in the life of Pearl Buck.The book was the basic fictionalized version of pearl bucks life, seen through her best friend willow. Starting out as little girls and ending in old age and death the story brought to us ideas of what pearl was really about. What I thought was great was that it gave you a really good idea of pearl and the story around her, but never tried to make pearl into something she may not have been. There is a thin line to be drawn between fiction and a bio, and Min did a wonderful job of not making that line too wiggly. Along with pearl i got to meet a whole cast of interesting folk that may have represented the villagers that helped Buck to write true to life books that made her exiled from the land she loved.It took me a little while to get through the book. The depressing poverty parts, and constantly having to look stuff up from a non fiction point of view kept me at the book a little longer then id have liked, but when I finished it i felt like i had two new friends. I am now on my way to start Good Earth. curious to see what pearl really thought of china, in her own words.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I remember reading The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck when I was in school. I don't recall very much about it except a scene where a pregnant peasant woman was working in the fields when she went into labor. Instead of calling a doctor, she simply gave birth and resumed her work. I couldn't believe that anyone could do that. I mean, no hospital, no drugs, nothing? I was amazed at the hardiness of the Chinese about whom Buck wrote. I have since then intended to read more of her books, but it just hasn't happened.So, when I heard about Pearl of China, which is a biographical novel of Pearl Buck's life, I was intrigued.I thought it was interesting how the author wanted to write a book about Pearl Buck through a Chinese person's perspective. Mrs. Buck has not always been a heroine in China. She had to return to America when civil war broke out. It was after that time that she began writing her novels about life among the Chinese peasants from firsthand observations. I did not realize that Pearl is now revered in China.I like how the author wrote about Pearl's life in China, not just about her books. I enjoyed seeing through Willow's eyes the trials she endured and her love for the Chinese people and culture. And it seemed to be a realistic look at the life of Pearl and her family as missionaries in a foreign country (not romanicized). Although I felt the pace was too slow in some places, I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I found the book to be good, but not great. It seemed a bit ackward at points. I had a hard time staying "in" the book, I would put it down at night and have to really push myself to pick it back up. It's hard for me to say what exactly was the probelm, but I just had a hard time staying motivated to read it. I guess I just never got really invested in the characters.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Reason for Reading: I am a huge fan of Pearl S. Buck, having read almost all of her books.The book purports to be the fictionalized story of Pearl Buck's life in China told through the eyes of a lifetime Chinese friend. Pearl's mother went to the US to give birth to Pearl after losing several babies but soon came back to China with the babe in arms and Pearl was to remain there well into her thirties, except for brief periods away while she sought higher eduction in the US. She even married and came back a missionary herself. Willow, her fictional friend, tells the story of her own life and how it intermingled with Pearl's and through this the reader gets glimpses into the great writer's life, who though she was white on the outside was Chinese on the inside.The book is enjoyable and we are given a touching look inside the day-to-day life of a small Chinese village, Chin-kiang, from the early 1900s through the end of Mao's Cultural Revolution. The villagers themselves are eccentric and lovable and the reader falls in love with the people and way of life, though one must watch out for the war lords, in Chin-kiang before the terrible atrocities of the revolutions started.I'm not sure I completely agree with the author's portrayal of Pearl's mother and father. She does have the personalities correct but it somehow feels overboard. It has been a long time since I read Buck's two biographies, that each tell the same story, one through her father's eyes, The Fighting Angel, the other through her mother's, The Exile, so I can't say anything concrete but I am left with an odd feeling here.The same goes for Pearl actually. Since the author chose the rather strange narrative of telling Pearl's life through the eyes of a (non-existant) Chinese best friend from childhood, the reader can only experience those parts of Buck's life in which the friend is involved. Thus creating long passages of time where Pearl Buck is not present. I have only read Buck's first biography, My Several Worlds, but there is a large amount of information missing on Pearl's life and the topics that were close to heart. I'm rather dismayed that Anchee Min glosses over the atrocities of the Nanking Massacre so quickly, as it is a subject that Pearl writes about in much detail.Now, rather than being the story of Pearl Buck, this novel is more the story of Willow a Chinese peasant who happened to know Pearl Buck. We are shown how her childhood is influenced as she becomes like a sister to Pearl and Carie (Pearl's mother) becomes