Peony
The novel, Peony, by Pearl S. Buck is perhaps one of the best constructed and readable novels that the author ever completed; and, needless to say, a joy to read. The book is set in old K'aifeng, China over 100 years ago and tells the story of the demise of the Chinese Jewish community through assimilation into the larger Chinese culture. The story is told through the character, Peony, who has been sold into a prominent Jewish family as a bondmaid. This in turn allows her to see and to retell to us, the reader, the plots and subplots that are written into the novel. Pearl Buck's Peony is a subtle novel, it is quiet and strong and moves the reader to continue turning page after page to read on as the multiple plots continue to unfold before our mind's eye. The words paint a picture of a time and place now so foreign to us all, as well as setting the moods, be they sadness, joy or any other emotion expressed by a human. Peony can word paint the streets of old K'aifen