My Several Worlds

by Pearl S. Buck

Autobiography of Pearl S Buck. A memoir of the life of the first female Nobel Laureate for Literature, who was also a world citizen and a major humanitarian, Pearl (Sydenstricker) Buck (1892-1973) three quarters of the way through her life. Published by the John Day Company to whose president, Richard John Walsh (1886-1960), she was then married, the book was successful and temporarily revived her waning reputation. The China oriented writer Helen Foster Snow described her partnership with John Day and Walsh as "the most successful writing and publishing partnership in the history of American letters." The firm had published everything she'd written since their marriage in 1935. Her biographer, Professor Peter Conn, describes the book as "a thickly textured representation of the Chinese and American societies in which she had lived." Friend of Eleanor Roosevelt, cultural ambassador between China and America, tireless advocate for racial democracy and women's rights and founder of the first international adoption agency, this is a book by and about a special American citizen of the twentieth century

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, China, Memoir, History, Autobiography, Asia

472 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1954

About the author

Pearl Comfort Sydenstricker Buck was an American writer and novelist. She is best known for The Good Earth, the best-selling novel in the United States in 1931 and 1932 and which won her the Pulitzer Prize in 1932. In 1938, Buck became the first American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature "for her rich and truly epic descriptions of peasant life in China" and for her "masterpieces", two memoir-biographies of her missionary parents.
Buck was born in West Virginia, but in October 1892, her parents took their 4-month-old baby to China. As the daughter of missionaries and later as a missionary herself, Buck spent most of her life before 1934 in Zhenjiang, with her parents, and in Nanjing, with her first husband. She and her parents spent their summers in a villa in Kuling, Mount Lu, Jiujiang, and it was during this annual pilgrimage that the young girl decided to become a writer. She graduated from Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Lynchburg, Virginia, then returned to China. From 1914 to 1932, after marrying John Lossing Buck she served as a Presbyterian missionary, but she came to doubt the need for foreign missions. Her views became controversial during the Fundamentalist–Modernist controversy, leading to her resignation. After returning to the United States in 1935, she married the publisher Richard J. Walsh and continued writing prolifically. She became an activist and prominent advocate of the rights of women and racial equality, and wrote widely on Chinese and Asian cultures, becoming particularly well known for her efforts on behalf of Asian and mixed-race adoption.

Reviews

[Carrie Kellenberger · Rating 5 out of 5]

My grandmother Louise gave me a dog-eared and obviously much loved copy of My Several Worlds back in 2002 when she first learned about my plans for moving to China. That book is now one of my most prized possessions, not only because it's one my favorite all-time books, but also because my grandmother and I shared a common love of reading and it was one of the last things she passed on to me before her death.

Pearl S. Buck's autobiography of growing up with a missionary family in China during the early twentieth century, her first-hand observations of the end of China's final dynasty, and her detailed account on how the Communist party took over and why they were able to take control so easily makes for a facinating read. More than anything, though, it was her stories of struggling to move between both worlds-her world in China and her world in the US-that truly fascinated me. I remember reading this book as I was winging my way to China and hoping that I would some day be able to understand that kind of a life for myself. I am glad to say that I did, and I still am.

I was so moved by her story, in fact, that five years later, her story was still with me and when I started a blog to document my adventures and thoughts on living and working in China and in Taiwan, I named that blog after her autobiography My Several Worlds.

Buck is a true cultural ambassador and a citizen of the world, and I think everyone should read at least one of her books.

[Kevin Kane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book received the high honor of placement on my special shelf with other books I've designated in years gone by as my "Book of the Year."

My copy was discovered almost by accident on the dusty shelves in a church library a few years ago. It was there along with many other accounts of missionaries. This one caught my eye because it was autobiographical and written by a very formidable author. I'm not sure why I waited so long to finally get around to reading it.

Once I picked it up, I couldn't put it down. I liberally marked many of the most insightful and skillfully written passages. Numerous bold and profound statements regarding orphan care found in it were shared by me with an organization I work with, Children in Families. I greatly admire Ms. Buck's work and advocacy for orphans. That was one of many things I learned about her from this book.

I found myself at times so caught up in her several worlds that it was as if I'd escaped for the time being from the multiple worlds of my own life. The passage about her visit to Angkor Wat brought her worlds and mine together in a way I cannot begin to describe.

In that there were so few spiritual references, it was far different from - as well as far better than - a typical missionary account. What it offered in historical and political perspective as well as cultural insight and literary criticism made up for what it lacked in spiritual content.

