Status
Description
The Nobel Prizewinning author's perceptive fable of cross-cultural passions in nineteenth-century ChinaIn 1850s China, a young girl, Peony, is sold to work as a bondmaid for a rich Jewish family in Kaifeng. Jews have lived for centuries in this region of the country, but by the mid-nineteenth century, assimilation has begun taking its toll on their small enclave. When Peony and the family's son, David, grow up and fall in love with one another, they face strong opposition from every side. Tradition forbids the marriage, and the family already has a rabbi's daughter in mind for David.Long celebrated for its subtle and even-handed treatment of colliding traditions, Peony is an engaging coming-of-age story about love, identity, and the tragedy and beauty found at the intersection of two disparate cultures. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Pearl S. Buck including rare images from the author's estate.… (more)
Similar in this library
User reviews
Extended review:
In a large city in mid-nineteenth-century China, a woman named Peony is bound in service to an old, established Jewish family. Her pivotal role in the life of the family bridges two ancient traditions, each with its observances and
This richly atmospheric novel delivers fascinating details of life in the China of about 1850 and especially in a Jewish household within that setting. The synagogue in the city was by then already some 800 or 900 years old. As depicted, Jews who had migrated to China by way of the Silk Road centuries earlier remained aloof in the wider community but were cheerfully tolerated by their liberal-minded Chinese hosts, who knew nothing of European antisemitism. A comfortable symbiosis prevailed between the merchant classes of both cultures, and intermarriage among their offspring increasingly blurred the differences.
For Peony, however, the barrier is insurmountable: it is not because she's Chinese but because she is a bondswoman, inescapably restrained by her inferior social status and her utter dependence on her owners, that there is no hope of a union between her and David. So her love must find other expressions. To serve him, she becomes a schemer and manipulator of events and circumstances. In Peony we see a complex characterization fraught with secrets, conflicts, and hidden motivations, at once rigid and yielding, resourceful, clever, loyal, and yet hopelessly yearning. Among all the principals we see above all else a depiction of love in its many forms, bringer of pain and grief as much as of joy.
From the Pulitzer- and Nobel-winning author of The Good Earth, Peony the novel, deep, moving, satisfying, poignant, wise, and culturally rich, is certain to be one of my highest-rated reading experiences of the year.
(Kindle edition)
This story reveals a bit of history I had never been exposed to, but which has been thoroughly documented. Ms. Buck tells the story of a culture within a culture as she describes how a group of Jews who escape to China to avoid persecution manage to so completely assimilate into the Chinese culture that they are completely absorbed in just a few generations.
The child Peony is bought as a bond servant at age 8 around 1850, and is raised in a wealthy Jewish family along with their only son David. As young adults they feel a strong attraction, but their status differences are too great a barrier. Peony remains an integral part of the family, working quietly behind the scenes to make David as successful a family man and business man that he can possibly be.
It is an evenly paced novel, mostly character-driven through inner dialogues, and includes a memorable journey to Peking. It succeeds where many contemporary historical fiction novels fail: the setting and era are integral to the storyline, and the characters act in accordance with the culture, customs, and ways of life of the era. The sights, sounds, smells, textures, and tastes provide an aura of authenticity. The reader feels immersed into the historical environment. For example:
“The coming of the caravan each year was an event for the whole city. The news of it ran from mouth to mouth, and when the long line of camels came padding down the dusty path at the side of the stone-paved streets, the doors of every house and shop were open and crowded with people. Upon a proud white camel at the head of the caravan sat Kao Lien, the trusted business partner of the House of Ezra. Behind him came guards armed with swords and old foreign muskets, and behind them plodded the loaded camels. All were weary with the long journey westward through Turkestan and back again through the mountain passes, but for the final homecoming the men had decked themselves in their best, and even the camels held their heads high and moved with majesty.”
Buck lived in China for many years, and it shows in her storytelling. She writes beautifully – clear, descriptive, and emotionally charged. Her prose is effective in showing the quandary of the Jewish people in China as they attempt to keep their traditions while simultaneously feeling accepted and assimilated into their host country. This is one region of the world where they were not persecuted but treated with kindness.
After reading this book, I was inspired to research the history of Jews in China, and aside from literary license in condensing timelines, it seems historically accurate. It provides opportunities to learn about different cultures and a piece of largely forgotten history and poses thought-provoking philosophical questions of the interplay between the head and the heart. Highly recommended to fans of authentic historical fiction and character-driven family sagas.