The story of a dramatic period in the life of a nation, told through the experiences of one unforgettable family.“The year was 4214 after Tangun of Korea, and 1881 after Jesus of Judea.” So begins The Living Reed, Pearl S. Buck’s epic historical novel about four generations of one aristocratic family in Korea. Through the story of the Kims, Buck traces the country’s journey from the late nineteenth century through the end of the Second World War. The chronicle begins as the Kims live comfortably as advisors to the Korean royal family. That world is torn apart with the Japanese invasion, when the queen is killed and the Kims are thrust into hiding. Regarded by Buck as “the best among my Asian books,” The Living Reed is a gripping account of a nation’s fight for survival, and a detailed portrait of one family’s entanglement in the ebb and flow of history.

“Buck has never done better work than this. By a great gift of intuition she has entered into the mind, heart and spirit of the Chinese peasant woman and revealed the permanent values of life.” —The Times Literary Supplement.Dickensian in its epic sweep, one of Buck’s finest novels centers on an unnamed peasant woman in pre-revolutionary China. Without warning, her restless husband abandons her. Shamed by the experience, she is left to work the land, raise their three children on her own, and care for her aging mother-in-law. To save face with her neighbors, she pretends her husband is traveling, and sends letters to herself signed in his name. Surrounded by poverty, despair, and a growing web of lies meant to protect the family, her children grow up and enter society with only the support of their mother’s unbreakable will. An unforgettable story of one woman’s strength and a remarkable fable about the role of mothers, this novel is a powerful achievement by a master of twentieth-century fiction.

A compelling historical novel about the tragic alliance between Chinese and English forces in Burma during World War II.Burma is under attack from the Japanese army, and a unit of Chinese soldiers is sent to aid endangered British forces trapped behind enemy lines. China’s assistance hinges on a promise: In return, the Allies will supply China with airplanes and military equipment, much needed to protect their own civilian population. But the troops — including a young commander named Lao San, whom Buck fans will remember from Dragon Seed—are met with ingratitude on both sides. The Burmese deplore any friend of their abusive colonizers, and the prejudiced British soldiers can’t bring themselves to treat the Chinese as true allies. As the threat of disaster looms and the stakes grow higher, the relations between the British and Chinese troops become ever more fraught. A trenchant critique of colonialism and wartime betrayal, The Promise is Buck at her evocative best.

In one of Pearl Buck’s most revealing works, a woman looks back on her long and rocky path to self-realization.Considered to be one of Pearl S. Buck’s most autobiographical novels, The Time Is Noon was kept from publication for decades on account of its personal resonance. The book tells the story of Joan Richards and her journey of self-discovery during the first half of the twentieth century. As a child, family and small-town life obscure Joan’s individuality; as an adult, it’s inhibited by an unhappy marriage. After breaking free of the latter, she begins a stark reassessment of the way she’s been living — and to her surprise, learns to appreciate all that lies ahead. The Time Is Noon is a humble, elegant tale of chances lost and reclaimed, and remains beautifully affirming today.