like a mother to her for her entire life, as her own mother died when she was very young. Her father is converted to Christianity, fake on his part to start with, but eventually a true convert and the reader sees how being a Christian in Mao's China affects ones life. Actually, the most riveting part of this novel is the Mao years. I always find reading about the Cultural Revolution almost unbelievable and then terrifying when the reality sets in my mind.Overall, I enjoyed the book. I think it is a mistake to assume this is a book about Pearl Buck and will be better enjoyed with the understanding that it is the story of a peasant girl who knew Pearl for thirty-odd years. I certainly enjoyed the writing style and if I had known nothing about Pearl S. Buck to begin with, it would be a teaser of an introduction to this great woman and perhaps may make readers look up some of her lesser known work. This is the first Anchee Min book I've read and I see she has written several others; I will definitely be reading her backlist.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This book followed the life of Willow, a young girl in China, as it intertwined with her best friend, Pearl Buck. It was an interesting perspective into life in China at that time, as well as the life of the famous novelist. I've enjoyed the books of Anchee Min's that I've read in the past, and this was no exception. It also inspired to me to pick up a few of Pearl Buck's books that I own, but haven't yet read. I'd be curious to read an actual biography of Pearl Buck now, to see just how much of the story matches up with what is known of her actual life.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5An interesting work of historical fiction. I didn't know much about Pearl Buck before reading this book and enjoyed learning about her life in China.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I wanted to like this book, and for the most part I did. Anchee Min is an excellent author in her other books and she was excellent here. The only problem for me was that it was so focused on Pearl Buck's friend Willow that it lost Buck for long periods of time altogether. It wasn't so much a flaw in writing as it was a flaw in naming: this book should be called Willow of China.
Book preview
Pearl of China - Anchee Min
One
Chapter 1
Before I was Willow, I was Weed. My grandmother, NaiNai, insisted that naming me Weed was better. She believed that the gods would have a hard time making my life go lower if I was already at the bottom. Papa disagreed. Men want to marry flowers, not weeds.
They argued and finally settled for Willow, which was considered gentle enough to weep and tough enough to be made into farming tools.
I always wondered what my mother would have thought if she had lived.
Papa lied to me about my mother’s death. Both he and NaiNai told me that Mother died giving birth. But I had already learned otherwise from neighbors’ gossip. Papa had rented
his wife to the town’s Bare-sticks
in order to pay off his debts. One of the bachelors got Mother pregnant. I was four years old when it happened. To rid her of the bastard seed,
Papa bought magic root powder from an herbalist. Papa mixed the powder with tea and Mother drank it. Mother died along with the seed. It broke Papa’s heart, because he had intended to kill the fetus, not his wife. He had no money to buy another wife. Papa was angry at the herbalist, but there was nothing he could do—he had been warned about the poison.
NaiNai feared that she would be punished by the gods for Mother’s death. She believed that in her next life she would be a diseased bird and her son a limbless dog. NaiNai burned incense and begged the gods to reduce her sentence. When she ran out of money for incense, she stole. She took me to markets, temples, and graveyards. We would not act until darkness fell. NaiNai moved like an animal on all fours. She was in and out of bamboo groves and brick hallways, behind the hills and around ponds. Under the bright moonlight, NaiNai’s long neck stretched. Her head seemed to become smaller. Her cheekbones sharpened. Her slanting eyes glowed as she scanned the temples. NaiNai appeared, disappeared, and reappeared like a ghost. But one night she stopped. In fact, she collapsed. I was aware that she had been ill. Tufts of hair had been falling from her head. There was a rotten smell to her breath. Go and look for your father,
she ordered. Tell him that my end is near.
Papa was a handsome man in his thirties. He had what a fortuneteller would describe as the look of an ancient king
or the matching energy of sky and earth,
meaning he had a square forehead and a broad chin. He had a pair of sheep eyes, a garlic-shaped nose that sat on his face like a gentle hill, and a mouth that was always ready to smile. His hair was thick and silky black. Every morning, he combed and braided it with water to make his queue smooth and shining. He walked with his back straight and head up. Speaking Mandarin with an Imperial accent, Papa wore his voice like a costume. But when Papa lost his temper, his voice would slip. People were shocked when Mr. Yee suddenly took up a strange voice. Ignoring NaiNai’s opinion that his ambitions would never be realized, Papa dreamed that one day he would work for the governor as an adviser. Papa attended teahouses where he showed off his talent in classic Chinese poems and verse. I must keep my mind sharp and literary skills tuned,
he often said to me. One would never guess from the way he presented himself that Papa was a seasonal coolie.
