She paints an amazing portrait of the country, and makes us empathize with their struggle for sovereignty through her beautifully drawn characters. Buck's epic tells the history of Korea through the lives of one family. In the ensuing years, he and his family take part in the secret war against the Japanese occupation. When Japan invades and the queen is killed, Il-han takes his family into hiding. The Living Reed follows four generations of one family, the Kims, beginning with Il-han and his father, both advisors to the royal family in Korea. The story follows Kwei-lan as she begins to accept different points of view from the western world, and re-discovers her sense of self through this coming-of-age narrative. The famous story of a Japanese boy who must face life after escaping the tidal wave destruction of his family and village.Įast Wind: West Wind is told from the eyes of a traditional Chinese girl, Kwei-lan, married to a Chinese medical doctor, educated abroad. As Jiya struggles to overcome his sorrow, he understands it is in the presence of danger that one learns to be brave, and to appreciate how wonderful life can be. No one suspects it will wipe out the whole village and Jiya's family, too. Everyone, including Kino and Jiya, has heard of the big wave. His friend, Jiya, lives in a fishing village below. Kino lives on a farm on the side of a mountain in Japan. They evoke the simple beauty of the characters and the harsh mystery of China’s ancient culture.” I just love the quiet rhythm of the words. Upon choosing Buck’s novel for her book club in 2004, Oprah Winfrey said: “Reading Pearl Buck’s writing feels like reading poetry to me. Buck became the first woman to win a Nobel Prize in Literature for The Good Earth, which had already earned her the Pulitzer Prize.

From the Nobel Prize–winning author of The Good Earth: These three novels are fascinating portraits of women in China.

Pearl buck the big wave