Buck, Pearl S., Methuen & Co Ltd., 1970
A really fascinating collection of short stories by Pearl Buck, particular in terms of the window they provide to an era of east vs. west, war and communism. Several of the stories are told from the point-of-view of a U.S. soldier stationed in China during WWII or Korea during the Korean War, which bring up questions of mixed-racial identity, prostitution and nationalistic identity. When you consider the fact that many of these stories were written just a decade or two after these wars, the blatancy with which Buck addresses these (at the time) incredibly controversial issues is impressive.Just about every story has to do with love -- thwarted, unrealized, or quintessential. At times, the portrayal of relationships borders on the cliche, and some of the characters seem a bit too one-dimensional. I think this happens because Buck is so used to unraveling her characters in their complexity through the novel format. I also think it's because she portrays her Chinese characters (in novels and short stories) more complexly than her American characters. (While she is not Chinese, most of her upbringing took place in China, and as a child, she thought she was Chinese until someone corrected her.)Every story in its own way offered a captivating insight into some of the central life choices that Americans had to make while living abroad during this time period (or, in the last story, Chinese individuals had to make while living in America) and the inevitable cultural misunderstandings that ensue. I am continuously grateful for the ways Buck makes history come alive in the narratives of individuals and families.