We lived in Chin-kiang, a small town far away from the capital, Peking, on the south side of the Yangtze River in Jiangsu province. Originally, our family was from Anhui province, a harsh region where survival depended on an endless round of crushing physical labor. For generations my family worked the region’s thin and unfertile soil and struggled with famine, flood, locusts, bandits, and debt seekers. NaiNai bragged that it was she who brought luck
to the Yee family. She was purchased by my grandfather when he was forty years old. No one was allowed to mention that the purchase took place in a local sing-song house. When NaiNai was in her prime, she had a slender figure, a swanlike neck, and a pair of fox eyes with both ends tilted up. She painted her face every day and modeled her hairstyle after the Imperial empress. It was said that men’s blood would boil when NaiNai smiled.
By the time the family crossed the Yangtze River and migrated to the south, NaiNai had given the Yee family three sons. Papa was the eldest and the only one sent to school. Grandfather expected a return from his investment. Papa was expected to become an accountant so that the family could fight the government’s tax collectors. But things didn’t turn out right—Grandfather lost his son to the education.
Papa believed that he was too good to work as a coolie. At sixteen, he developed the expensive habits and fantasies of the rich. He read books on China’s political reform and chewed tea leaves to sweeten his peasant garlic breath. An ideal life, he told others, would be to compose poems under blossoming plum trees,
far away from the greedy material world.
Instead of returning home, Papa traveled the country, making his parents pay the bills. One day he received a message from his mother. The message informed him that his father and brothers were gravely ill and near death from an infectious disease that had swept through his hometown.
Papa rushed home, but the funeral was already over. Soon enough, his house was possessed by the debt seekers. NaiNai and Papa fell into poverty and became coolies. Although NaiNai vowed to regain their former prosperity, she was no longer healthy. By the time I was born, NaiNai suffered from an incurable intestinal disease.
Papa struggled to keep his intellectual dignity.
He continued to write poems. He even composed a piece titled The Sweet Scent of Books
for my mother’s funeral. Invoking a newfound spirituality, he insisted that his words would make better gifts than jewelry and diamonds to accompany his wife in her next life. Although Papa was no different from a beggar in terms of possessions, he made sure that he was lice-free. He kept his appearance by trimming his beard and never missed a chance to mention his honorable past.
Papa’s honorable past didn’t mean anything to me. For the first years of my young life, food was the only thing on my mind. I would wake hungry every morning and go to sleep hungry every night. Sometimes the clawing in my stomach would keep me from sleeping. Having to constantly scavenge for scraps, I existed in a delirium. Unexpected luck or a good harvest might bring food for a while, but the hunger would always return.
By the time I was seven, in 1897, things had only gotten worse. Although NaiNai’s health had continued to deteriorate, she was determined to do something to better our lot. Picking up her old profession, she began to receive men in the back of our bungalow. When I was given a fistful of roasted soybeans, I understood that it was time to disappear. I ran through the rice paddies and the cotton fields into the hills and hid in the bamboo groves. I cried because I couldn’t bear the thought of losing NaiNai the same way I had lost Mother.
Around this time, Papa and I worked as seasonal farmhands. He planted rice, wheat, and cotton and carried manure. My job was to plant soybeans along the edges of the fields. Each day, Papa and I woke before dawn to go to work. As a child, I was paid less than an adult, but I was glad to be earning money. I had to compete with other children, especially boys. I always proved that I was faster than the boys when it came to planting soybeans. I used a chopstick to poke a hole and threw a soybean into each one. I kicked dirt into the hole and sealed it with my big toe.
The coolie market where we got our jobs closed after the planting season was over. Papa and I couldn’t find any work. Papa spent his days walking the streets in search of a job. No one hired him, although he was received politely. I followed Papa throughout the town. When I found him wandering into the surrounding hills, I started doubting his seriousness about finding a job.
