A review by ndalum
Peony by Pearl S. Buck
5.0
As I live in China, I enjoy learning about its history. I had never thought about the foreign populations who had lived here before the European aggressions.
Wendy R. Abraham, Ed.D. writes, " THE CHINESE JEWS OF Kaifeng represent one of the most obscure, and one of the most fascinating chapters in the annals of the Jewish diaspora. Throughout Peony, interwoven within the fictional events surrounding the House of Ezra, Pearl S. Buck has managed to convey with historical accuracy the Jews at the twilight of their existence in Kaifeng—a people at once assimilated and yet set apart from their neighbors. That the daughter of Protestant missionaries could so effectively impart the depth of feeling and concern behind a Jewish family aware of its imminent spiritual demise, yet deeply cognizant of its obligation to carry on the traditions of its forefathers in a foreign land—all the while exhibiting authentic Chinese sensibilities—is a testimony to the greatness of the writer herself."
Wendy R. Abraham, Ed.D. writes, " THE CHINESE JEWS OF Kaifeng represent one of the most obscure, and one of the most fascinating chapters in the annals of the Jewish diaspora. Throughout Peony, interwoven within the fictional events surrounding the House of Ezra, Pearl S. Buck has managed to convey with historical accuracy the Jews at the twilight of their existence in Kaifeng—a people at once assimilated and yet set apart from their neighbors. That the daughter of Protestant missionaries could so effectively impart the depth of feeling and concern behind a Jewish family aware of its imminent spiritual demise, yet deeply cognizant of its obligation to carry on the traditions of its forefathers in a foreign land—all the while exhibiting authentic Chinese sensibilities—is a testimony to the greatness of the writer herself."