The Good Earth

The Good Earth, a timeless Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece by Pearl S. Buck, follows the life of Wang Lung in 1920s China. The book, first published in 1931, was the best-selling novel in the United States for both 1931 and 1932. The author grew up in China, a child of missionaries.Wang Lung is a farmer in a rural village and lives with his widowed father. The novel begins on the day of his marriage to O-Lan, a slave at the House of Hwang. He doesn’t really know his intended bride, but since his mother died, he needs someone to cook, care for the house, and see to his father’s comfort. Wang is a farmer, dedicated to his land. Although they are poor, it is a good marriage and O-Lan is a capable homemaker in their modest dwelling. Wang works hard on the land, often with O-Lan at his side. They begin to have children, births which O-Lan accomplishes without assistance.The story takes us into Wang Lung’s old age, through good times, droughts, famine, trials with family, land acquisitions, and wealth. Wang learns that although satisfying, wealth has its burdens, too.I first read The Good Earth when I was twelve years old. One Seattle summer day I walked to a nearby shopping district and, curious, went into a second-hand store. I discovered a bookcase full of old hardcover books. Among the books were Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë and The Good Earth which I bought for twenty-five cents each. At that time I didn’t know what a “classic novel” was, nor had I ever heard of either book. I read both novels that summer. The Good Earth was an eye opener for me—the way of life in China those days, taking a second wife, class distinctions with the extreme poor and how they were treated, and with the extreme rich and their sense of entitlement. I treasured those books, and though I didn’t know they were “classics,” I knew they were special. Now, with this second reading, I am again impressed with the depth of The Good Earth. It is a masterpiece.

This is the first time I read this famous book. I found it engrossing and certainly starving of the Nobel prize

1) Plot (3 stars) - A poor Chinese farmer battles environmental and social challenges to rise up, only to fall victim to the classic trappings of the rich. It's a big, sweeping arc of a story, following the full life of a man through all his ups and downs, and in the end I felt like I went on quite a journey. But for me any given moment of that journey felt slow.2) Characters (3 stars) - Wang Lung is the poor farmer who dreams of being rich only to be unsettled once he gets there. O-Lan is his simple dutiful wife, bearing life's hardships with quite determination. There's also mooching relatives and spoiled kids. In all, it was a good cast, but I felt all of them did what I expected. There were no surprises of character, and for me, that meant the characters weren't especially deep.3) Theme (3 stars) - There's a moral in here about being careful what you wish for because you just might get it. There's also something in here almost Marxist about the inevitable social cycles of rich and poor and how they all do the same things over and over and are never satisfied. And there's something in here about the eternal vs. the ephemeral, and how the grand march of history might not be center stage but merely a side plot in many people's lives. All these are interesting messages, but I wish they were explored in more depth.4) Voice (3 stars) - Buck's writing frustrated me. Yes, it's easy to read, and almost felt "foreign" in its diction which enhanced the ambiance. But man did she repeat herself. 25% of the words could have been cut and no meaning or experience lost.5) Setting (5 stars) - Now this is what kept me reading. Buck transports you to a completely different time and place. Rural China of the early 20th century certainly has some resemblance to ours, but the familial structure, toughness, simpleness, religions, societal views on gender and wealth and disabilities, were just so different and well captured.6) Overall (4 stars) - This was a tough call between 3 and 4 stars. Take the story out of rural China and you have a 3, no question, as the plot and characters weren't especially riveting. But you can't take the story out of rural China. That is the story. And Buck transports you to that time and place so amazingly that I have to recommend it, and give it 4 stars.

Pearl S. Buck prefaces The Good Earth with a lengthy epigraph from Proust; two authors who seemingly could not be more unalike. It tells of the power of a musical theme and how it can be recognized as true simply by the fact that had a lesser composer varied it in any way a listener with a good ear would have immediately known the variation to be false.And so The Good Earth begins. In terse and simple prose it narrates the story of a farmer, his wife and their family in early twentieth century China. As the epigram states, the prose’s style meets and matches the characters’ way of life. And it expresses the basic movement of the novel: we are from the earth, we return to the earth and inasmuch as we depart from its ways we cause ourselves and others to suffer.It reads then almost like a parable from the Bible or a fable from Aesop. Accessible even by teenagers, there’s something beautiful about the resonance between the prose, the theme and the major characters.Lauded in its day for providing a window into the people of China, I do not know whether its depiction of harsh rural life is approved or rejected by contemporary Chinese authorities. But as a work of art it is deserving of its acclaim. The kind of book that is worth reading at least once in your life. Highest recommendation.

Bellisima narración imbuida de un lenguaje pulcro, donde pueden coexistir los hechos mas crudos y violentos con una delicadeza y sensibilidad para con los personajes siempre resilientes y respetuosos de una tradición que marca los lineamientos y jerarquías de un oŕden social donde el temor al ostracismo y a la humillación traslucen la violencia posible e ilimitada si se trasgreden las normas.La sensoriálidad de la tierra en todas sus dimensiones atraviesa la historia no solo como fuente de trabajo sino como las raices que impregnan las identidades. Uno se debe a la tierra siempre generosa y sus ciclos de vida çorren paralelos a las vidas de tres generaciones que a pesar de tener los destinos marcados por su origen, genero, orden de nacimiento, pueden encauzarse por rumbos inesperados en la trama de relaciones y coyunturas historicas donde pueden surgir como actores que hagan la diferencia para otros y para ellos mismos.

One of the best books I’ve ever read.

I'm not familiar with review writing...still what comes to my mind I shall note down...the central charector is the Earth ...then that silent yet strong lady...wife of the protagonist...the slave system in China ...indeed a great story told in simple language but profound in its effect on your mind....one of the best books I purchased from Amazon...( Book arrived on time and good condition...

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