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The Good Earth (A Casa de Terra #1)

by Pearl S. Buck

3.86 · rating details · 60,169 ratings · 4,231 reviews

Wang Lung, rising from humble Chinese farmer to wealthy landowner, gloried in the soil he worked. He held it above his family, even above his gods. But soon, between Wang Lung and the kindly soil that sustained him, came flood and drought, pestilence and revolution....
Through this one Chinese peasant and his children, Nobel Prize-winner Pearl S. Buck traces the whole...more

Mass Market Paperback, (Enriched Classics), 385 pages

Published March 29th 2005 by Pocket (first published 1931)

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Feb 22, 2010

Celeste rated it

It's difficult for me to explain how much I hate this book, and even harder to explain why. I don't think it's just because I hated the main character so much, and in this case at least, I don't think it's because of the weirdness that arises from a Westerner writing about a colonized country.

I do know that *part* of my intense dislike for this book comes from how it is viewed by other people (usually non-Chinese). Read the reviews and you'll see one word come up over and over agai...moreIt's difficult for me to explain how much I hate this book, and even harder to explain why. I don't think it's just because I hated the main character so much, and in this case at least, I don't think it's because of the weirdness that arises from a Westerner writing about a colonized country.

I do know that *part* of my intense dislike for this book comes from how it is viewed by other people (usually non-Chinese). Read the reviews and you'll see one word come up over and over again: "portrait." Says one reviewer, "In addition to lovely, rich writing, the novel provided much-needed Chinese history, class and culture lessons." Am I the only person whose hackles go up when someone refers refers to a novel like a textbook? Of course there is some historical fact in The Good Earth, and in other novels, but I have a serious problem with people conflating (and equating) fiction and history. While there's some truth in the book's portrayal, it perpetuates a lot of stereotypes about the Chinese. What's more, this book has shaped a lot of people's perceptions of China and the Chinese, not necessarily for the better. I know this happens with other cultures--but often to a greater extent with The Good Earth. Do we read Anna Karenina and feel that we now know everything about Russia? Does anyone read Midnight's Children as a straight-up account of Indian history? Yet for some reason, for a lot of people The Good Earth is *it*, the one lesson in Chinese culture and history that they will read in their lives. They end up thinking, "This is how China IS," not "This is a portrayal of how one part of China was at one point in time."

Of course, most of the above complaint about this book has to do with the reactions of the people reading it, not with the book itself. But I think there's something in how the book is pitched, and in the narrative itself, that invites that. As a story of love, partnership, and sacrifice in a marriage and family--this book does well. But it's not THE portrait of China that many readers unfortunately make it out to be.

</rant>

For more thoughts on this, see my post at the Huffington Post:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/celeste-ng...(less)

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Occamsbeard Celest -- I did not know what you implied on here so I read your article on Huffington. I agree this propensity to simplify and make digestible other...moreCelest -- I did not know what you implied on here so I read your article on Huffington. I agree this propensity to simplify and make digestible other cultures with one book of fiction or one movie or one melodrama is disturbing, but it is also a timeless tactic to introduce new peoples as an exotic treat to the Thinking averse in a given population. Yes there are those that really are bothered by being analytical as an adult because they felt stupid as a kid and have a learning disability that they are self conscious about. Or they were always discouraged from thinking for themselves. I remember a friend of mine who moved away from the now dead factory belt of the MIdwest once told me how she was teased for reading and was once told by an adult , "haven't you read yourself enough books yet?" Like reading is "real nice but now its time to get in a union and go to work for an auto plant." I promise you having many many many friends from all around our midwestern manufacturing belt, this attitude as well as a kind of oppressive conformist atmosphere used to be common place. The point is that Oprah is going to be trying to get people to expand their minds even if they are really reaching to do so. I personally can see why you would be bothered by the questions they bring up, but I also think that its not quite as bad as you worry it is or could become. There are always going to be a certain number of people that will have very crude understanding of things that lay outside their immediate world. I mean the Bell Curve, economics, and certain types life style choices are simply an a immutable part of life for the foreseeable future. That acknowledged, I do think that as a result, its important what sorts of simple symbolic books get chosen to be ambassadors for a country, preferably not books that are works of fiction. My own take is that this process though is not a thought out one but a rather random set of forces that much more to do with other concerns like politics and the desire for a well made movie to be immortalized. In the case of this book, I just think it captured western imagination and is well written so now its on a number of reading lists. For my part I do not mistake this book for giving me any special insight into chinese culture. I lived in the bay area with some Chinese people that were here from college and I still do not feel that I have much insight into the culture. But then I have a profound respect for how big a topic area a people culture covers and how it is not something to be knee jerk about. If you surround yourself with folks that are not knee jerk thinkers and you recognize that some will be but recognize that it just part of the cost of living in a free society, then I think you needn't be too worried. Be worried when you do not have a forums like the Huffington post or Good reads to express your feelings freely. Not that some of your insights about how people lazily do construct simplistic false images of foreign places and people are not accurate, quite the opposite, they are simply are part of life in a free society where not everyone is equally intelligent, equally disposed to or educated for careful thinking.

