To be able to tell that story, you have got to be on the outside?

For the longest time I thought Pearl S. Buck was Chinese. Well the name Buck should have given her away (that she is not Asian, d-uh!) but I innocently did not spot it.

Her book The Good Earth (in my view) is a moving narration of a farmer's hardship, and particularly the wife's struggles. Reading it, I was immersed in the feeling and can relate to the events that unfolded.

Pearl S Buck is American but grew up in China and eventually spend a large part of her life in the country. No matter how immersed she is in the eastern/ chinese culture, I suppose she would have viewed the country with an outsider's eye. 

Other authors in a flipped position are Jhumpa Lahiri and Amy Tan. They wrote about Indian and Chinese immigrants, having observed these mannerisms and experiences growing up. Being American in birth and adopting 'americanised'/ western mindset, I suppose both of them have moved between cultures in the most interesting way. 

What is my point? Sometimes being an outsider is not such a bad thing. The richness that they are blessed with is irreplaceable with any experience. I do (minimally) understand their challenge of 'not belonging', but that again the greatness of the world comes from people who blaze their own paths!