I'm sure I'll be taking it back down from my special shelf for rereading long before it ever gets dusty and neglected again.

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having just read Pearl of China for book club, I thought what better time than now to get the whole story straight from the source. I enjoyed the story behind Min's quasi-fictionalized telling of Buck's life from a Chinese perspective, however this, Buck's own autobiography, was what I was looking for. Pearl Buck led an interesting life and is a spectacular author, here she didn't disappoint as she gives some of her life's highlights and the lessons she's learned on all sides of the globe. I must say that it wasn't the fastest book I've ever read, however the things she said the the way she put them down was perfect, around every corner was another wonderful quote I felt needed to be shared. I went through a Buck phase several years back and then took a break, all signs point to picking up where I left off, there are so many more I have yet to experience.

[Shawn Thrasher · Rating 4 out of 5]

My grandparents had shelves of Readers Digest Condensed Books, and Winter 1955 included "The China I Knew" by Pearl S. Buck - condensed from this book. I loved Buck's story as a kid, and would read it every time I visited my grandparents. I still love Homesick: My Own Story, which is similar and covers some of the same years, although Pearl S. Buck was much older than Jean Fritz. I didn't even realize until I was in my 20s that there was an actual memoir. I think I tried to read this once before and failed. When Readers Digest condensed the book, they left in all the good parts, and took out all the boring parts. Pearl S. Buck wrings her hands literarily a lot, she's very serious a lot, and can more than not unfortunately comes across as preachy in a very 1940s Eleanor Roosevelt kind of way. Honestly, the first half is great, the next fourth is okay, and the last fourth is a yawner. I sort of wish I'd just bought the readers digest condensed book from Etsy (it's $19.99) because it's also illustrated. (interestingly, the volume also includes The Reason Why: The Story of the Fatal Charge of the Light Brigade, My Brother's Keeper, Good Morning, Miss Dove and The Darby Trail by Dick Pearce which doesn't even show up in Goodreads; I remember NOTHING about any of these books at all)(also, there is the china i knew, weird).

[Deanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m so grateful someone recommended this book to me upon hearing about my interest in China! I had read The Good Earth many years ago but didn’t know Pearl Buck’s personal story until reading this. She truly led a fascinating life, and her unique upbringing allowed her to paint both American and Chinese cultures so poignantly. It was pretty slow in a lot of parts which caused me to take wayyyy too long to read this, but it’s speckled with such amazing little memoirs of her life that it can keep you interested. You do have to be quite personally invested to get through the book in my opinion, but if you do, there are quite a few memorable stories you’ll take with you.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are interested in a more complete perspective on Pearl Buck's life, I suggest you read Pearl Buck in China: Journey to The Good Earthby Hillary Spurling. After reading Ms. Spurling's book, I realized how in this book, Ms. Buck purposely left out most of the more distressing and less attractive aspects of her life in China. Her missionary father's complete disregard for his family's well-being was shocking. She must have had incredible inner reserves as she had it pretty rough.....and then she goes on not only to be a very successful author, but wins the Nobel Prize for Literature. Amazing woman. But don't miss this read as her voice, especially when speaking of China, is so unique and wonderful, not duplicable by another author.

[ForestGardenGal · Rating 5 out of 5]

While this is absolutely an autobiography or memoir, it differs from the typical because it gives few personal details, and instead, through a recounting of her personal experiences, Ms. Buck discusses in detail her thoughts on cultural and moral differences and similarities between the Chinese and Americans, as well as her opinions about the various revolutions, colonialism, world wars, and other political issues she lived through and/or witnessed.

I was very impressed by both her writing and the depth and breadth of her experiences. I learned a lot about not just the Chinese, but about many different eastern cultures and even about the political environment in Asia that led to Japan's aggression in WWII.

I would like to recommend this book to everyone. The lessons from the past are extremely relevant still today.

PG for descriptions of complex political and cultural issues, and the fears pursuant to living amidst revolutions and wars. No sex, language, nor graphic violence.

[Colleen J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Autobiography. Buck gives few details about her marriages but provides her opinion on many issues

This is a long book. It is not the usual autobiography. She wrote this book from various places and it seems to be more a stream of thoughts than a true autobiography.

[Annique Mcgregor · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Really nice to be reminded how talented a writer Pearl Buck was. Her use of language is so rich and beautiful. Her autobiography was very interesting, but the interspersing of world / Chinese politics of a time long past made it at times slow and bogged down. For this reason, it took me quite a while to finish it. I suppose it would be more interesting if I had a background in political science and / or Asian history.

