(2/9/2010)
Anchee Min paints a vivid portrait of life in Communist China that is at times breathtaking and at others heartbreaking. The story is told through the eyes of a peasant girl, Willow, who is befriended by the local missionary’s daughter, Pearl S. Buck.
The friendship blossoms and strengthens as the girls grow up. They experience each others lives intimately and share each other’s sorrows. As Pearl’s mother says, life is about being forced to make choices, and each woman learns to make the right choice for their lives as the world seems to fall apart around them.
Pearl utters the timeless words, “I love my country, so much so that I hate her for not being all I want her to be.” Pearl’s country was not the place she was born but rather China, the country in which she came alive. Pearl believes that “all spirits are equal before God” and she communicates this through her writing.
The lyrical tone of this novel opened my heart and mind to want more. A truly memorable read.