If I were you, I would take your own advice and realize that, a lot has happened since 1930 and so you need not feel that this book is addressing modern China. I certainly do not. I think I would just enjoy the book for what it is, a compelling book told in a certain setting. Then understand that there are always those who are going to eat a taco and suddenly call themselves an expert on all things mexican. Its part of the list of human traits that are ever present and always disappointing. But you can at least be comforted that caricatures or misplaced popular symbols for various cultures and people are universal but they do not fool the average person with a real passion for the truth. its really rather futile to worry too much media that you feel is misleading about a topic, unless you see a clear organized pattern of cultural slur going on for possibly other more organize nefarious purposes. Otherwise, the normal course of discussion will separate the wheat from the chaff. At least that is what I think.(less)
Jul 16, 2011 06:13am

Laura Read the memoir Red Azalea for a look at China during the Cultural Revolution under Mao. A true look at China's nasty side and very sobering.
Jan 05, 2012 08:21am

Sep 12, 2007

Lucy rated it

Recommends it for: everyone

Written by Pearl S. Buck, an American citizen who spent most of her childhood and much of her adult life in China, in 1931. It was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1932. I've heard much about it, mostly about a moment in the story when a woman gives birth and then goes back to work in the fields the same day, and have wanted to read it for quite some time.

I think it's always intimidating to read a classic. They are usually reserved for English classes or intellectuals and I worry that m...moreWritten by Pearl S. Buck, an American citizen who spent most of her childhood and much of her adult life in China, in 1931. It was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1932. I've heard much about it, mostly about a moment in the story when a woman gives birth and then goes back to work in the fields the same day, and have wanted to read it for quite some time.

I think it's always intimidating to read a classic. They are usually reserved for English classes or intellectuals and I worry that my understanding won't be up to snuff. Here goes:

The story begins on Wang Lung's wedding day. He is a peasant farmer, in China, who goes to the house of a wealthy farmer to pick up the bride his father has arranged for him to have: a plain, unattractive slave whose feet have never been bound and appear hideous to him. Large feet notwithstanding, he quickly learns to admire his hard-working and frugal wife. With their hard work and savings, Wang climbs up the economic ladder by being able to buy additional land to farm on. It's ALL about the land, in Wang's opinion. Land is forever. Land cannot be taken away.

Sure enough, what I heard about birthing and returning to work in the fields the same day was true. O-Lan, Wang's wife, is this incredibly docile, unassuming woman. She's the kind of woman that made me feel like a slacker for sitting around reading a book. Or taking a few weeks off of going to church after having a baby. I longed for more O-Lan, but that wasn't what this book was about. There were moments when I saw her pain, when I understood that in this culture, no one really loved O-Lan, despite her humility and service. Not her parents, who probably considered having a girl a burden and sold her as a slave when she was very young, not her owners, not her husband, and eventually, not even her own children. Wang appreciated her but all his appreciation did was allow him to feel ashamed when he brought a concubine to the home.

The beauty of the book, to me, was the irony that Buck skillfully weaves throughout the story. The rise and fall of the House of Hwang, where O-Lan was a slave, parallels Wang Lung's own story. It's the whole Nephite Pride Cycle! In fact, Buck's style of writing felt a bit like reading the scriptures. It was written dispassionately, even when writing about the character's passion. I also appreciated the Epic nature of the story. There is something to be learned from the successes and the tragedies.

