Burying the Bones

This book is a deep and compelling look into the early life of Pearl S. Buck, the famous American novelist who won both the Pulitzer and Nobel Prizes for literature. Before achieving fame in the West for classic novels like The Good Earth, Buck spent a startlingly difficult and unusual childhood in China as the daughter of fanatical Presbyterian missionaries. Hilary Spurling traces how growing up as a visible outsider—yet feeling completely at home among the local Chinese people—shaped Buck’s worldview. The narrative explores the immense struggles of her family life, including a terrifyingly zealous father who drained their resources, the tragic loss of several siblings, and the shocking poverty and social realities of a changing China. It is a beautifully written backstory of a woman who would later act as a crucial cultural bridge between the East and the West.