I think the book, "My Several Worlds," is aptly named. I found the book most fascinating in relation to her experiences as a TCK (third culture kid), and with my own Asian expatriate experience, I found myself very much relating. Even from the perspective a century ago, the feelings of belonging but not really belonging in a foreign land and viewing and understanding the world from a global perspective rather than one's own microcosm still ring true. I found myself instantly relating--and yet, her lifestyle and experiences were much more primitive and immersive than mine!

What was disappointing in reading this book was her obsequious reference to her personal life--she sprinkles enough anecdotes about herself and her family but doesn't go into details so you find yourself craving more information which never comes. Thank goodness for Wikipedia which explained the diagnosis of PKU and developmental delay of her firstborn, her need for a hysterectomy (hence, no more natural children), the unhappiness of her first marriage, her second marriage to her editor, the subsequent children she adopted and her advocacy and running of an adoption agency to help place mixed-race children. I also think it interesting to see how devout and religious her parents were, yet she did not seem to espouse those beliefs, and based on references in the book, she seemed dismissive and almost disdainful of the Christian / missionary lifestyle. She is very definitive with her opinions, at times pronouncing them decisively as facts which I found somewhat jarring, but she was writing this as a seasoned, older adult reflecting back on her early life, so I suppose she is forgiven for being so stolid in her opinions.

I am interested in going back and reading some of her other works, especially as she makes reference in this autobiography of where ideas came from / who they were based on.

[Jane Mettee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve read many Pearl Buck novels over the years. She is one of my favorite story tellers. She lived in China the first 40 years of her life. She was taken there as an infant by her parents who were Presbyterian missionaries.
She knew the people she wrote about. She was awarded both the Nobel and Pulitzer Prizes for her writing. This much I knew. I knew almost nothing about her personal life and beliefs. When I found this old dusty memoir in an antique store I was looking forward to reading it. I had no idea she was an activist who became quite controversial after leaving China in the 1930s due to battles between Chiang Kai Shek, Communists and Japanese all trying to control the country. In returning to the US she never felt completely comfortable. She was a stranger in the country of her birth. She was shocked at the racism and treatment of blacks. She became a spokesperson for civil rights, women’s rights, orphans and birth control. Women in the US had just recently been able to vote. She spoke strongly against the damage done by missionaries like her father who felt superior and preached damnation unless you accepted their beliefs. Another book of women’s history. Well worth reading.

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

10 stars to this woman, Pearl S Buck, whom I have grown this year to respect through her literature and now this, a sort of auto biography. If one could already feel the class this woman has and honor she deserves for her good heart and open mind, you will feel it a hundred fold through My Several Worlds. I could go on and on about this book as well as the others this literary journey has afforded me so far and the inspiration I feel from Pearl Buck. But alas, I will not. Great read, Again. And now I continue to discover her novels until I have had my fill of her. She has so much knowledge to offer because, having traveled and lived in many places around the world she says its not in the top "bucket list places" that she enjoyed seeing, although she did truly, it was in the people and always the people and what made their hearts.

[Lghiggins · Rating 5 out of 5]

WHAT IS MY SEVERAL WORLDS?
It is a collection of essays integrated into a memoir. Author Pearl S. Buck, as she writes this tome, considers herself midway in her writing career. She presents it as a “record of the age in which I lived” and “as nearly an autobiography as I shall ever write.” It is not a linear book. The place she is located when she writes each section is noted, but not the date because it is such a combination of times. Although a confusing style at first, it makes sense because as she is writing about her current life in the United States, she will suddenly revert to recounting her younger years in China and historical world events or advance her opinions on a variety of subjects from practical to esoteric.

WHO WAS PEARL S. BUCK (1892-1973)?
She was a prolific author, primarily a novelist, and the winner of both the Pulitzer Prize in 1932 and the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1938. The child of Christian missionaries, she spent much of her life in China until politics forced Americans to leave. Completely bilingual, Pearl was an astute translator of Chinese and had great admiration for Chinese social structure and love for the Chinese people. When she returned to the United States, she found that she lived in two separate worlds and never felt quite at home in either. She was well-traveled and had friends from all over the world.

WHERE DID BUCK GET HER INSPIRATION?
Buck’s source material was mainly her observations of people. In her travels, she paid attention to people, listening more than talking. Her focus was more on the common man and woman than the famous people who wanted to entertain her as a celebrity.