As much as I liked it, and I liked it very much, I wasn't completely smitten. I read some of the original reviews which led to the Pulitzer Award, and most of them focus on the groundbreaking honest look into China. Apparently, up until that time, China, or the Orient, was poorly understood and most of the stories about it were romanticized and mystifying. Buck wrote about the China she saw, the day to day work and customs, the glory of sons to their families and the disregard to their daughters. While many parts of the story transcends time, parts of it felt obsolete and simple. Kind of like the first of anything. An original...yes. Groundbreaking...definitely. But then other books follow suit and readers have a choice of style and characters. I've read several books before that tell the chilling tale of peasant life in China. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress and Snow Flower and the Secret Fan each detail the beauty, simplicity, horror and hardship of pre and post revolutionary China. Perhaps that exposure kept me from truly loving this story. Or maybe my expectations were too high.

No doubt, some of you who did read this in a class and had the opportunity to dissect it with an instructor, see what I am missing. If so...please share.

Until being convinced otherwise, my opinion is that this is a great book. Definitely a classic. But not one of my favorites.(less)

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Sep 19, 2010

Bells rated it

Shelves: favorites, china, need-to-purchase

THIS BOOK IS ABOUT THE EARTH AND IT IS GOOD.

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Mar 29, 2009

k.wing rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

I really, really wish I hadn't google-searched 'foot binding' after reading this book.

In the tradition of a beloved college professor, I give The Good Earth a subtitle which reveals more of the moral stuff which fills it. Ahem. :
The Good Earth: Mo' Money, Mo' Problems.

The Good Earth is packed with cautionary tales of wealth and idleness, tradition and progression, and lust. Wow, the character studies one could do in this book! Just things I noticed:

...more

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Jan 11, 2008

Joshua rated it

This is a very unsentimental look at life in rural, pre-revolutionary China. Though she is American, Pearl Buck maintains an objective stance regarding Chinese cultural practices from the time, including foot-binding and the enslavement of women. Yet one encounters the unspoken torment of countless generations of women. The wife O-Lan is particularly well-drawn; in her rough-hewn features and ox-like devotion to the earth, the reader intimately feels her tragic solitude.

In Chinese s...more

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Feb 27, 2011

Kemper rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-r, classic-lit, over-there, rubbermaid-treasure

Treasure of the Rubbermaids 6: Made in China

The on-going discoveries of priceless books and comics found in a stack of Rubbermaid containers previously stored and forgotten at my parent’s house and untouched for almost 20 years. Thanks to my father dumping them back on me, I now spend my spare time unearthing lost treasures from their plastic depths.

I bitch about having to mow my lawn, but when I’m done, I usually sit on my deck and have a few ice cold beers. Then I tak...more

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Dec 02, 2008

Jeana rated it

Shelves: classics

This book is a hard one to rate. I found the book difficult to read emotionally, but knew all the while that it was brilliant.

It was sad to see how Wang Lung's obsession with land ruined his potential for happiness. And it seemed that with more money came more difficult problems.

The cycle of the rich House of Hwang turning into the farmer's house-with all its disgusting rich-people habits--was the most brilliant part of all. And it began with him buying that bit ...more

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Apr 30, 2011

Becky rated it

Shelves: bb_fbr2011, classics, historical-fiction, audiobook, 2011, reviewed, blog_etb

I probably would never have picked this book up had it not been chosen by a friend for a group read. Honestly, I don't go for Chinese lit very much, but I agreed to read this one, even though I was prepared to be bored at least. But I downloaded the audio version, read by Anthony Heald, and listened to the book while doing some much needed organizational stuff, and it was surprisingly good. I enjoyed the reading so much that I would sometimes stop doing stuff to just listen.

I think ...moreI probably would never have picked this book up had it not been chosen by a friend for a group read. Honestly, I don't go for Chinese lit very much, but I agreed to read this one, even though I was prepared to be bored at least. But I downloaded the audio version, read by Anthony Heald, and listened to the book while doing some much needed organizational stuff, and it was surprisingly good. I enjoyed the reading so much that I would sometimes stop doing stuff to just listen.

I think that had I read this on my own though, I don't think I'd have enjoyed it as much. There are times when a reader can add a whole lot to the story, and this was one of them. I actually do have an e-copy of the book, and I read along at some parts, and I think that listening to it was a fuller experience for me. Heald just seemed to GET these characters in a way I probably wouldn't have. He almost seemed to channel them so that his reading was borderline dramatization. It wasn't over the top - it was just perfect.