What a glorious view!
Papa marveled as he beheld the countryside spreading below his feet. Willow, come and admire the beauty of nature!
I looked. The wide Yangtze flowed freely and leaped aside into small canals and streams that fed the southern land.
Beyond the valleys are hidden old temples that have stood for hundreds of years.
Papa’s voice rose again. We live in the best place under the sun!
I shook my head and told him that the demon in my stomach had eaten away my good sense.
Papa shook his head. What did I teach you?
I rolled back my eyes and recited, Virtue will sustain and prevail.
Virtue finally failed to sustain Papa. The demons in his stomach took over—he was caught stealing. Neighbors no longer wanted to be associated with him. The pity was that Papa never actually succeeded as a thief. He was too clumsy. More than once I witnessed him being beaten by the folks he stole from. He was thrown into the open sewage. He told his friends that he had tripped over a tree stump.
Laughing, they asked him, Was it the same stump you tripped over the last time?
One day Papa came home holding his arm, which had been knocked out of its socket. I deserved it,
he said, cursing himself. I shouldn’t have stolen from an infant’s mouth.
By the time I was eight years old I was already a seasoned thief. I began by stealing incense for NaiNai. Although Papa criticized me, he knew that the family would starve if I stopped. Papa would sell the goods I stole.
I snatched small items at first, such as vegetables, fruit, birds, and puppies. Then I went for farming tools. After selling what I stole, Papa would rush to a local bar for rice wine. He took his sips slowly, closing his eyes as if concentrating on the taste. When his cheeks began to redden, he would recite his favorite poem. Although his friends had long since left him, he imagined his audience.
The Grand Yangtze River runs toward the ocean,
Never to return, so went the dynasty’s glorious days.
When would the time come again for heroes?
Though music continues playing, swiftly and triumphantly,
Reform miscarried, reformers beheaded,
Foreign troops plagued the country
His Majesty locked in the island of Yintai.
Where have been the gods’ responses?
Weep the learned man,
Brokenhearted and in despair . . .
One day a man clapped. He was sitting in a corner. He stood up to congratulate Papa. He was tall, a giant in the eyes of the Chinese. He was the brown-haired and blue-eyed foreigner, an American missionary. He was by himself with a thick book and a cup of tea in front of him.
He smiled at Papa and praised him for his fine poem.
Absalom Sydenstricker was his name. The locals called him the plow-nosed and demon-eyed crazy foreigner.
He had been a fixture in town for as long as I could remember. Not only was he ceiling tall, he also had hair growing on his forearms and the backs of his hands like weeds. All year long Absalom wore a gray Chinese gown. A queue went down his back, which everyone knew was fake. His costume made him look ridiculous, but he didn’t seem to care. Absalom spent his time chasing people on the street. He tried to stop them and talk to them. He wanted to make us believe in his God. As children, we were taught to avoid him. We were not allowed to say things that would hurt his feelings, such as Go away.
Papa was familiar with Absalom Sydenstricker since he, too, spent time wandering the streets. Papa concluded that Absalom was laying up credit for himself so that his God would offer him a ticket to heaven when he died.
Or else why leave his own home to wander among strangers?
Papa questioned.
Papa suspected that Absalom was a criminal in his own land. Out of curiosity that day, Papa listened to what the foreigner had to say. Afterward, he invited Absalom home for further discussion.
Thrilled, Absalom came. He didn’t mind our dirty hut. He sat down and opened his book. Would you like a story from the Bible?
he offered.
Papa was not interested in stories. He wanted to know what kind of god Jesus was. Based on the way he was tortured, stabbed to death, nailed and tied to posts, he must be a royal criminal. In China such elaborate public torture would be given only to criminals of high status, like the former Imperial prime minister Su Shun.
Excitement filled Absalom’s voice. He began to explain. But his Chinese was difficult to understand.
Papa lost his patience. When Absalom paused, Papa interrupted. How can Jesus protect others when he couldn’t even protect himself?
Absalom waved his hands, pointed his fingers up and down, and then read from the Bible.
Papa decided that it was time to help the foreigner. Chinese gods make better sense,
he said. They are more worshipper-friendly . . .
