Pearl S. Buck Summary

Buck, Pearl S. (1892-1973) Author and humanitarian activist Pearl S. Buck almost single-handedly created the prism through which an entire generation of Americans formed its opinion about China and it... Read more

Biography EssayPearl S. Buck's genius as a writer lay in her ability to portray her characters in a universal manner; their joys, sorrows, problems, and disillusionments transcend cultural barriers to... Read more

"One pays the price for being prolific," bestselling author Pearl S. Buck once told an interviewer. "Heaven knows the literary Establishment can't forgive me for it, nor for the fact that my books sel... Read more

Pearl Buck 's genius as a writer lay in her ability to portray her characters in a universal manner; their joys, sorrows, problems, and disillusionments transcend cultural barriers to become understan... Read more

In the following review, the critic praises the message and impact of the personal narrative in Buck's My Several Worlds. Not only Pearl Buck's most important book, but—on many co... Read more

In the following review, Sullivan complains that the prose is limp and the characterization is weak in Buck's Command the Morning. No question about it, since the writhing, mushroom-shaped clou... Read more

In the following review, Vining discusses the different strands that weave together to create Buck's A Bridge for Passing. This lovely book[, A Bridge for Passing,] is woven of three distinct s... Read more

In the following review, Long traces the three interwoven elements of Buck's A Bridge for Passing. Pearl Buck's beautifully written book [, A Bridge for Passing,] contains in its short c... Read more

In the following review, Greenfield complains that in Buck's The People of Japan, she "mostly serves up the usual blend of picturesque pap and old saws." Not the least of the effe... Read more

In the following review, Weeks praises Buck's The Three Daughters of Madame Liang as "compassionate, elucidating, and wise." Pearl Buck is an old China hand who cannot accept with... Read more

In the following review, Pippett discusses the China portrayed in Buck's The Three Daughters of Madame Liang. Pearl Buck's great novel, The Good Earth, described the life of Chinese peas... Read more

In the following review, Butcher asserts that "Pearl Buck has a genius for making readers see pictures and know human beings, often with humor. Nowhere has she used that genius more tellingly t... Read more

In the following review, Boatwright argues that, "This essentially romantic portrayal of life weakens and diffuses the force of the author's moral argument [in Command the Morning, which... Read more

Critical Essay by Henry Seidel Canby [The standards of the Swedish Academy] are high, but evidently they are also flexible; otherwise it would be difficult to account for the recent award [of the Nobe... Read more

Critical Essay by Valentine Cunningham Like many another woman writer excessively drawn to the kind (and unkind) hearts and coronets scene—or to its American counterpart—Pearl Sydenstric... Read more