Customer Reviews

Mandala (Oriental Novels of Pearl S. Buck)

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Having never been to India, I cannot judge this book on its cultural authenticity. The India that Buck portrays here is a country in transition (right after her independence), as are the characters within the book itself. Buck's gentle, touching explorations of arranged marriages versus "falling in love" could probably be applied to any traditional culture that is confronted with modernism. Can romantic love alone overcome differences of culture, caste, social and economic status?

Perhaps because the book was published in 1970, it deals with the sexual themes modestly and gracefully, without degenerating into gratuitous porn like so many of today's novels. It is enough to know that the characters sleep together, we do not need the details. More important is Jagat's discovery that "love" and "sexual intercourse" are not the same thing. In the case of the relationship between Moti and Father Paul, there is no physical sex at all -- just a deep, platonic love bordering on the mystical. And although Bert and Veera are deeply attracted to each other, neither could live "happily ever after" in the other's world. These are timeless themes, regardless of the setting.

There are hints of reincarnation in the book, too, suggesting that perhaps the lovers had known each other in another life and found each other again in this one. Reincarnation becomes more obvious toward the end of the book, after Jagat's son, Jai, is killed in battle. His mother is convinced that he still lives -- and perhaps he does, in the body of a 9-month-old child who reaches for a mummified tiger's paw that used to belong to Jai. Was he Jai returned? You decide.

As an Indian, I strongly feel that Pearl Buck has not done a good job of portraying a real Indian character. Her descriptive writing is great, however the characters she has, such as Jagat, are not portrayed as a proper Indian. Pearl Buck might have tried to intertwine East and West together in this book, but in the attempt, she strechted the "trueness" of the character, resulting in the characters to sound fake. For a traveller who has never gone to India or travelled in it, it will reveal the beauty of this country. However, if this book is to be read to know about the Indian culture, this is clearly not the book to read.

Mandala gives a fascinating view into the class structure of Indian society. Buck paints a wonderful portrait of the traditions, geography and people of India. The plot centers around Jagat, an aristocratic married man who unwillingly begins to fall in love with a younger American woman. By the end of the novel, the reader is engrossed by both the spirituality of the characters and the country.

I had to work my way through a good many pages to get my bearings in India, after reading her Chinese novels, but once I did, I was captivated! It awakened my interest in India and the strains along the Indo-Chinese border, all woven into a fascinating story. Another of Pearl Buck's books that I just could not put down!

Pearl Buck's Chinese books are so well-written and some of my favorites, which lead me to try this book set in India. She does just as good a job setting the scene and drawing you into another culture. As in all fiction, there may be some elements that are not quite absoultely authentic but I found the story engaging and the culture presented very sensitively in this timeless story of interactions between peoples of different cultures. Buck illustrates the differnces in cultures while showing that relationships between men and women have universal "dance steps" that are actually pretty much the same the world over.

I have loved Pearl S. Buck since I was a teenager - some time now. This novel has a straightforward simplicity that characterizes Buck's other works. Yet, the plot belies the human complexities that run deeply underneath. The reader will continue turning pages not for the fast pace, but to discover what choices each character will make as he or she faces the pull of "sympathy". Who knows why we are inexplicably drawn toward certain people or places? And Buck challenges us to stop worrying about social conventions and what we are "supposed" to do to follow our hearts' true calling.