WHAT ARE SOME OF BUCK’S "SEVERAL WORLDS”?
Buck watched various political groups attempt takeovers in China. This land she loved and which helped shape her was subject to political strife from inside the country and by forces from the outside. She was witness to Western influences on young Chinese who studied in the United States and tried to bring change to ancient Chinese customs. These endeavors were not always positives for the Chinese people.

As an American adult with Chinese training, Buck experienced disparate worlds in the United States. Looking past geopolitical issues, Buck also had several worlds on a personal level. Although equipped to mingle in high society circles, she preferred a rural lifestyle with a large household of adopted children who learned life and family skills on their farm. She had a long, unhappy marriage to an agricultural missionary in China followed by a long, happy marriage to her publisher in the U.S. Although a teacher and primarily a writer, Buck devoted her talents to social enterprises as well. She opened The Welcome Home for U.S.-born children of Asian descent whose mixed-race status made them “unadoptable” according to adoption agencies. She also advocated for appropriate care for the disabled, a cause close to her heart as her first child was unable to live independently.

WHAT IS YOUR OPINION OF MY SEVERAL WORLDS?
This is not an easy read; there is no fluff to it. In My Several Worlds you will discover a lot of Chinese history since, as Buck points out, the Chinese civilization is very old. She refers to many events in China’s past without details as she feels they have already been discussed thoroughly in books she and others have written. Her thoughts on the various subjects she examines are interesting although I do not always agree with all of them. They are informed by her unique background of living a cosmopolitan life. She was homeschooled by Christians but tutored by a Confucian. She went to college in the United States, but despite altering her clothing never felt like she fit in.

Buck is an excellent writer, but the reader needs to approach this non-fiction work with a desire to learn—to learn more about China, about adults who have grown up in more than one culture, and about the fascinating Pearl S. Buck. Having read this memoir, I think a good follow up would be to read one of her many novels.

[Priscilla King · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 407 action-packed pages of "incomplete autobiography," Pearl Sydenstricker Buck supplied her credentials for writing "The Good Earth," the classic that inspired the whole genre of novels about Old China in English. "My Several Worlds" reads like one of those novels. Buck grew up in China, worked and had friends there, hid out during the war, escaped to Japan, and finally came back to the United States. More than the average missionary's child, perhaps because she was one of those bright children who are most interested in adults as friends, Buck was allowed to learn Chinese and hang out with Chinese women. She knew children who'd been sold as slaves (but treating them like adoptive children was a status symbol in rich families), rich people who'd never learned how to walk up and down stairs, women with and without bound feet (a fashion already on the way out).

Of her observations of old China, perhaps the one most relevant to modern China was how "the Manchu invasion of 1644 was success­ful in a military sense...the philosophical but intensely practical Chinese per­suaded them to move into palaces and begin to enjoy themselves...Since the Manchus were encouraged to do no work, the actual and tedious details of government were soon performed by Chinese."

Fair disclosure: I wrote reviews of this and other books after receiving, scanning, and putting up for sale a Readers Digest Condensed Book collection; that's why they're all together on the computer. The RD edition was called "The China I Knew." I have the full-length book, with the jacket shown above, as well...I read "The China I Knew" in 2019, "My Several Worlds" in 2017. As usual with RD collections, if you have a choice, I recommend "My Several Worlds." RD abridgments are all right for the books that were merely popular in their season, but don't do the really good ones justice.

If you can't spare the time to read all of "My Several Worlds," you'll miss some good anecdotes but the biggest thing you'll miss is Buck's observations of life with a brain-damaged child, which inspired some of the most poignant scenes in "The Good Earth." Buck cut most of her memories of life after leaving China out of "The China I Knew."

[Brooks Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not usually a memoir kinda reader, but I have been intrigued by Ms Buck since I read her take on the development of the atomic bomb at White Sands. I did read The Good Earth but not much else. This book fell off the shelf at my local bookstore and I thought "Why not?" This is the story of a writer who just could not help tell the stories of all the places and people in her life. I did not know as much of the 20th Century history of China and the tangled relationships with the colonialists of the West until I read through this. Ms Buck lived in China from around 1900 until she was forced to leave in 1938. Her view of the life of the "average Chinese" is a wonder to me: she was white, privileged, and yet not spoiled; she was taught by Chinese, nursed and fed by Chinese, rescued from death squads by Chinese and longed for a way to build a bridge of understanding between the ancient culture(2500+ years) and the ignorant interlopers(about 150 years).
This is a strongly political book and one that infuses all stories with her life. It gets a little preachy, focuses on the importance and sacredness of the family and vilifies the social worker system that denies many children the chance for love and caring. As a former childcare worker I can't fault her passion.
Read it to discover a strong woman who told stories that white people need to hear, even today.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5, really. I was really absorbed in this to start: so interesting, learning what it was like to grow up in China in the 18090s and 'oughts'. Living through the Boxer rebellion, being educated by native Chinese and at home by her American mother.... seeing America through a lens that has only known the Orient. Later, looking back to the east after living in America and traveling the world.

