Pavilion of Women Author:Pearl S. Buck From the author of The Good Earth comes the story of Madame Wu, a woman whose surprising decision to retire from married life and select a concubine for her husband upsets her extended household. "A searching, adult study of women written with high seriousness and sympathy." - The New York Times Book Review
I read PAVILION OF WOMEN for the November 2013 "Asia" theme in my online book club, The Reading Cove.
THE GOOD EARTH by Pearl S. Buck is one of my favorite books of all time, so I've been eager to continue reading her work.
Madame Wu is turning 40 and all hell breaks lose in the Wu household. She makes a lot of decisions that affect her husband, children and even people outside the family.
I didn't feel the plotting was as engaging as THE GOOD EARTH, this book felt a little long-winded through the middle and could've been paced a bit better, but overall, the character's have depth and are well-drawn; and there's a good look at upper-class life and the culture's overall treatment of aging, at this point in Chinese history.