I had the pleasure of reading the following book, (in China, of all places, what are the odds of that?!):
Have you ever read The Good Earth by Pearl Buck? If you have, you might have noticed how the language of the novel makes it sound like it's been translated and how authentic the characters are. I always wondered how Buck, and American author, could nail a unique perspective with such believability.
After reading this biography about her, I learned that not only was Buck raised in China, she was pretty much native Chinese, so she was genuinely able to channel the eastern perspective. I also learned that as she wrote, she thought most naturally in Chinese, then translated her thoughts into English as she wrote them down (that totally explains why the sentences in The Good Earth sound like they've been translated--'cause they were). So, my big questions were answered by this book. Nice!
Plus, I had no idea that Pearl Buck was such a forward-thinking feminist. So, that was a happy surprise for me.
Confession: I'm not much of a biography reader because I tend to get bored. Although this book for sure had its slow parts (and its name-dropping shenanigans), I still found it valuable and I was more than just interested in it by the end. That being said, I'm not going to go out searching for the next fascinating biography any time soon.
So. Fess up. Are you a biography reader or no?
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