I don't know how much of this accurately represents Chinese culture. I don't know much about it myself, and so I took it all with a grain of salt. I don't particularly care for the attitudes towards women that are generally depicted in Chinese lit, so I don't read very much of it. But even if none of the cultural references are accurate, this was still an engaging and interesting story full of very human characters. At times, I didn't know whether to root for or against the main character, Wang Lung. I initially loved his character, and then as he progressed through life and different situational hardships and prosperity, I found myself mentally crossing my fingers while watching him with a wary eye. I wanted to like him, but sometimes the things he chose to do made that very, very hard. At one point, I was so disappointed in him, that I was shaking with anger at the sheer gall the man had, especially after everything, everything that had happened. That man had some cojones on him, I'll give him that.

I think that my favorite character in the story was O-lan. My heart broke for her. We never really get to know her fully, seeing things through Wang Lung's eyes, and he's not particularly perceptive when it comes to O-lan, or kind when he is, but I loved her. She never gave an inch of her dignity, no matter what her hardship, and she had so many. I was in awe of her, all while my heart hurt for the lack of gratitude she received for everything she gave. She deserved much better.

I found this to be an interesting story about a man's life and the things that he was able to achieve with that life, at the cost of so much, and the fleetingness of it all. I think that's what saddens me the most thinking about this book: we can't take any of it with us. I did enjoy this one, and I think the story will stay with me for a while, if nothing else. (less)

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Feb 06, 2008

Adrienne rated it

I couldn't put this book down. It was very informative about pre-revolutionary Chinese culture. But even more than that, it was an interesting emotional journey. In the beginning, Wang Lung's character seems so simple and kinda static, albeit respectable. But as the novel progresses, his character becomes more and more complex, more and more human. It was hard for me to really define my opinion of him when it was all over. It wasn't as simple as just hating him because there was also a part...more

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Sep 30, 2007

LeAnn rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Readers of classics

I have to start by saying that I'm glad that I didn't know anything about this book or read any of the reviews first. It's nice not to be influenced sometimes, especially as some of what I see as worthwhile qualities other people don't. For instance, I appreciated the pace of the book. I wouldn't have said that it was "too long and wordy" as I've read in other reviews, but then I know that literary styles and tastes change and this book was written nearly 100 years ago.

I al...more

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Jun 12, 2007

Sammy rated it

Shelves: b-the-good

Okay, after Anna Karenina, Oprah and her Book Club owed me (and most likely the rest of the Book Club members) big time. Perhaps that's why she chose The Good Earth as the next book for the infamous group to read. I can say that I am officially pardoning Oprah of any wrong-doing with Anna thanks to this new book. This book could easily have been a boring and uninteresting read, but Pearl S. Buck writes in such an amazingly simplistic manner that somehow you are immediately sucked in.

...more

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Aug 01, 2009

thewanderingjew rated it

I had forgotten most of the tale until I picked it up again to reread and I am overwhelmed by the hardship and futility of the lives of the characters. Their hopelessness coupled with their fortitude, that often goes unrewarded, is devasting. The writing appears almost simplistic but the message is so profound. As I read I am aware of the seeds that are being planted for the Cultural Revolution. The poverty and ignorance led to so much jealousy and greed.
Sometimes the book frightens me be...more

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Mar 29, 2009

Kaye rated it

I've always wanted to read this book and really had no idea what it was about. Now I know. Some of it was difficult - the way they treat baby girls/women in China - but that was a learning experience for me. The book was really great at driving home the message that you have to appreciate what you have, no matter how big or how small, without getting prideful about it. It also reinforced the work ethic I was taught - that you work hard and enjoy the results.

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Aug 12, 2008

Heather rated it

Shelves: my-absolute-favorites

When the earth suffers, women suffer-- when women suffer the earth suffers. I think this is what Buck captured so beautifully in her book. She is a brilliant feminist writer!

