Sabrana dela 5: Glasovi u kući

Voices in the House (1953) is the second part of Pearl S. Buck's American Triptych, written under the male pseudonym John Sedges — which the author used to free herself from the expectation that she would always write about China.

The novel is set in the United States and follows the patrician Asher family, whose orderly life is fundamentally disrupted when Jessica, the daughter of their long-time maid, begins to escape the confines of her position. Her rebellion, however, is not just that of an individual — it exposes the entire web of dependencies, customs, and silences that have bound masters and servants together for centuries.

Buck turns this material into an almost allegorical depiction of the relationship between rich and poor: what the poor owe to the rich, and the rich to the poor, and whether compassion can bridge the class divide. A parallel thread about marriage — about the micro-injuries and nuances that shape two people over the years — also develops.

Critics criticize the novel for its excessive melodramatic nature and occasional unconscious repetition of the patronizing it itself criticizes, but the voice with which Buck enters all corners of the house and the insecurities of those who reside there remains recognizable and strong.