This is about a marriage between a wealthy man who finds a young girl in a country village and decides to paint her. Although their backgrounds are different, they are drawn to eachother. Beautifully written of course, but sad and somewhat tedious after a while. I have loved everything else of Pearl Buck that I have read, but I am not sure about this book. Was marriage a mistake, or was it not? ( )

When William Barton and Ruth Harnsbarger meet by chance and fall in love they know that their marriage will be a challenging one because they come from two very different worlds. His family is one of the wealthiest in America, and his life revolves around his painting. Her's is made up of poor farmers who have lived in the same house for generations and look down on William for his inability to do any real work. In spite of their drastically different backgrounds, they remain happily married for nearly 50 years and enlarge their family with three children and numerous grandchildren.

This isn't one of Buck's best novels because she tries to do too much instead of focusing in on a single theme. In the beginning of the book, the dynamic between William and Ruth's two opposing worlds is the focus. In the middle, it switches to how the family is affected by World War I and World War II. By the end, it concentrates on how William and Ruth's differences have been passed down to the children and grandchildren. Altogether, the book is ok, and the story seems a bit dated. ( )

Adolescentes