Devil Never Sleeps

by Pearl S. Buck

1st Pan G558 1961 film tie-in edition paperback, vg In stock shipped from our UK warehouse

Genres: Fiction, Drama, Nobel Prize

152 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1962

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

[Susana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Um curta mas intensa história, com a qualidade de escrita característica de Pearl Buck.
Quatro personagens principais bem delineadas e um pano de fundo bem composto tornaram a leitura fluida e agradável.
O final, dramático, pareceu-me algo apressado.

[Mohammad.Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

برعکس ریویوهایی که دیدم ازش، کتاب واقعا خوب و جالب بود
البته شاید چون اون اصل کاریای پرل باک رو نخوندم این به نظرم خوب اومده
خاک خوب و نسل اژدها رو گذاشتم برای آخر
بعد از این میرم سراغ نامه‌ای از پکن و بعدشم مادر

[Boshra · Rating 2 out of 5]

ناخواسته با نسل اژدها و موج بزرگ مقایسه اش میکردم و در برابر اون ها خیلی حرفی برای گفتن نداشت. شاید یه علتش این باشه که شخصیت های اصلی اون کتاب ها شرقی ان و در این کتاب ایرلندی. در مجموع نه انقدری که دوست داشتم انقلاب چین رو دیدم نه چینی هارو.
بیشتر در نکوهش قانون تجرد کاتولیک ها بود تا انقلاب چین.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pearl S. Buck may have written some important novels in her day, but I can't say I like the prose or the stories of any that I've read. This is interesting, at least, in its set-up, as I have read almost nothing about the Communist Revolution in China, and had not thought about the plights of people who had lived there who were not Communists. However, the story is sort of toneless and ignorantly religious in a certain way. The priests insistence that characters must recognize sin when those same characters have renounced, or never known about, religion, is frustrating to say the least. Likewise, their blame of women for luring them into sinfulness. Likewise, their insistence that Siu-Lan marry the man that raped her. Whether it's the ignorance of the characters, or Buck's own beliefs, it is hard to say. In any case, I wasn't into it.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

SATAN NEVER SLEEPS is a solid read, but a little lightweight considering the subject matter and the pedigree of the book's author. The story is that of two devout priests in China being harassed by communist soldiers who view the Church as a threat to the sovereignty of the State. Meanwhile, the younger of the two priests is forced to deal with his feelings for a young Chinese woman who hopes to entice him along the path to romance. The story is intriguing, but it's very difficult to empathize with any of the characters, and the ending is largely unsatisfying. It's well-written, but doesn't live up to Pearl Buck's literary reputation.

[Debra · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was more like a long "short" story. 120 pages. The book was published in 1962 and is about two priests getting stuck in China when the "Reds" start to take over. The captor is a young man they practically raised and who was to become a priest. Involves a young woman who thinks she is in love with one of the priests.
Interesting in some ways, but would have probably been better if twice as long. Strangely enough, it was made into a movie starring Robert Holden.

[Martina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This small, riveting book was made into a play. I could not put it down! But of course it was Pearl Buck, my favorite author!

[Soham]

A miraculous find in the deteriorating remains of my late grandfather's library - I have no idea how a Hindi literature professor ended up in possession of a 60s propaganda piece. It gave me a chance to read a story (and watch a movie) that I otherwise would have gone a lifetime without knowing about. Perhaps all one can really hope for in death is to share a story with those who come after through our possessions.

[Claire · Rating 2 out of 5]

Curious little book, quick page-turner, but story and morals perhaps 'of it's time'.

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another outstanding book by one of my favorite authors; Pearl S. Buck. This book was filled with drama, history, innocence and love.

[Mahsa · Rating 2 out of 5]

نسل اژدها توقعاتم رو بالا برده بود که متاسفانه تو این کتاب چیز زیادی ندیدم.

[Mark Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of her later works, after she returned to the States. Insightful treatment of two Catholic priests caught up in the chaos of the Chinese Civil War. The clash of culture and morality plays out amidst the people the two priests had influenced over the years; from young leaders that took up Communism to a young devoted woman convert. Comes to a dramatic climactic ending.

[John · Rating 1 out of 5]

I refuse to believe that Pearl Buck wrote this. It was terrible. I am used to always giving her books at least 4 stars and to know that I have just received a dozen of her books from Ebay at not too low of a price either, I am very disappointed. I sure hope this will turn out to be an exception.

[Ana · Rating 1 out of 5]

what the hell 🔥🔥