Through her character O-lan, Buck makes the argument that all of man's (in the story Wang-lung)increase and prosperity comes because of his reliance on the "good earth", which refers not only to his land but also to his good woman. Without his woman he would have had none of the prosperity he enjoys! Th...more

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Feb 23, 2011

Jeanette rated it

Shelves: classics, all-fiction, asia, four-star-fiction, pyoo-litzers

The first time I read this book I was thirteen years old. All I remembered about it was that it was about a Chinese farmer and I liked it. This second time through I could see how so much went past me when I read it as a youth with no life experience. Now, as a grown-up, I was able to appreciate the depth of the characters' feelings and the storytelling gifts of Pearl Buck. The book was first published in 1931, but it's written in what could almost be termed a classical style. The great bea...more

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May 04, 2011

± Colleen of the Crawling Chaos ± rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: group-read, library-read

2 1/2

I bounced between 2 and 3 stars, finally deciding to just meet it half-way.

As I said in the comments of one of my statuses, I found parts of the book interesting, but I didn't really enjoy it, per se. It wasn't as boring as I thought it might be, and that was good, but I also had a hard time connecting with the characters, especially because Wang Lung isn't particularly likable half the time, even if what he does is realistic and understandable from a 'human nature'...more2 1/2

I bounced between 2 and 3 stars, finally deciding to just meet it half-way.

As I said in the comments of one of my statuses, I found parts of the book interesting, but I didn't really enjoy it, per se. It wasn't as boring as I thought it might be, and that was good, but I also had a hard time connecting with the characters, especially because Wang Lung isn't particularly likable half the time, even if what he does is realistic and understandable from a 'human nature' perspective.

I did feel for the characters sometimes, though, especially O-lan, and I wonder if I would've liked it more if it was from more than just Wang Lung's perspective.

I also wasn't entirely sure what the story is aiming for. Is it meant to be a snapshot of a particular time and place, or is it meant to be a more universal story? It felt more universal, to me, but I also didn't feel like I really learned anything about human nature that I didn't already know - though I can imagine it would be more enlightening to someone a bit younger and less cynical.

As a snapshot of pre-Revolution China I'm not sure what I think of it. While there were some parts which seemed very specific to the culture and time period, it also seemed more like a fable - i.e. the aforementioned universality - and I think I was hoping for something more culturally specific.

Anyway - as I said before, while I find the portrayal of Wang Lung to be believable, althought not always very likable. Even with that, I found myself being generally sympathetic to him and, especially, to his family. But there are certain things that happen which make me lose a lot of this sympathy, and I had a hard time caring after that point, though there were still some moments of poignancy.

At the end of the day I guess I should say it's not a bad book, but I guess it partially depends on what you read for. Perhaps, once upon a time, when I actively studied philosophy and psychology, I would've enjoyed it for being an interesting and accurate glimpse into some of the highs and lows of human nature - which, as I said, it is.

But this book is a downer, and I don't read to be depressed by the faults of human nature - faults I'm already all too aquainted with from the day-to-day reckonings of life. And yet that's what the book left me with - a vague sort of depression and malaise. Yay?(less)

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Aug 25, 2011

Michelle rated it

· review of another edition

I think I end up rating books by how strong a reaction they can draw from me -- and books that focus strongly on women and gender roles tend to do that. In the case of The Good Earth, I had to put the book down one evening because it made me furious. I couldn't stand how apathetic and scornful and ungrateful the main character was toward his wife, a wholly devoted servant to him. I was angry at the social mores in China when the book was written; I was angry at the idea of such a loveless marria...moreI think I end up rating books by how strong a reaction they can draw from me -- and books that focus strongly on women and gender roles tend to do that. In the case of The Good Earth, I had to put the book down one evening because it made me furious. I couldn't stand how apathetic and scornful and ungrateful the main character was toward his wife, a wholly devoted servant to him. I was angry at the social mores in China when the book was written; I was angry at the idea of such a loveless marriage.

It ends up making some powerful statements about how destruction will come to evildoers, how material wealth is fleeting, and how no external forces can strip away the pride of knowing you lived a life of integrity.

(view spoiler)

A really great read. A shame that I just recently heard about it.

(less)

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Feb 02, 2009

Andy Burkhardt rated it

This books was very Taoist in my opinion. It showed the waxing and waning of life. When things got really bad they started to get better. When things were good, there were always problems. It is a great look at not just Pre-Revolutionary China, but life in general.

