Peony is a tale of Jewish integration in China in the 1800s while also being a portrait of family, class and gender relationships. There is great beauty in Pearl Buck's descriptions of China in that period, from the courts in the homes to the experience of traveling to the capital and what the characters experienced there. The book is not as breezy as most current novels, which made it slower going for one of our group, but I found the story very well crafted.

The book was never finished and should have been, rather than the two essays describing what might have been. Had the author lived, the manuscript would have been adjusted (we assume) for balance and emphasis--the wife was often far from the major character.