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kdawn999's review
3.0
3.5. I’ve been wanting to read Buck for a long time, but I probably should have started with one of her novels. Buck does so much telling, especially in her cursory essay summations about global politics. I think I’d prefer to see her beliefs played out in the pages of a novel. Also, she has a maddening habit in this book of refusing to go into further detail because she’s written about her parents, etc., elsewhere.
Reading this memoir was rewarding for me, though, because I strongly identify with the double-vision of two worlds (rural Thailand and suburban USA). In fact, one of my first personal essays, written as an assignment in school, I called “Between Two Worlds.” It’s surreal to hear an author talk about such personal feelings so similar to my own growing up—and her experiences were 100 years ago! I am fascinated by her life and perspective and now have to decide what to read of hers next.
Reading this memoir was rewarding for me, though, because I strongly identify with the double-vision of two worlds (rural Thailand and suburban USA). In fact, one of my first personal essays, written as an assignment in school, I called “Between Two Worlds.” It’s surreal to hear an author talk about such personal feelings so similar to my own growing up—and her experiences were 100 years ago! I am fascinated by her life and perspective and now have to decide what to read of hers next.
dkpelsang98's review
3.0
I’m so grateful someone recommended this book to me upon hearing about my interest in China! I had read The Good Earth many years ago but didn’t know Pearl Buck’s personal story until reading this. She truly led a fascinating life, and her unique upbringing allowed her to paint both American and Chinese cultures so poignantly. It was pretty slow in a lot of parts which caused me to take wayyyy too long to read this, but it’s speckled with such amazing little memoirs of her life that it can keep you interested. You do have to be quite personally invested to get through the book in my opinion, but if you do, there are quite a few memorable stories you’ll take with you.
carriekellenberger's review
5.0
My grandmother Louise gave me a dog-eared and obviously much loved copy of My Several Worlds back in 2002 when she first learned about my plans for moving to China. That book is now one of my most prized possessions, not only because it's one my favorite all-time books, but also because my grandmother and I shared a common love of reading and it was one of the last things she passed on to me before her death.
Pearl S. Buck's autobiography of growing up with a missionary family in China during the early twentieth century, her first-hand observations of the end of China's final dynasty, and her detailed account on how the Communist party took over and why they were able to take control so easily makes for a facinating read. More than anything, though, it was her stories of struggling to move between both worlds-her world in China and her world in the US-that truly fascinated me. I remember reading this book as I was winging my way to China and hoping that I would some day be able to understand that kind of a life for myself. I am glad to say that I did, and I still am.
I was so moved by her story, in fact, that five years later, her story was still with me and when I started a blog to document my adventures and thoughts on living and working in China and in Taiwan, I named that blog after her autobiography My Several Worlds.
Buck is a true cultural ambassador and a citizen of the world, and I think everyone should read at least one of her books.
Pearl S. Buck's autobiography of growing up with a missionary family in China during the early twentieth century, her first-hand observations of the end of China's final dynasty, and her detailed account on how the Communist party took over and why they were able to take control so easily makes for a facinating read. More than anything, though, it was her stories of struggling to move between both worlds-her world in China and her world in the US-that truly fascinated me. I remember reading this book as I was winging my way to China and hoping that I would some day be able to understand that kind of a life for myself. I am glad to say that I did, and I still am.
I was so moved by her story, in fact, that five years later, her story was still with me and when I started a blog to document my adventures and thoughts on living and working in China and in Taiwan, I named that blog after her autobiography My Several Worlds.
Buck is a true cultural ambassador and a citizen of the world, and I think everyone should read at least one of her books.
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