Book Annotation: Women's Lives & Relationships

Pearl of China (2010)

By Anchee Min

ISBN: 978-1-59691-697-5

Genre:  Women’s Lives & Relationships
             (with elements of Biographical Fiction and Historical Fiction)

Summary:  In the Chinese village of Chen-kiang in 1898, young Willow Yee meets Pearl Sydenstricker, the daughter of Presbyterian missionaries.  Although their lives will lead them in different directions, the friendship the two girls form will prove to be a support and inspiration through decades that include the Boxer Rebellion and Mao’s Cultural Revolution.  Eventually, her insights into Chinese character will earn the Nobel Prize for Pearl S. Buck.

Appeals:

·       Character-driven and relationship-centered, contrasting the lives of two women – Pearl S. Buck and a fictional childhood friend, Willow Yee.

·       Relationship is well-established in the childhoods of the two main characters, making it easy for the reader to feel invested in their long friendship.

·       Strong sense of place and the way Chinese culture influences the relationship between the two women.

Aspects of the book that are characteristic of the Women’s Lives & Relationships Genre:

·        The protagonists are female, as is the author.

·        Storyline of a friendship that helps sustain two women through many years of hardships is reflective of universal female themes. 

·        The book adopts an intimate tone, told from the 1^st person point of view of Willow Yee, a childhood friend of Pearl Buck.

·        In contrast to most entries in the Women’s Lives genre, the book contains elements of historical fiction.  Although their story begins in the early 20^th century, it could be taking place in any time period.

Read Alikes with a China connection:

·         The Bathing Women by Ning Tie (2012)

·         Becoming Madame Mao by Anchee Min (2000)

·         Disappearing Moon Café by Sky Lee (1991)

·         Empress Orchid by Anchee Min (2004)

·         The Kitchen God’s Wife by Amy Tan (1991)

·         Shanghai Girls by Lisa See (2009)

·         Women of the Silk by Gail Tsukiyama (1991)

Read Alikes without a China connection:

·         Belong to Me by Marisa de los Santos (2008)

·         Elm Creek Quilts by Jennifer Chiaverini (1999)

·         First Friends by Marcia Willett (1995)

·         Sweet Salt Air by Barbara Delinsky (2013)

·         Tara Road by Maeve Binchy (1998)

·         Tapestry of Fortunes by Elizabeth Berg (2013)