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The Good Earth (House of Earth #1)

3.9 of 5 stars 3.90 · rating details · 109,042 ratings · 5,529 reviews

Pearl S. Buck’s timeless masterpiece, the Pulitzer Prize–winning story of a farmer’s journey through China in the 1920s

The Good Earth is Buck’s classic story of Wang Lung, a Chinese peasant farmer, and his wife, O-lan, a former slave. With luck and hard work, the couple’s fortunes improve over the years: They are blessed with sons, and save steadily until one day they can...more

ebook, 357 pages

Published August 21st 2012 by Open Road Media Iconic Ebooks (first published 1931)

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Feb 22, 2010 Celeste Ng rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 again: "portrait."...more 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 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.

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

92 likes · like · see review

Sep 12, 2007 Lucy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition 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 my understand...more 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 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)

34 likes · like · see review

Mar 28, 2013 Henry Avila rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Wang Lung on his wedding day gets up at dawn as usual.A poor Chinese farmer's son.Who lives with his widowed old father.But he is a very hardworking,strong,young and ambitious man.They occupy, a three room house made of dirt bricks.With a straw thatched roof.After getting his ill father hot water ,feeding the ox and doing the rest of the chores.Wang for the second time in the year,takes a bath secretly,with the precious water .Ashamed to waste it, for such an unnecessary thing. Hiding from his f...more Wang Lung on his wedding day gets up at dawn as usual.A poor Chinese farmer's son.Who lives with his widowed old father.But he is a very hardworking,strong,young and ambitious man.They occupy, a three room house made of dirt bricks.With a straw thatched roof.After getting his ill father hot water ,feeding the ox and doing the rest of the chores.Wang for the second time in the year,takes a bath secretly,with the precious water .Ashamed to waste it, for such an unnecessary thing. Hiding from his father the deed.Putting on his best clothes.Walking later to the Great House of Hwang,the guard at the gate mocks him.Demands a bribe for entrance.Everywhere laughs are heard as the farmer goes through the large luxurious estate with many beautiful houses.Amazingly looking objects,the bridegroom sees,never knowing of their existence. Meeting O-Lan,his bride, for the first time.She is a tall plain looking woman.An unwanted slave in the great house,beaten everyday.O-Lan was sold by her poor family at ten and has worked as a slave ever since.She is about twenty years old.Talking to the Old Mistress of the house,scared of her Eminence,is the farmer.All had been arranged by his father. Bringing the bride back home, no real wedding ceremony. The old one is happy that he will be a grandfather soon,grandsons the only ones that count in China,in the late 19th Century, hopefully.The small wedding feast,just five guests.Including his lazy uncle,younger brother of his father,his son (the cousin also lazy)and three neighbors.Wang and his woman are both virgins on their wedding night.O-Lan is also hard working, a fine cook,always taking care of the house,the old man ,in the fields with her husband.Giving birth alone to many sons(daughters also) and then the same day going back to help with the plowing!Silently,without complaints.A perfect wife,if only she wasn't so bad looking Wang thinks.After good harvests,buying land from the faltering House of Hwang,a famine occurs,people are starving to death.The uncle ,his wife and son,are always asking for food and money,from Wang,when there is none.Wang has to decide stay and maybe die or go south ,with his family,to a city where food is in abundance and abandon his land ,that he loves,maybe forever. Spellbinding story of a destitute peasant family.Climbing literally from rags to riches and encountering difficulties as the new Twentieth Century arrives.Can they survive the changing world?(less)

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Sep 19, 2010 Books Ring Mah Bell rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, china, need-to-purchase

THIS BOOK IS ABOUT THE EARTH AND IT IS GOOD.

