Peony by Pearl S. Buck

Until I looked up a list of Pearl S. Buck's novels previous to writing this post, I had no idea how many novels she wrote. I count 42 on Wikipedia, of which I have read maybe four or five. She is probably best known for her Pulitzer Prize winning novel, The Good Earth, which was the best-selling fiction book in the United States in 1931 and 1932.  (Once again, I paraphrase Wikipedia.)

I read The Good Earth and enjoyed it a good many years ago, I have no idea how long, and so I have occasionally picked up Mrs. Buck's novels at book sales. Mrs. Buck, having grown up in China, includes a great deal of cultural, and historical information, which I like, and her characters are complex and well-drawn. I think that my favorite is Letter from Peking, which has some of the loveliest passages I've ever read--or heard--I think I listened to the book on tape. Her novels remind me quite a lot of those of Rumer Godden, another westerner who grew up in the East, although while Ms. Godden's novels are usually written from the perspective of white women living in Asia, Mrs. Buck's have an eastern perspective.

Peony is the story of a bondmaid who works for a Jewish-Chinese family. I found this fascinating. I had no idea that there was a Jewish community in China. The novel takes place in the 1850s in Kaifeng, where the father, Ezra, is a wealthy trader. He is half Chinese-half Jewish and would probably have become lax in the practice of his faith had he not married a very religious and determined woman. Madame Ezra loves her Jewish faith, longs for the day that she can return to the home of her people, and is a great supporter of the the synagogue and the Rabbi.

Throughout the novel, we see how the tension between the Jewish and Chinese philosophies weighs on Ezra and his son, David. We also see how all but a few faithful Jews have been assimilated into the Chinese culture around them. The beautiful, deteriorating synagogue, and an aging rabbi are images of a way of life that is gradually disappearing.

Peony was bought when she was very young to wait on David, the son of the family. They grow up as brother and sister, but gradually Peony realizes that her love for David is changing into something deeper. David, oblivious to this change in Peony, is torn between his determination to marry the rabbi's daughter (his mother's choice), and remain steadfast in his faith; or to marry the beautiful young daughter of a Chinese business associate of his father, which will draw him deeper into the Chinese way of life.

Although we are allowed to see into the thoughts of all the characters, it is through Peony's eyes that we mainly view the narrative. Peony is firmly Chinese in outlook. She finds the Jewish customs and attitudes sad and difficult in contrast to the Chinese emphasis on pleasure and happiness. As the story progresses, we see Peony grow and change in surprising ways. As a bondmaid, she has definite limits on her hopes and dreams, but she finds way within these limits to become indispensable to the family, and develop into a mature and wise woman.

As my copy of Peony went out the door with my copy of Prairyerth, there are things that I would like to quote, that I can't quote. I won't make that mistake again. While I was looking around the internet trying to refresh my memory about some details I could not recall, I found that my friend, Gretchen, has also written about Peony on her beautiful blog, Gladsome Lights. I have not yet read her blogpost, not wanting to be tempted to plagiarize, but I'm sure that it is better than this one, so if you have any interest in finding out more about the book, you can read her post here. That's what I'm going to do now.

AMDG