What do you think?
Rate this book
Pearl S. Buck: Revealing the Human Heart
From the dust jacket:
"Say "Pearl Buck" to most people, and they will respond: The Good Earth. So great and enduring has been the impact of this early masterpiece about China, which with other books won her the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1938, that the real woman has often been obscured.
Now, in Pearl S. Buck: Revealing the Human Heart by Cornelia Spencer (the pen name of Pearl's sister), the whole woman appears. Pearl S. Buck has, it is true, written much of China, where she grew up as a girl and lived as a young woman. But she has written much of people elsewhere, too - people in Asia, the United States, the world - at one time using a pseudonym to throw off the track those critics who had wedded her, against her will, to Asian subjects and a "Chinese" style. Part of the reason she won the Nobel Prize was the biographies of her parents, missionaries in China but Americans through and through. Nurtured as a child on the novels of Dickens, Pearl S. Buck has always had a ruling passion the creation of real flesh-and-blood characters from the depth of her experience, brought to life in the richness of her imagination.
But if the creation of fiction has been her ruling passion, her concern with people in real life has been important, too. Getting the people of the West to understand those of the East, fighting in the cause of equality for all races everywhere, aiding in the adoption of children born of mixed races, working for better care and training of mentally retarded children - all these concerns have been part of her life.
In the biography the whole story is lovingly and excitingly told."
"Say "Pearl Buck" to most people, and they will respond: The Good Earth. So great and enduring has been the impact of this early masterpiece about China, which with other books won her the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1938, that the real woman has often been obscured.
Now, in Pearl S. Buck: Revealing the Human Heart by Cornelia Spencer (the pen name of Pearl's sister), the whole woman appears. Pearl S. Buck has, it is true, written much of China, where she grew up as a girl and lived as a young woman. But she has written much of people elsewhere, too - people in Asia, the United States, the world - at one time using a pseudonym to throw off the track those critics who had wedded her, against her will, to Asian subjects and a "Chinese" style. Part of the reason she won the Nobel Prize was the biographies of her parents, missionaries in China but Americans through and through. Nurtured as a child on the novels of Dickens, Pearl S. Buck has always had a ruling passion the creation of real flesh-and-blood characters from the depth of her experience, brought to life in the richness of her imagination.
But if the creation of fiction has been her ruling passion, her concern with people in real life has been important, too. Getting the people of the West to understand those of the East, fighting in the cause of equality for all races everywhere, aiding in the adoption of children born of mixed races, working for better care and training of mentally retarded children - all these concerns have been part of her life.
In the biography the whole story is lovingly and excitingly told."
Hardcover
Published January 1, 1964
4 people want to read
About the author
Cornelia Spencer
34 books1 followerLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
December 27, 2018
I fell in love with the writing of Pearl S. Buck after reading The Good Earth. Her personal story intrigued me, and when I came upon this biography of her written by her sister, I knew I wanted to read it.
It proved to be a great introduction to her life - from her childhood in China to her adult years in the States. The sisterly tone of the author can be detected in parts where she appeared ready to defend Pearl if ever her integrity or motivations were in question. But it did not seem that she really needed much defending. Her desire to thread human hearts together with a language of understanding, especially those of the East with those of the West, endeared her to many. She loved people and wanted to see a coming together of the human race through equal treatment. This was especially dear to her heart as she experienced persecution based on her race while living in China. She would later write in a letter to Asia Magazine:
"I have had that strange and terrible experience of facing death because of my color. At that time nothing I might have done could have saved me. The only reason I was not killed was because some of the others in that race knew me, under my skin, and risked their own lives for me."
Her sister goes on to write that this experience primed Pearl's heart to deal with racism and inequality within the borders of her home country, America. If everyone could know each other "under their skin", they would find common ground as fellow humans, not just as contrived stereotypes. While she did not set out to write her books to preach a message, these feelings for the human condition and her deep love for others would overflow into her characters - making them rich with complexity and full of genuine feeling.
It seems worthwhile to learn about this remarkable woman and all the endeavors she pursued. This particular biography is a good start, but does not go into great detail. Many areas of her life are merely skimmed over - perhaps out of sisterly consideration - which leaves the reader with holes to fill. However it does provide a great overview and will certainly awaken curiosity enough for the interested reader to learn more about the much loved woman and her writings.
It proved to be a great introduction to her life - from her childhood in China to her adult years in the States. The sisterly tone of the author can be detected in parts where she appeared ready to defend Pearl if ever her integrity or motivations were in question. But it did not seem that she really needed much defending. Her desire to thread human hearts together with a language of understanding, especially those of the East with those of the West, endeared her to many. She loved people and wanted to see a coming together of the human race through equal treatment. This was especially dear to her heart as she experienced persecution based on her race while living in China. She would later write in a letter to Asia Magazine:
"I have had that strange and terrible experience of facing death because of my color. At that time nothing I might have done could have saved me. The only reason I was not killed was because some of the others in that race knew me, under my skin, and risked their own lives for me."
Her sister goes on to write that this experience primed Pearl's heart to deal with racism and inequality within the borders of her home country, America. If everyone could know each other "under their skin", they would find common ground as fellow humans, not just as contrived stereotypes. While she did not set out to write her books to preach a message, these feelings for the human condition and her deep love for others would overflow into her characters - making them rich with complexity and full of genuine feeling.
It seems worthwhile to learn about this remarkable woman and all the endeavors she pursued. This particular biography is a good start, but does not go into great detail. Many areas of her life are merely skimmed over - perhaps out of sisterly consideration - which leaves the reader with holes to fill. However it does provide a great overview and will certainly awaken curiosity enough for the interested reader to learn more about the much loved woman and her writings.
Displaying 1 of 1 review