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Mar 21, 2011

Rob rated it

Shelves: audio-book, classic, fiction, history, digital, own-it, unabridged, my-review, favorite

The debate over the authenticity of Buck's portrayal of rural life in China of 100 years ago will never end. I don't believe it is essential to the books story.

This is a story of the rewards of hard work, strong ethics, common sense and conviction. It is the story of what happens when those rewards come. How wealth, even when gained honestly and through hard effort, corrupts and destroys families and values, when it is not placed in the proper context of life. It is the story of oppr...more

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Feb 17, 2011

Adrienne rated it

I thought I would like this more than I did, but it was just ok for me. I wish I could give it 3 and 1/2 stars! So glad I wasn't a woman in pre-revolution China, in which the story takes place. Life for females was, to say the least, deadly to be born as such, and just plain hard! I know I wouldn't take well to another woman being introduced into my home, and I was disappointed that the main character did so. It seems he prided himself on being honest, hardworking, and above reproach in all ...more

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Nov 25, 2008

Emily rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: audio-books, 2008

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. When I first started listening to this book during my commute, I enjoyed the story of Wang Lung and his family. His wife, O-Lan's wisdom and hard work won me over immediately. And the description of peasant life in China at least 100 years ago was different than any book I'd read recently. But then I made the mistake of telling Neil what I was reading. He called it "middlebrow" and despite my protest that it had won the Pulitzer Prize, I think the doubts about the novel began at tha...more

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Aug 14, 2008

Rachel rated it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. While reading this book, I was impressed by the author's creation of such a complex character as Wang Lung. Wang Lung started off in the book as an extremely poor man who spent so much time working on his land. Then he became a person as poor as can be--whose family was forced to beg on the streets to get money for food and almost sold one of their children to get by. Then he went on to become a wealthy farmer after much hard work. And Wang Lang personality traits also changed full circle as...more

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Sep 09, 2008

James rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: lplib-classics, historical-fiction, study-group

I have been rereading The Good Earth by Pearl Buck. For many years this well-known novel was an unexplained void in the inventory of books that I had read. Yet, in less than two years I find myself having read and reread this amazing novel. It is amazing for several reasons, not the least of which is the deceptive simplicity of its' style. The story begins on Wang Lung's wedding day and he remains in the fore of the novel presented to the reader by the narrator as the hero of the story. However,...moreI have been rereading The Good Earth by Pearl Buck. For many years this well-known novel was an unexplained void in the inventory of books that I had read. Yet, in less than two years I find myself having read and reread this amazing novel. It is amazing for several reasons, not the least of which is the deceptive simplicity of its' style. The story begins on Wang Lung's wedding day and he remains in the fore of the novel presented to the reader by the narrator as the hero of the story. However, I began to grow gradually fonder of O-lan as the story progressed. Her dedication to the marriage in almost complete silence and fortitude in both work and bearing and raising the children provided her an almost mythical aura. The most moving moments of the book come when she fights to prevent her young daughter from being sold into slavery, when she is forced to give up her pearls, and when she dies. Even in death she continued to demonstrate a stoical character that made me wonder at its power and source. Surely this was not simply the result of her determination to never return to the slavery that she endured as a youth in the great house of the Wangs.

But I said that the simple style was deceptive and by that I meant that hidden in the simple every day events, and a few that were not so common, is a picture of a culture and ethos that Wang Lung and his family lived. The work ethic of Wang Lung and his devotion to the land, "the good earth", that would keep him and his family safe was part of this culture. The depth and contrasting relationships within the family and without are displayed slowly, simply, through the actions taken and events that impinge on Wang Lung.

There is more to this story than these events and actions alone can account for. There is the action of fate through the impact of the cycles of the weather that lead to famine for those, like Wang Lung, dependent on the earth. The patronymic "good earth" turns ironic when the land lays fallow for lack of rain or the crops rot because of flooding. The vicissitudes of their life find the family of Wang Lung fleeing to the South to escape the famine, but they do not have the skills to successfully cope in the city where they end up begging until saved, through another turn of fate, by the war and the looting of the wealthy landowner's estate. It is this event that becomes a turning point in the lives of Wang Lung and O-lan as through their own loot of gold and jewels they are able to establish what will become a different life than the simple farm that they left when they fled to the South. It is this different life that, among other things, ultimately changes the family in ways that seem to prove the adage about the corrupting effect of power.