No, no, no.
Absalom shook his head like a merchant’s drummer. You are not understanding me . . .
Listen, foreigner, my suggestions might help you. Put clothes on Jesus and give him a weapon. Look at our god of war, Guan-gong. He wears a general’s robe made of heavy metal, and he carries a powerful sword.
You are a clever man,
Absalom told Papa, but your biggest mistake is that you are knowledgeable of all gods but the true God.
I observed that Absalom’s face was a big opium bed with a high nose sitting like a table in the middle. His eyebrows were two bird’s nests and under them were clear blue eyes. After his talk with Papa he went back into the streets. I followed him.
God is your best fortune!
Absalom sang to the people who paused in front of him. No one paid attention. People tied their shoelaces, wiped snot off their children’s faces, and moved on. Absalom stuck his long arms out like two brooms in the air. When he saw Papa again, he smiled. Papa smiled back. It took Papa quite a while to figure out what Absalom was trying to say.
We have shed blood unlawfully,
Absalom said, waving the Bible in Papa’s face. It may be innocently, but the stain remains upon us. Mankind can only remove it by prayers and good deeds.
I discovered where Absalom lived. His house was a bungalow located in the lower part of town. His neighbors were coolies and peasants. I wondered what had made Absalom choose the place. Although Chin-kiang was the smallest town in Jiangsu province, it had been an important port since ancient times. From the water’s edge, stone-paved streets led to shops and then the center of the town, where the British Embassy was located. The embassy occupied the highest point, with a broad view of the Yangtze River.
Although he was not the first American missionary to come to China, Absalom claimed he was the first to arrive in Chin-kiang during the late nineteenth century. According to old folks, soon after Absalom arrived, he purchased a piece of land behind the graveyard, where he built a church. His intention was to avoid disturbing the living,
but to the Chinese, disturbing the dead was the worst crime one could commit. The church’s tall shadow stretched out over the graveyard. The locals protested. Absalom had to abandon the church. He moved down the hill and rented a shop as his new church. It was a room with a low ceiling, crooked beams, falling studs, and broken windows.
Most of the people thought Absalom a harmless fool. Children loved to follow him around. His feet were the main attraction, because they were huge. When Absalom asked the local shoemaker for a pair of Chinese shoes, it became news. People visited the shop just to see how much material it would take and if the shoemaker would double the charge.
When asked his reason for coming to China, Absalom replied that he was here to save our souls.
People laughed. What is a soul?
Absalom let us know that the world was coming to an end, and that we would all die if we failed to follow God.
What evidence do you have?
Papa asked.
That is what the Bible is for.
Absalom winked an eye and smiled. The Lord explains the one and only truth.
Papa said that he was rather disappointed by Absalom’s description of the Western hell. Chinese hell was much more terrifying. Papa loved to challenge Absalom in teahouses and bars. He reveled in the gathering crowd and his growing popularity. Behind Absalom’s back, Papa admitted that he followed Absalom around for the food, especially the cookies baked by Absalom’s wife, Carie.
Compared to NaiNai, Carie was a big woman. She had light brown eyes and a wrinkled, soft, white round face. She wore a funny-shaped hat, which she called a bonnet.
Stuffed inside this hat was her brown curly hair. Carie wore the same dark dress all year long. It was the color of seaweed. Her skirt was so long that it swept the ground.
Carie had been warning her husband about Papa. She didn’t trust Papa. But Absalom continued to treat Papa like a good friend, although Papa refused to attend his Sunday church on a regular basis.
Like a true artist, Papa fooled Absalom by pretending that he was interested. He was giving me an opportunity to steal. The day after I took the church’s doormat, I heard Carie cry, There is no need for housekeeping because everything is gone!
Chapter 2
When Absalom held up his Bible-story drawings, I asked about the beard-men who had golden rings on their heads. Why are they walking in the desert with sheets draped around them?
Absalom didn’t know that I only asked questions to distract him, so I could carry on with my stealing.
It was hard for Absalom to concentrate. He was interrupted by people’s cries. When can we have food, Master Absalom? Would you ask God to bring food for us now?
As Absalom went on with his speech, children pulled his arms and pushed him around. Who is Virgin? Who is Mary?
