The Hidden Flower by Pearl Buck

In THE HIDDEN FLOWER (1952) a Japanese family is overset [??] when the daughter falls in love with an American soldier.

Maybe it's intended to be 'upset', Fansy. One can be 'overly upset', but I've never heard 'overset'.

I've not read the book, I haven't even heard of it, so I'll not bother to comment on the meaning.

I agree with JTT that "overset" should read "upset". I remember reading this when I was about 14, so it's been a long time and I don't remember details. I know it was a story about an American soldier falling in love with a Japanese girl in the late 1940's. They got married only to find out it was illegal for an American and Japanese to do so at the time. Social pressures from both their cultures make him decide to leave her and the last thing we learn is that she is pregnant, but she doesn't tell him. I hated that ending. I think Buck was trying to say that law should not dictate love and children might still be a result of a love that society might not approve of. I'm not sure if the "hidden flower" was supposed to be a symbol of the child (that was kept a secret by the mother) or the loving feelings these people had for each other and were forced to put aside because of social disapproval. Hiding a flower (or love) would be like hiding beauty from the world. I think there is a thing in Japanese culture that likens children to flowers, but I could be wrong about that. I liked Buck's book The Good Earth much better.