what a pleasant surprise

books:


	• Peony (Oriental Novels of Pearl S. Buck Series) (Oriental Novels of Peal S. Buck Series) Pearl S. Buck Moyer Bell, 2004 - 336 pages average customer review:based on 18 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

Love and Duty Meet

I loved this story about a servant girl in a wealthy household and her selfless love and service. But, this is not a sugar-sweet story. Pearl Buck is an author who is able to take you to a time and place and make you feel the characters are real people. The twists and turns keep this book interesting. This is my favorite of her novels.

Universal Love

Pearl S. Buck's "Peony" is a lovely story that both touched me and informed me about an era of history of which I was unaware. The copy I found was a hardback published by the John Day Company in 1948; so I'm glad to see the story is currently in print. The story is an episodic tale that covers a number of years. Peony is a bondmaid that is apparently a well-treated slave. Buck's text discusses how her owners have the right to sell her, even separate spouses. Peony was sold by her parents as a baby and raised in one of the few Jewish households in China. As the Jewish families have blended with the Chinese, their Jewish identify has become less pure, eventually resulting in the abandonment of Judaism for Chinese philosophy. As Buck traces this, it is due to the welcoming nature of the Chinese whereas Jews in other parts of the world were separated and shunned. Through the wise Chinese merchant character of Kung Chen, Buck indicates that this is due to their own philosophy that theirs in the only God, which encourages their separation. The unrequited love of Peony for her master David and his development as he grows is quite beautiful. When Buck changes gears with the violence in Chapter VII, it happens so swiftly and abruptly that I felt literally stunned as a reader, unable to believe it had happened, much as one probably feels in life after a tragedy. As the story unfolds with David's marriage, the trip to Peking and the consequences of that visit, I found the ending strangely peaceful as Peony's love for David turns to a universal love for mankind. Peony is a masterful work 60 years after it was first published. Enjoy!

for more information click here

Lovely, Haunting...

This is a wonderful story with well-drawn characters the reader can empathize with. When reading, you feel as if you have been picked up and plopped down in China, in the middle of this Chinese/Jewish household. I wanted it to go on forever. This book is profoundly sad and profoundly joyful at the same time, while also being interesting and informative. I was never before aware of Jews in China and now have a jumping-off point from which to do some research. Fascinating! The only thing I was slightly disappointed with was how quickly the end of the story came; near the finish of the book, the years pass too fast and everything is wound up. Mrs. Buck does not give us a "Hollywood" ending, however. She was a tremendously gifted storyteller, and I so look forward to reading her other works.

for more information click here

Beautiful

You just can't go wrong with Pearl S. Buck, she writes so beautifully. The Chinese culture is so interesting and beautiful itself that her books are a joy.

what a pleasant surprise

I accidentally found "Peony" while I was trying to find a book that would teach me how to grow peonies. The title, the topic and Buck's reputation helped me decide to read it. I am so glad that I did.

Other reviewers have told of the understated, beautiful use of language. They have spoken of the interesting juxtaposition of the Jewish and Chinese cultures, the gentleness of the story, and Buck's decision not to satisfy our need for a Hollywood ending.

All of these wonderful aspects allowed me to focus on other layers of the novel. The fact that the Jewish community in Kaifeng eventually allowed themselves to forget their own culture was fascinating. Their acceptance of and integration into the Chinese culture is portrayed as inexorable. Most slipped away easily; others faced the loss with overwhelming grief. Buck describes the Chinese characters in this book as being accepting of others while being a bit hedonistic themselves. They choose to seek pleasure and temporal fullfillment while the Jews focus on the horror of oppression, complex ritual and the absolute truth of their history and destiny. In other words, it seemed that the Jews were willing to give up their faith because it was difficult to maintain personally and for the community as a whole.

The final destruction of the core of the Jewish community is, ironically, a product of being a "chosen people." Kao Lien (a business associate of the Ezra family) tells David ben Ezra (Peony's young master) that the Jews, "were hated because they separated themselves from the rest of mankind. They called themselves chosen of God." This is David's first inkling that the world has alternate views of the Jewish people. This is a pivotable moment in the novel. This conversation gives David enough distance from his own culture to allow him to choose a Chinese wife and to move farther from the religion of his mother. Because he chooses not to become a leader of the Jews in his city, the Temple and the culture eventually fall into ruin.

More than most novels, this one is a rare combination of attributes. It is entertaining, informative, thought provoking and good literature. I will certainly read more of Buck's work and urge others to read this novel.

for more information click here

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4

Young Peony is sold into a rich Chinese household as a bondmaid -- an awkward role in which she is more a servant, but less a daughter. As she grows into a lovely, provocative young woman, Peony falls in love with the family's only son. However, tradition forbids them to wed. How she resolves her love for him and her devotion to her adoptive family unfolds in this profound tale, based on true events in China over a century ago.

hot