The Promise (Oriental Novels of Pearl S. Buck Series) (Paperback)

by Pearl S. Buck (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

While the Japanese army attacks Burma Road during World War II, a band of Chinese soldiers are sent to rescue a British-American platoon, pinned down in Burma. The dangers that await the brave soldiers are heightened, as they encounter an unthankful ness from the foreign soldiers that they hadn't expected.

Confronted with an impending attack from the Japanese, growing tension from the Anglo-American forces, the Chinese soldiers must make a difficult choice: abandon their posts or continue on with a suicidal mission.

About the Author
Pearl S. Buck was born in West Virginia and taken to China before the turn of the century. She began writing while in China and publishing her first novel shortly after returning to this country. Ms. Buck won the Pulitzer Prize in 1932 for The Good Earth and the Noble Prize in Literature in 1938.

Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: Moyer Bell (August 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559212098
• ISBN-13: 978-1559212090
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #386,522 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not one of Buck's best, but eminently readable, March 26, 2004

By	JLind555 - See all my reviews

This review is from: Promise (Hardcover)

"The Promise" like all Buck's books I have read that are set in China, gives a compelling portrait of the country and its people. Set during the early years of World War II when the Japanese army was pounding the Burma Road, "The Promise" relates the story of a brave division of Chinese who have been sent on a suicide mission to rescue the remnants of an Anglo-American force trapped in Burma. There are a couple of telling portraits of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek and his wife that show them in all their venality; their remoteness from the individual masses of Chinese arouses more contempt than admiration. What really affects the reader is the disdain of the Anglo soldiers toward the Chinese who attempt to rescue them and whom, in their desperation to escape from the Japanese, they abandon to their fate, cutting off their retreat and leaving them to save themselves. The open contempt the English express towards the native Burmese ("We own this country, after all; it's part of our Empire"), and their genuine puzzlement when the Chinese confront them about their attitudes, shows up all too clearly their inherent sense of superiority which is based on nothing but a blind ethnocentricism. Buck's sympathies clearly lie with the valiant Chinese who are seething under a viciously brutal Japanese occupation and longing for freedom, but not at the price of European domination. We don't get to know her characters in "The Promise" as intimately as in some of her other books, but we admire them none the less for their courage and their self-sacrifice. "The Promise" is not on a par with "The Good Earth" or "The Three Daughters of Madame Liang", but it's definitely a worthwhile read.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A book you HAVE to read, but might be dissappointed....., June 8, 2000

By A Customer

If you read Dragon Seed, the prequel to this book, you will know that you read this book because you couldn't live with the ending that was given! So you read this book and it continues to provide more historical information and answer some of those questions that you had from the last book. However, by the time this book ends, you seem to have more questions than before. I won't spoil it for you, but I was thinking that perhaps the title might explain all unanswered questions simutaneously! Also, the book tends to become a little boring at some parts. Yet every second of boredom is compensated for by later events of extreme excitement. Doubtlessly though, it is a GREAT book and a fine sequel, though more could have been done with the plot. Read it!

10 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pearl S. Buck's The Promise My favourite book, September 3, 2000

By A Customer

Well, I might say this is a great book, believe me. It was the first book i read of the author and I enjoy it for over 7 years. And for 6 years i looked it all over my country and didn't found it. [thanks God there are places like Amazon.com :-) ] This novel makes you dream inside the characters. I love China, although I am not of that country and this book makes me feel the difficulties of the epoch, the thinking and the hope of people. I can grant that you won't be dissapointed. 4 stars up! ENJOY