Burying The Bones: Pearl Buck In China (2010) - Plot & Excerpts
I enjoyed the book, both because I got an overview of Chinese history during the time and for a glimpse of Pearl Buck's life. What an interesting person and life, not at all what I thought I knew. It is well written and rich in detail, yet does not bog down. I found myself eager to pick it up and read again. Some of the authors prejudices peek through, but hers is not a judgmental voice and the subject matter could easily have been approached that way.I recommend it if you are interested in her biography. This is an interesting account of the life of Pearl S Buck, one of only two women to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. Buck lived a fascinating life (and least up until about the age of 40) and this reads very well for the most part, charting Buck's early life in pre-Communist China. Toward the end of the book, Buck publishes her novel The Good Earth, at which point she is in America (forever) and destined to a life of fame, fortune and the writing of dozens more potboilers. Here I lost interest, as the biographer seems to have found the second half of the author's life uninteresting. Thankfully Spurling covers this period very quickly and the book is a good one overall.So The Good Earth is the place to start in reading Pearl S Buck, apparently. Good to know.
What do You think about Burying The Bones: Pearl Buck In China (2010)?
Turgid writing almost defeats a fascinating life. The book picks up Colorado about halfway through.
—Shary
Covers a fair amount of the 20th century history of China and a spotty biography of Pearl S. Buck.
—Carole
Very, very interesting, and a great companion read to Snowflower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See.
—bethanne
This book was interesting and informative, but I found the writing to be poor.
—sjg1023