Who is Madonna?
I asked loudly, attaching myself to Absalom like a leech. My hands were inside his pockets.
By the time Absalom blessed me with a Jesus loves you,
I had his wallet.
Slipping the wallet into my pocket, I hurried down a side street and made my way out of town. I sensed that I was being followed and cut a jagged path. Still I felt the pair of blue eyes at my back. They belonged to a cream-skinned white girl wearing a black knitted cap. She was a little younger than me. She always sat in the corner of the church room with a black leather-bound book in her hands. Her eyes seemed to say, I saw you.
By now I knew who she was. She was the daughter of Absalom and Carie. Her family servant had called her Pearl. She spoke to the servant in the Chin-kiang dialect. Her mother and father never seemed to need her. She was always by herself and was always reading.
To get rid of her, I ran as fast as I could toward the hills. I passed the wheat and cotton fields. After a couple of miles, I stopped. I looked around and was glad that she was no longer in sight. I took a deep breath and sat down. I was excited about my harvest.
As I began to open the wallet, I heard a noise.
Someone was approaching.
I froze and held my breath.
Slowly, I turned my head.
Behind me, in the bushes, was that pair of blue eyes.
You stole my father’s wallet!
Pearl yelled.
No, I didn’t.
I imagined the food the money in the wallet could buy.
Yes, you did.
Prove it!
It’s in your pocket.
She put down her book and tried to reach into my pocket.
I knocked her aside with an elbow.
She fell.
I held tight to the wallet.
She rose. Anger made her pink lips quiver.
We stood face-to-face. I could see sweat beaded on her forehead. Her skin was white, as if bleached. Her nose had a pointed tip. Like her father’s fake queue, her black knitted cap hid her blonde curly hair. She wore a Chinese tunic embroidered with indigo flowers.
Last chance to give the wallet, or you’ll get hurt,
she threatened.
I worked up a mouthful of saliva and spit.
While her hands went up to protect her face, I ran.
She followed me through the fields and up and down a hill. By the time she caught me, I had already hidden the wallet. I raised both of my arms and said, Come and search me.
She came and didn’t find the wallet.
I smiled.
She gasped, taking off her knitted cap. Golden curls fell across her face.
From then on she followed me everywhere. I was unable to steal. I spent day and night thinking about how to get rid of her. I learned that she had one living sibling, a younger sister, Grace. The Chinese servant who took care of the girls, Wang Ah-ma, had been with the family for a long time.
Pearl and Grace want so much to look like the Chinese girls,
Wang Ah-ma chatted to her knitting friends. They sat outside the house under the sun. Wang Ah-ma was making new caps for Pearl and Grace. The caps would cover their blonde hair so that they could look like Chinese girls. Wang Ah-ma said that she had to knit fast because the girls were wearing the old ones out. Poor Pearl, every day she begs me to find a way to help her grow black hair.
The women laughed. What did you tell her?
I told her to eat black sesame seeds, and she went crazy eating them. Her mother thought that she was eating ants.
Before the spring planting season, farmers came to town to purchase their supplies for the year. While men bought manure and had tools fixed and sharpened, women inspected the livestock. Going in and out of food stalls and supply shops, I hunted for stealing opportunities. It had been weeks since I’d had a full meal.
Papa had pawned nearly every piece of furniture we owned. The table and benches and my own bed were all gone. I now slept on a straw mat on the packed-earth floor. Centipedes crawled over my face in the middle of the night. NaiNai suffered from an infection that wouldn’t heal. She could barely move from the one bed we still owned. Papa spent more time with Absalom, trying to get hired.
Absalom needs my help,
Papa said every day. Absalom doesn’t know how to tell stories. He puts people to sleep. I ought to be the one to tell his Bible stories. I could turn Absalom’s business around.
But Absalom was only interested in saving Papa’s soul.
One night I heard Papa whisper to NaiNai, The dowry would be handsome.
It took me a while to figure out what he meant. One of his friends had made an offer to purchase me as his concubine.
You are not selling Willow!
NaiNai hammered her chest with her fist. She is just a child.
It takes money to make money,
Papa argued. "Besides, you need to buy medicine. The doctor said that you are getting worse . .