Although I don't agree with all of her perspectives, I enjoyed reading her thoughts on culture, education, race, how families should take care for their old, young and handicapped, and so on. Similar to her biographies on her parents, lots of short, amusing and insightful stories are peppered throughout.

What a thing to see the world in these times and places that are no longer as they were.

I short her a star and half, though, because 1) sometimes she goes on and on so that I had to skip forward or I'd glaze over in periods of boredom (especially as it progresses) and 2) she only discusses her personal life in broad strokes - very little detail on her closest personal relationships, but that's been covered in many other reviews here.

[Antonella Moretti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Credevo fosse più incentrato sulla vita dell'autrice, una vera e propria autobiografia con aneddoti di vita. Invece, come dice il titolo, parla dei suoi "diversi mondi", ovvero i luoghi dove ha vissuto, Cina e America, oltre a diversi luoghi che per vari motivi hanno plasmato la sua cultura e immaginazione. Quindi all'inizio sono rimasta un po' delusa. Dopo qualche capitolo, però, ho capito il senso del libro ed ho apprezzato sia le descrizioni della Cina durante l'infanzia e gli anni del primo matrimonio, sia il suo sgomento a dover conoscere e comprendere i suoi connazionali americani dopo anni di assenza e dopo che il suo essere "americana" era un puro fatto anagrafico. Ho trovato invece parecchio noiose le parti in cui analizza la situazione politica della Cina nel periodo della repubblica e dell'ascesa del comunismo. Ammetto che ho saltato varie parti che non trovavo interessanti, come quando parla del desiderio delle giovani ragazze americane degli anni del dopoguerra di trovarsi un marito al più presto: una descrizione obsoleta e fuori dal mio contesto culturale. Un misto fra tre e quattro stelle.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Raised in China by American parents, Pearl Buck grew up deeply third culture. Reading this book is equal parts enlightening, inspiring, thought-provoking, and sad. Although she cherished friendship and deep human connections, it's clear that once she came back to live as an adult in the States, she struggled to find people with whom she could truly commune. This isn't necessarily an indictment on her peers. Though clearly compassionate and astute, Buck didn't fit the mold during a time when American life was fairly standardized (1950s). Additionally, I'm not sure even she truly understood how fundamentally Confucian she was: all her critiques and asides about American culture come essentially from the Chinese point-of-view. In the end, her book is aptly named: Pearl Buck really did straddle two worlds, and she struggled all her life to bridge the gap. Recommended for anyone who's lived cross-culturally, especially Westerners who've lived in Asia.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. I’ve been wanting to read Buck for a long time, but I probably should have started with one of her novels. Buck does so much telling, especially in her cursory essay summations about global politics. I think I’d prefer to see her beliefs played out in the pages of a novel. Also, she has a maddening habit in this book of refusing to go into further detail because she’s written about her parents, etc., elsewhere.

Reading this memoir was rewarding for me, though, because I strongly identify with the double-vision of two worlds (rural Thailand and suburban USA). In fact, one of my first personal essays, written as an assignment in school, I called “Between Two Worlds.” It’s surreal to hear an author talk about such personal feelings so similar to my own growing up—and her experiences were 100 years ago! I am fascinated by her life and perspective and now have to decide what to read of hers next.

[A-Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading this a-kind-of-autobiography after 10 years of "The Good Earth",i still find Pearl S. Buck writing a mixed bag. There are parts of the book i throughly enjoyed - the idyllic childhood as anAmerican child growing up in China, able to communicate in both languages, the rural setting and the people surrounding her, even the harsh north country and the Japanese sojourn.
Once things move to America, the book becomes less pictorial and all the thoughts come pouring on. She chooses to minimise personal details - i have no objections to that; neither for the sections on how American foreign policy in Asia should be (everyone is entitled their opinion), but the later half specially towards ending she just rambles on. These are sections that left me wondering about their place in the book.

