The Mother

This story was apparently written not long after 'The Good Earth'. It is yet another sad story - this one of a young mother abandoned by her husband. You really get a sense of the rural people in early 20th century China which could almost be the way it had been for centuries. The husband leaves in a kind of snit because he wants something more than the day to day bare subsistence life they have as tenant farmers. As you read you wonder if or when the husband will return and your heart hurts for the poor woman left behind to care for three young children and the husband's mother. The years go by and The Mother to save face initially constructs a story that the husband is away working in the city far away. She hates the lies she tells. show more The mother had been happy with her life and her husband and then she must make do with a life that is very hard. At the end I tried to think if there were happy moments somewhere in the story - I can think of good people ... but happy things, no, just sad things for The Mother and her family.

For the most part the story is related non-judgmentally, but I had to wonder if Buck really loved the Chinese people or not. show less

This was depressing, yet I couldn't stop. The main characters were all kind of archetypes, not even given names: the mother, the man, the eldest son etc. The approach to life is so interesting. Perhaps it's partly a result of extreme poverty, and perhaps cultural too. Life and death are constants, marriage a pragmatic selling of assets, duty and community valorised. There's quite an acceptance of suffering, but what could they do? You understand their actions often, even if you wish they could be different.

There was a real sense of place and timelessness (though the glimpsed communists give a historical context). Reading it, I couldn't identify what I liked so much about it. It's not historical fiction in the way I usually experience it show more (with pointed commentary and often lots of characters close to the action) but it holds its own. It's a window into a life, and that's enough for me.

I'll definitely read more of her work. Glad to know that she actually grew up in China so it's not entirely written from imagination. show less

I am a big fan of Ms. Buck's work. I read and loved 'Pavilion of Women', 'Imperial Woman', 'The Good Earth',and 'Peony' among others, but this book was lacking. There were just too many things left unexplained.

The main character's husband's disappearance seems more of a cheap plot point than a real plot device. The death of her daughter felt again like a cheap plot point, and her son's death... ehh. I enjoyed this book at first, but as it went on, the story didn't feel as coherent as it had before. Sorry to say, but this isn't the best of Ms. Buck's stories. I guess you can't win them all.

I really did enjoy this one. I thought that Buck had a good handle on the characters. The main reason why I didn't give this five stars though is that I was confused about the timeline and location of this book. I know that it takes place in China. But the way things are written I would have guessed earlier than what the book shows. The book ends with talk of communism and people being executed for it. So I was wondering what time period this takes place in when I got to the end. I also wish that Buck had tied up the loose end of the husband a bit better.

"The Mother" has an unnamed woman (Mother) is left reeling when her husband (too pretty and too ready to have a good time) abandons her, their three children (two sons and a daughter) show more and his mother. She scrambles and does what is necessary in order to survive in her village without allowing anyone to guess that she has been left due to the stigma that would cause.

I thought that the mother was not a hard character to get to know. She does what she can to keep her family whole and you feel sorry for her at times when she realizes how foolish she has been when she starts to obsess about another man. I like that Buck doesn't show any judgement once again about what choices this character makes. The story is told in a linear fashion. We start with the Mother giving birth to one male son and then her subsequent pregnancies. The story follows her from her marriage to her oldest son making her a grandmother. I think that it shows a nice cycle of what women are to expect in there later years in this community once they grow old and their children start a life of their own.

I liked the writing and thought the flow was consistent throughout. I do wish that I had better sense of the location and time period.

The story ends with the Mother being given some hope. Though I wonder if her life ends up the same way as her mother in law's did. show less

I thought this book was ok. It starts slow but as it continued I started to get more into it. It is interesting to see the struggles of a mother living in China back a long time ago. It is simply but powerfully written.

Pearl S Buck is an excellent writer. I have always loved her books. This is even better than The Good Earth.

Excellent