I was very anxious to read this book as I've long been interested in Pearl Buck. I thought because the author was Chinese and a celebrated author, , I would love it. I didn't. The story was interesting, but the style of writing was not to my liking. In my opinion, it read
…more like an essay written by a high schooler. The facts were all there, but laid out in outline form and seemingly copied from an encyclopedia. It wasn't a novel, full of life, brimming with great dialog with a page-turning pace. It was flat and factual. I could've gone to Wiki and gotten the same. Very disappointing. (less)