What readers think of Pearl of China, plus links to write your own review.

This was a marvelous book. The book gives you a clear picture of a China's conversion to communism, painful and violent as it was. I loved this book.

Willow Yee lived in Chin-kiang, a small town far away from the city of Peking, on the south side of the Yangtze River in Jiangsu province. She lived there with her father and grandmother, Nai Nai. Her mother had died after her father rented her out to pay his debts and she became pregnant. He had given her “magic root powder” from the local herbalist. It was meant to expel the fetus but also killed her!

Willow was seven-years-old in 1897 and she was terribly afraid she was going to lose her Nai Nai like she lost her mother. Grandma was receiving men in the back of the bungalow they lived in. While Nai Nai was busy entertaining her men, Willow and her father worked as seasonal farm hands, he planting rice, wheat and cotton and Willow planting soybeans. In the off season her father stole and Willow, now 8-years-old, was herself a seasoned thief. Hunger does terrible things to people.

One day they met a missionary named Absalom Sydenstricker who walked the streets holding a Bible and proclaiming God was people’s best friend. He held his church services in an old store. Willow’s father befriended him for the sole purpose of stealing from him. Absalom’s wife, Carie, was beside herself and in tears when he even stole the churches doormat. After stealing his wallet, Willow hurried down a side street and out of town. She felt as though someone was watching and following her so she took off running as fast as she could toward the hills, after a couple of miles she stopped and sat down. As Willow began to open the wallet she heard a noise and knew someone was approaching her. Suddenly she heard: “...you stole my father’s wallet”! It turned out to be Absalom and Carie’s daughter, Pearl. Pearl would eventually become known as none other than Pearl S. Buck!

I have read all of Pearl’s books but had never really read too much about her personal life. I assumed she was a happy, contented, well-educated woman and author all her life, but I was terribly mistaken. What I learned in this book about Pearl’s “personal” life was truly sad and literally devastating. The book is rich in history, wars and revolutions, love of family and the importance of friendship. The friendship between Willow and Pearl is all consuming and will touch the very deepest parts of your heart. The scene near the end of the novel at the grave will have you weeping from the beautiful one woman service.

This was an extremely well-written novel. I was so taken in that I kept turning the pages faster and faster. It was one of those books you didn’t want to put down. If you haven’t read any of Pearl S. Buck’s books, I highly recommend “The Good Earth”, along with this one, of course.

Pearl of China is literally a Jewel of a book. It brings new meaning to family, friendship, love and loss. A friendship that lasts a lifetime. My bookclub focused on Pearl Buck's The Good Earth and Sons last year and this will be a perfect book to share...it is a must read.

I love this novel!!! I felt that I was there in China with Pearl Buck growing up right along side her. This is writing at it's best! I loved the honesty that the author wrote with regarding life in China after the Boxer Rebellion and during the communist take over.

"Pearl of China" is a beautifully written historical novel about the loyal friendship between two girls cultures apart. The first girl is Willow a peasant who is telling the story and the other is her best friend Pearl Buck the daughter of American missionaries. Because Pearl is an American she is forced to leave China and Willow is forced to remain. Pearl is denounce by Madam Mao for writing about China and Willow must find ways to remain loyal to China as well as to Pearl. Possibly, because Ms. Min also had to denounce Pearl Buck while growing up in China, this novel was written as an apology for having to have had to make this denouncement. Whatever, the reason, this is a wonderful read and I highly recommend it to Pearl Buk fans as well as book clubs. This book would lead to a wonderful discussion.

At first, I didn't think I was going to enjoy this book. To me the writing was stilted, but as I got more into the book, I was to discover how much history was involved. Not having read about Pearl Buck or any of her novels before I will certainly put them on my reading list.
The history of the cultural revolution in China and the sufferings of the people certainly put an awareness of Mao and Mrs. Mao.
I recommend this book to everyone.

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.

A compelling and heartfelt novel about Pearl Buck and her life in China. Be prepared to stay up all night till you have finished this novel as it will capture your attention from page one. This is a story told from the perspective of Pearl's best friend, Willow Yee. The reader sees Pearl and Willow growing up together as friends and living through many of China's historic moments. But it is not a story of history so much as a story of enduring friendship. Have tissues close at hand. An excellent novel that you will remember long after you have finished it.