50 likes · like · see review

Mar 29, 2009 k.wing rated it 5 of 5 stars · 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:

- The very thing Wang Lung detested, O-lan's...more

23 likes · like · see review

Jan 11, 2008 Joshua rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 society, she...more

19 likes · like · see review

Feb 27, 2011 Kemper rated it 4 of 5 stars · 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 take a hot shower and get in...more

26 likes · like · see review

Dec 02, 2008 Jeana rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 of land even before all the rea...more

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May 19, 2013 Dina Nabil rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: own

من صفحتها الاولى تبدو لك كرواية مهمة من تلك الصفحة الاولى التى يغلى فيها "وانج لانج" الماء مخلوط بورق الشاى ل أب يسعل فى الصباح....تشعرك بانها عمل درامى له مكانته

لعل أجمل ما بها انها تمتع قارئها بكثير من الاحداث فلا تسكن احداثها كثيرة بل فى تنقل دائما من موقف لموقف و من مكان لمكان ربما .....و بما ان الفترة الزمنية للكتاب طويلة فكثير من الاحداث تشبع نهم القارئ

لعل شخصية "أون-لان" هى الاجمل و الاكثر اكتمالا فى رمها الدرامى...تلك الفتاة العادية الملامح الصامتة و ذات القدمين الكبيرتين , تعلم دائما اك...more

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Apr 30, 2011 Becky rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, historical-fiction, audiobook, 2011, reviewed, blog_etb, challenge-1010

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 that had I r...more 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 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 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 of h...more

17 likes · like · see review

Sep 30, 2007 LeAnn rated it 4 of 5 stars · 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 also had no problem with...more

11 likes · like · see review

Jun 12, 2007 Sammy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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.

It helps to...more

8 likes · like · see review

Aug 01, 2009 thewanderingjew rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 because...more

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Mar 29, 2009 Kaye rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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.

5 likes · like · see review

Aug 12, 2008 Heather rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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! The tragedy is that he d...more

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Heather 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 br...more
Aug 12, 2008 06:41pm

Monica you are so true about this book but still this is how some people are about women
Aug 04, 2009 07:16pm

Irene (Casey) I don't know what you mean exactly when you say the 'earth suffers, women suffer'. I think that women are the true heart of the earth and as such take...more
Aug 21, 2010 08:17pm

Feb 23, 2011 Jeanette rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 beauty o...more

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May 04, 2011 Colleen rated it 2 of 5 stars · 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' perspective.

I did feel...more 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' 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)

4 likes · like · see review

Aug 25, 2011 Michelle rated it 5 of 5 stars · 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...more 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 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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Sep 08, 2012 Nada Elfeituri rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

4.5 stars

Right, so the description of the book sounds boring enough, the chronicles of the life of your average Chinese farmer. I probably would have never even given it a second glance had not a friend of mine say it was one of his favorite books. This is a guy who gets bored extremely easy, so I definitely had to give it a read.

And now, after reading it, I still couldn't give a better description of the book. The language is bare and straightforward, the story moves at an average pace and the...more

3 likes · like · see review

Mar 23, 2013 Bettie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: nobel-laureate, china, classic, spring-2013, published-1931, fraudio, incest-agameforallthefamily, families, bucolic, bullies, lifestyles-deathstyles, paper-read, plague-disease, recreational-drugs, series, women, war, filthy-lucre

A 12 mile walk round the icy lake with Vampyre Dawg.

The third time of starting this and the time must be of been right because the ponderous pacing did not grate; am even contemplating the second in the trilogy.

#76 TBR Busting 2013

8 likes · like · see review

Feb 02, 2009 Andy Burkhardt rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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.

9 likes · like · see review

Mar 21, 2011 Rob rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 oppression of wo...more

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Feb 17, 2011 Adrienne rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 thin...more

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Nov 25, 2012 Ms.candy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

وتعود النجمات الخمس من جديد.
بداية قرأت هذه الرواية بداية السنه، ثم أعدتها لمكانها من جديد، ثم بعد عدة أشهر رفعتها لأقرأها، لأعيدها بعد عدة صفحات للمكتب مرة أخرى، حتى هذا الشهر حيث تضائلت كُتبي الورقية لأقرأها راغمة حتى النهاية! ويالها من تجربة جميلة ضيعتها على نفسي طوال هذا الوقت!!

