What a surprise of a book. I only picked it because I needed an author beginning with the letter ‘B’ this time and it was the first one I came across on my kindle.
I just couldn’t put it down.
It’s a family saga, it’s a wonderful portrait of a woman, it’s a snapshot of a different culture, it’s about human nature and love and honour and responsibilities and the role in society… and it’s really really fascinating and thought provoking.
Madam W turns 40 and on that day she decides that she’s dedicated enough of her life to her husband and her family and now it’s her time. She arranges for a concubine for her husband and withdraws to her ‘court’ and her books whilst of course still keeping the extended family and the affair all in order. It’s her time to be herself now… But it’s not as simple as that of course.
You won’t be disappointed.
Pearl S Buck was the daughter of American missionaries in China where she grew up and returned to live after her studies. Her most famous novel ‘The Good Earth’ won the Pulitzer Prize and in 1938 she won the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Go on, read it!
while you're ahead... 
That takes me back! It was on my parents’ bookshelf and I read it in my teens – one of the first ‘grown-up’ books I ever read.
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Sounds like a fascinating read! Glad you enjoyed it
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Am tempted … though worried t might give me ideas ….
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