Ultimately The Good Earth is a morality tale, a parable-like story that suggests the dreams of avarice demand that the price paid is more than the silver and gold traded for land and mistresses. While most of the story seems steeped in a combination of ancestor worship and attention to evil spirits and omens, there was one episode that I found reminiscent of a parable in the New Testament when just as O-lan is dying the eldest son is recalled to be married. The celebration upon and importance of his return can have no other antecedent than the return of the prodigal son. Perhaps that moment along with others in the closing section of the novel are precursors of changes in the future greater than any experienced by Wang Lung and his family. I do not know how true the book is to the culture of pre-revolutionary China, but I do know that the beauty of the earth and the story reward its readers.(less)

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Sep 06, 2009

bup rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: 2009, classic, not-1001-but-the-list-is-stupid, belong-to-the-land, novel

You know, I've never lived on a farm - in fact I think I'd hate it - but I'm finding I love novels about farming and communing with land. They're very...(shudders) grounding. I really wish that weren't a pun, but it's the best word I know to describe it, and I suppose it helps explain the metaphor of spiritually settling things being described as grounding. The point is, I feel very settled at the moment.

Buck writes in a very stylized, almost awkward English that helps set the mood. ...more

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Oct 26, 2007

Inder rated it

Shelves: history, culture, audiobooks, read-2007, 20th-century, fiction, farm, china

This is a gorgeously harsh novel. Or harshly gorgeous? I'm still reeling from the ending. It is a fictional account of the life of a pre-revolutionary man living in China. Beautifully and simply written, if occasionally a little bit colonialist in tone, it is basically a rags-to-riches story. But oh, what a story! It is so believable, so real life. Everything is here - marriage, gender politics, natural disasters, education, markets, incipient capitalism and globalization, revolution, sexual inf...more

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Sep 30, 2007

Amelia rated it

My mom actually recommended this book to me...she said she had read it in high school and it was a story everyone should read (being a contemporary classic and all).

The farmer, Wang Lung, makes the journey through life experiencing poverty, wealth, and the in-between. I find it interesting how as his monetary status rises, he loses pieces of his heritage, of himself.

He survives a good "solid" wife, O-lan, who knows how to work hard and never complains. Wang Lun...more

like 1 like

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Sep 01, 2007

Bethany Andrews rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: classics, fiction, china, multi-culturallit

Where to start with this one. I guess by saying that if you don't share my fascination and fondness for the chinese culture you may not want to pick up this one. Though its definitely a classic, and Oprah loved it, there are several deterring factors. The language is a bit wordy and the story itself is long.

However, if you can bypass that, its a book you'll fall in love with, as I did. Its the story of a poor Chinese farmer who struggles to make himself rich and successful. The ...more

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Apr 26, 2008

Leslie rated it

· review of another edition

So I realize this is given the word "classic" to describe it although I'm so so about how I liked it. It was intriguing because it is a lifestyle that is just absolutely different from what I know. I hated, let me rephrase that, HATED the way women were treated and looked upon as slaves in their own home. I realize this is part of this history but it is still hard to read. I kept reading it just hoping that OLan would finally stand up and say something for herself since she is the ...more

like 1 like

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Feb 04, 2008

Charlie Schlangen rated it

A compelling story, but there has been so much hype about it over the years, and I think that was in large part because it was about a part of the world that was unknown to the West. I think it holds up rather better as a sobering and all-too-real look at family dynamics and the potential corrupting power of wealth and status. I was especially impressed with Buck's ability to write the male character of Wang Lung and his internal monologues. SPOILER ALERT I also got a frisson of dramatic iron...more

like 1 like

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Dec 09, 2007

Somer rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: classic

This is one of those books I've heard about for years but had never read. I didn't even really know what it was about before I started it, other than that it was set in China and that it was a classic. I'm really glad I read it. I can't count it as one of my favorites, but it was good. I can't really describe my feelings about it, because if I put what I'm thinking into words it sounds negative. Words that come to mind are "plodding" and "slow." But I think that pace was righ...more

like 1 like

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About Pearl S. Buck

Pearl Comfort Sydenstricker Buck was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1938 "for her rich and truly epic descriptions of peasant life in China and for her biographical masterpieces" and the Pulitzer Prize for Literature in 1932 for The Good Earth.
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