القصة تتكلم بإختصار عن مزارع صيني فقير، يذهب لبيت أحد التجار ويطلب زوجة له، بعد أن يتزوج هذه الخادمة، نشاهد معه حياته لحظة بلحظة، ويوماً بعد يوم، من منظوره الخاص الذي لا يتغير أو يتبدل خلال الرواية - وهذه نقطة قوة لها...more
وتعود النجمات الخمس من جديد.
بداية قرأت هذه الرواية بداية السنه، ثم أعدتها لمكانها من جديد، ثم بعد عدة أشهر رفعتها لأقرأها، لأعيدها بعد عدة صفحات للمكتب مرة أخرى، حتى هذا الشهر حيث تضائلت كُتبي الورقية لأقرأها راغمة حتى النهاية! ويالها من تجربة جميلة ضيعتها على نفسي طوال هذا الوقت!!

القصة تتكلم بإختصار عن مزارع صيني فقير، يذهب لبيت أحد التجار ويطلب زوجة له، بعد أن يتزوج هذه الخادمة، نشاهد معه حياته لحظة بلحظة، ويوماً بعد يوم، من منظوره الخاص الذي لا يتغير أو يتبدل خلال الرواية - وهذه نقطة قوة لها لأكون صادقة! فلو كانت الرواية من منظور شخصية أخرى لكرهت جميع الشخصيات بإستثناء أو لان و زهرة الجوافة”.

القصة عبارة عن يوميات، كتاب حياة عائلة مكونة من جد وجد الجد وأحفادهما، سنرى الحياة الإجتماعية للمزارعين، سنرى علاقتهم المميزة والرائعة بأراضيهم التي تسبغ عليهم بأنعامها سنيناً وتقسو بشدة وتقتلهم سنيناً أُخرى.
أظن أن الحديث عن هكذا روايات يجحف حقها بشدة، فهي أشبه بباب علاء الدين المقفل الذي إن واربته قليلاً ليطلع عليه العابرون أفسدت عليهم فرحة الإكتشاف والمعرفة أثناء محاولتهم تحريك الباب الحديدي الصلد!

أنا سعيدة جداً لقرائتها، وأشعر بالكثير من الطاقة أيضاً، تطابق وقت قراءة الرواية مع الأمطار والأرض الطينية الرطبة أعطى لها بعداً آخر ومميزاً، أستطيع الآن أن أتقمص شخصية مزارع صيني يرقب أرضه بحماس ولا يكاد يهدأ باله حتى يحرثها ويزرع ثماره التي خبأها بحرص طويلاً في شقوق جدار بيته!(less)

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Nov 25, 2008 Emily rated it 3 of 5 stars · 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 that moment. I s...more

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Aug 14, 2008 Rachel rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 the...more

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Sep 09, 2008 James rated it 4 of 5 stars · 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,...more 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, 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 5 of 5 stars · 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. It works, of...more

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Oct 26, 2007 Inder rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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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American Classics: Next Classic to read	1	1	Jun 11, 2013 09:18pm
Glen Carbon Library: The Good Earth: Discussion	1	10	Feb 12, 2013 04:31pm
Tackling the Puli...: The Good Earth (Pearl Buck, 1932)	30	34	Feb 06, 2013 10:50am
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Wang Lung's complex character	20	253	Sep 12, 2012 04:49pm

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About Pearl S. Buck

Pearl Sydenstricker Buck (1892–1973) was a bestselling and Nobel Prize–winning author. Her classic novel The Good Earth (1931) was awarded a Pulitzer Prize and William Dean Howells Medal. Born in Hillsboro, West Virginia, Buck was the daughter of missionaries and spent much of the first half of her life in China, where many of her books are set. In 1934, civil unrest in China forced Buck back to t...more

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