[Sam Rennick · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I was in school, certain books had such reputations, there was no passing over them. "The Good Earth" was one. I didn't get around to it until years later, but it lived up to its reputation. You would expect a person who lived much of her life in China to bring penetrating insights into Chinese life, and Pearl Buck doesn't let us down. Nor is "The Good Earth" her only good story about China. Yet it is an observation on American ways, rather than Chinese, that I find particularly intriguing, in "My Several Worlds." The author decries the "superficiality of American life and thought," due to the "continual political uncertainty" of governments that change every four (or eight) years. This would fly directly in the face of contemporary thinking, especially regarding the federal bench, where appointments are for life.

[Jocelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book because it's the first-person narrative of a third culture kid. Pearl Buck, born in West Virginia to parents of European ancestry, spent most of the the first 42 years of her life in China. It's not surprising, then, that she writes of her global worldview, her loyalty both to China and to the United States, her multi-sensory perception of her worlds, her pain at their involvement in World Wars, her appreciation of cultural differences, and her need to learn the ways of Americans as an adult. She portrays herself as adaptable; she suffers when the Chinese who do not know her tar her with the same brush as they do other white people; she absorbs every experience of every day; she becomes a keen observer.

I really appreciated watching her life unfold.

[Mbuye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Internationally acclaimed writer Pearl S. Buck’s ‘My Several Worlds’ are her personal memoirs of a childhood spent in a China where the first signs of deep resentment were beginning to show themselves, both against the Manchu dynasty and the foreigners who traded in China but whose behaviour towards the Chinese displayed an appalling arrogance. The style is in Buck's gentle, hypnotic, story-teller mode, but I found too much of the ‘good old days’ sentimental wistfulness, and too little joy in the present day, although she does mention the brutalities visited upon the simple white families – teachers, missionaries and their families – in 1926-7. Still, a good picture of pre-revolutionary China and Russia, and of pre-World War America and Europe.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

How many children of American missionaries were raised in China in the 1890s in which Mandarin was their first language? Who played with the children of neighboring Chinese peasants instead of living only among fellow Europeans behind locked gates? Who witnessed the Boxer Rebellion and Nationalist revolution? Very few Americans. And that’s why Buck was one of the few (and this, in my opinion, was a shameful thing) westerners that the Nixon administration could call upon for insight when the US opened up trade with China. Her experiences are priceless. She gets a little preachy toward the end of the book, but as a “senior”, I guess she was entitled. I re-read this book as I traveled thru China in 2025. I also re-read Imperial Woman, which made the Forbidden City visit extra meaningful.

[Diane Secchiaroli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pearl Buck

This autobiography covers her childhood, adolescence, and young womanhood growing up in China as well as her eventual return to America. The stories she wields are entertaining and insightful. This book makes you want to read all her novels of which I have made a good start. She constantly conveys her insights into people she has observed weaving them as examples of her philosophy on various matters. She is a complex woman with much to expound upon. Her philosophy is surprisingly current. She was a truly amazing woman who traveled the world learning about people. Her characters are well defined and interesting.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first half of this book was pure torture to read. Very dull, but then almost exactly at the half-way point it became so interesting I could hardly put it down.
Pearl's life-story is like no one else I've ever read. Born in the US but raised in China by missionary parents, she had a unique view of the culture and ultimately of the world.
Her disabled daughter influenced much of her life's work for children of all kinds. Her perspective on political happenings, the lack of special education services as well as her rant about social workers made for reading that got to the heart of her life and multiple writings.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Caveat: This is the only book of hers that I’ve read. It dragged on. Buck has a lot of interesting and still-relevant insights, but she assumes too much about what readers know about Chinese events (even those of recent history), and it probably could have been shortened by at least a quarter without losing anything particularly interesting. I’m glad I slogged through it once, but I probably won’t read it again.

[Marilyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pearl Buck was the First American woman to win the Nobel prize and the Pulitzer Prize in the same year. This book is a retrospective of her life (which was pretty amazing.)

Her book The Good Earth was the clincher for the prizes but she authored over 40 books so you can take your pick. I want to know more about her and her life after reading this book.

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Pearl Buck's novels and find her early life in China fascinating. I learned more about China's transition from an imperial to a nationalist to a communist nation, but sometimes the political philosophizing about both China and America dragged a bit.

[Jennifer Chin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating autobiography and glimpse into what it was like to live as an "American-Chinese" at the turn of the century. I really enjoyed experiencing the mind of this cerebral, compassionate author.

[Marylyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Parts of this were dry, but the majority I found fascinating. What a great humanitarian she was. She was so insightful and wrote beautifully on so many subjects. So glad I read it.