Apr 26, 2010

Teaser Tuesday: Pearl of China by Anchee Min

Teaser Tuesdays, hosted by MizB, asks you to choose two sentences at random from your current read. Include the author and title for readers.

Pearl of China: A Novel by Anchee Min (Hardcover - March 30, 2010)
"You stole my father's wallet!" Pearl yelled.
No, I didn't." I imagined the food the money in the wallet could buy. (ch. 2) .
 Publisher's description: "In the small southern China town of Chin-kiang, in the last days of the nineteenth century, two young girls bump heads and become thick as thieves. Willow is the only child of a destitute family. Pearl is the headstrong daugher of zealous Christian missionaries. She will grow up to become Pearl S. Buck, the Nobel Prize-winning writer and activist, but  for now she is just a girl embarrassed by her blond hair and enchanted by her new Chinese friend....Pearl of China celebrates an incredible friendship and brings new color to the life of Pearl S. Buck, a woman whose unwavering love for the country of her youth eventually led her to be hailed as a national heroine in China."
Red AzaleaAbout the author: Anchee Min was born in China in 1957 and endured the Cultural Revolution. She was sent to a labor camp, was recruited there by Madame Mao's talent scouts to be come an actress in propaganda films. She moved to the U.S. in 1984.

Her first book is the memoir, Red Azalea, which became an international bestseller.  

I've read Pearl Buck's The Good Earth and am really interested in the novel about her childhood in China, especially the history of the turbulent period of the time. The cover, the title, and the information on the book jacket caught my attention at the library. Author Anchee Min's memoir, Red Azalea, is also on my TBR list.

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35 comments:

  1. A most excellent teaser! Thanks for visiting mine!

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  2. I have not read any of her books-however she has been on my wish list for awhile.

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  3. I have heard wonderful things about The Good Earth, and Pearl of China has been coming to my attention, too. Thanks for the teaser!

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  4. Good teaser. I've heard a lot of good things about this one.

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  5. Hummm. Sounds interesting.
    Thanks for visiting my teaser

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  6. This sound extraordinary. While I tend to read only YA, I think I will have to treat myself to an adult read. The Good Earth was one of my favorite childhood reads. Thanks for this teaser.

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  7. Great teaser, I think I'd like to read this one. I have two more teasers this week at The Crowded Leaf.

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  8. Oooo... I've been wanting to read this one. Thanks for the teaser. My teaser this week comes from The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. Here's the link.

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  9. Nice teaser


    here's mine: http://chrissysworldofbooks.blogspot.com/2010/04/its-teaser-tuesday-grab-your-book-and.html

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  10. I liked The Good Earth quite a lot but I suspect that Buck's own life is even more fascinating than her novels. And Min would be a great author to do a fictionalized treatment of Buck's life.

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  11. Great teaser!

    http://fredasvoice.blogspot.com/2010/04/teaser_26.html

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  12. This sounds like a fascinating book. I want to know more!

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  13. I haven't read anything yet by this author, but the book does sound intriguing.

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  14. For some reason the Teaser made me laugh. It's cute. I would love to read this book.

    http://readwithtea.blogspot.com/2010/04/tuesday-teaser-by-shouldbereadingwordpr.html

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  15. This is a great idea, to write about Pearl S. Buck's childhood. She really had a fascinating life.

    My own teaser, meanwhile, is at Bookishgal

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  16. These sound beautiful and powerful. Thanks for the teaser! :-)

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  17. Ah, this one sounds quite interesting. I adored The Good Earth - so if this one is in the same vein, then, I'll have to add it to my list. Great teaser! And thanks for coming by my blog earlier. *grin*

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  18. I am so looking forward o Pearl of China...great teaser.

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  19. very cool. always looking for a good read...perhaps i will check this one out...

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  20. Well, when he puts it like that you can almost understand him stealing the wallet!

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  21. This sounds like a very interesting and informative read!

    Thanks for visiting my blog. :)

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  22. Hmm...I've never read books from Chinese author. I might start reading one someday

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  23. This is a definite for my TBR list. Appreciate your synopsis of the book and recommendations for additional reading by same author. How interesting to track two little girls who are so different, but still become friends?

    My TT is from Brooklyn by Irish novelist Colm Toibin. Link: Summit Musings .

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  24. Wonderful teaser... the book synopsis sounds brilliant too... I've been to China so I love reading stories set there.

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  25. I am really excited about this book.
    Kelly Bookend Diaries

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  26. You can hear a recording of an interview with Anchee Min, including her reading of a selection from her novel “Pearl of China,” at the online journal International Accents.

    http://accents.international.uiowa.edu/global-gigs/anchee-min/

    This was taped as part of the University of Iowa International Programs series “Prairie InSight.” It was taped on April 26, 2010, at Prairie Lights Books, downtown Iowa City, Iowa.

    Min talks about what Pearle Buck means to China (as one of the "top friends" of China), and then gives personal accounts to explain her background. Among her stories, she shares about growing up visiting her grandmother, who had bound feet, and how the experience of talking with her grandmother led her to embrace Mao's conception of women's liberation. She talks about having tapeworm when she was 14, and her failed attempts to hide it.

    Take a listen - her personal accounts give incredible perspective to her voice as a writer, making her writing come alive even more. (reading from the book starts at 24:28)

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  27. Jodi: Thanks for the link. I'll listen to it soon as I would love to hear Min read from her book and talk about her experiences.

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  28. I've got this one on my TBR list, too. Sounds really interesting. Love the teaser!
    Here's mine.

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  29. Thanks for sharing the link, but unfortunately it seems to be down... Does anybody have a mirror or another source? Please answer to my post if you do!

    I would appreciate if a staff member here at bookbirddog.blogspot.com could post it.

    Thanks,
    James

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  30. Brilliant blog, I hadn't come across bookbirddog.blogspot.com before in my searches!
    Keep up the wonderful work!

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  31. Awesome site, I hadn't come across bookbirddog.blogspot.com earlier during my searches!
    Keep up the fantastic work!

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  32. Thanks for sharing this link, but argg it seems to be offline... Does anybody have a mirror or another source? Please answer to my message if you do!

    I would appreciate if someone here at bookbirddog.blogspot.com could post it.

    Thanks,
    Harry

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  33. Hey,

    I have a message for the webmaster/admin here at bookbirddog.blogspot.com.

    May I use part of the information from this blog post right above if I provide a backlink back to your site?

    Thanks,
    James

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  34. Hi - I am definitely glad to discover this. cool job!

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