A review by hissingpotatoes
Peony: A Novel of China by Pearl S. Buck

3.0

The description implies it's a love story, but it's really not. This book takes place during the decline/assimilation of Jewish culture in Kaifeng, China in the 1800s and the tensions that result. The afterword about the historical context is helpful. There's a common theme throughout of sadness vs happiness that I found thoughtful. It's odd that Peony, who has grown up in and only known a Jewish household, finds its people and customs so foreign and strange. I know she's the lens by which the reader views the Jewish family, but as a character it doesn't make sense. The midpoint takes a wild turn that I didn't think fit with the tone of what came before or after. The narrator's performance brought otherwise dry or repetitive prose to life. Parts of the book are explored well but I'm uneasy about a Christian missionary writing so intimately about Jewish customs, feelings, and changes.