Another of those books I read in HS and after reading it again, I am so glad I revisited it. I remember enjoying it in HS but now I am truly amazed and almost in love with Pearl S. Buck!This is one of the most astounding books about Chinese life, culture and values that I think has ever been written. The characters are what truly make this one amazing. I just couldn't get over O-lan. She had such a rough life -- having babies (alone), working in the fields, and then her husband takes another woman much prettier than she is. Her cry "but I have borne you sons!" is probably one of the most pathetic things I've ever read. So moving and I loved and hated all of Wang Lung's family at some point.A moving and brilliant read. ( )

I'd heard good things about the tale of Wang Lung's life in preindustrial China and his rise from poor farmer to wealthy family man, but for one reason or another I'd never picked up a copy. Now I have, and though the plot was a touch slow at first, I must say it's well worth the read. You learn quite a bit about the culture and lifestyle of the times without feeling like you're reading a history book. And with Buck's tender narration, even the most heinously primitive ideas - such as "woman" being synonymous with "slave" - came across more as The Way Things Were than something that stirred much righteous anger in me. Wang Lung and his wife O-Lan are very sympathetic, and there were times when I almost cried. Very moving, very educational, very memorable. ( )

What can I say. This was a very enjoyable book to read. My favorite Pearl Buck Story. ( )

[Warning: This is an obsessive post on the most popular book of my favorite author who I think is brilliant and did not get her due.]

I know, I’ll not be able to do justice to a classic such as The Good Earth by Pearl S Buck. I should not even attempt. But, I cannot keep myself from trying. So, here goes –

More than 7 decades ago, this book won the Pulitzer Prize and then, helped Pearl S Buck win the Nobel Prize. The Good Earth reads like a song of the war, of china, of farmers (not peasants), of women and men, of marriage, of poverty and riches and, of birth and death. The good earth book cover

This, in a sense, is a rags to riches story of a farmer family. The book begins on the wedding day of Wang Lang, a poor Chinese farmer that lives with his old father – with O-Lan, a slave girl at the great house that he buys for himself. O-Lan is talented on many fronts – she is a good cook, clever at mending and stitching clothes. She is a hard worker on the farm and helps Wang Lang with the all the work and takes care of the home bringing a new life to the household in the figurative sense as well as, in the literal sense. O-Lan brings good fortune to the family. Wang Lang with the help of O-Lan reaps a great harvests and even buys land from the Great House. O-Lan gives birth to two boys and then a couple of girls.

Drought strikes when the last girl is born and O-Lan kills her at birth and, Wang Lang leaves her out where a hungry dog watches knowing, it would eat her. They starve for many days and finally the family sells everything other than the land and move to a city in the south. The descriptions of sights, sounds and smells of a city with abundance in food and riches from the eyes of starved rural people works like magic. O-Lan teaches the children to how beg while Wang Lang pulls a rickshaw. They survive on the charitable one-cent meal of rice gruel.

When a food riot erupts, a mob breaks into a house of a rich man. Wang Lang and O-Lan steal the riches along with the mob. Then, they return to their land and Wang Lang buys an ox and other tools. He also hires people to work on his land. Good times return to the house hold with the birth of another son and a daughter. Wang Lang buys more land from the great house of Hwangs. He also sends his sons to schools when he realizes he is rich enough and his sons need not work on the land anymore. He takes a concubine – Lotus and becomes obsessed by her. Watering the land and smelling the earth help him come out of it. His elder son gets married and O-Lan dies. The second son also gets married and they move to the town. The youngest son runs away to become a soldier. At the end of the book, the two elder sons contemplate selling the land and Wang Lang is broken at the thought.

O-Lan is the real hero of the book and she has a major part to play in the well being of the family in good times and bad. Her strength and knowledge help the family survive in bad times and proper in good times.

The feminism in the book is complex. There are various deceptions of Chinese women in this era. There are references to wife buying, female infanticide and foot binding among other things. When Wang Lang’s marital life is to begin, his father tells him:

“And what will we do with a pretty woman? We must have a woman who will tend the house and bear children as she works in the fields. A pretty woman will be forever thinking about clothes to go with her pretty face!”

When female children are born into the family, they are considered “not worth mentioning” and Wang Lang considers that the time of misfortune has started for him. O-Lan is back to the field helping Wang Lang with the work hours after she gives birth. In order to ward off evil spirits from their firstborn son, O-Lan and Wang Lung pretend thus:

“What a pity our child is a female whom no one could want and covered with smallpox as well! Let us pray it may die.”

The role of earth in the life of Wang Lang becomes clear soon after the book begins.

The kitchen was made from earthen bricks as the house was, great squares of earth dug up from their own fields, and thatched with straw from their own wheat. Out of their own earth had his grandfather in his youth fashioned also the oven, baked and black with many years of meal preparing.

When, Wang Lang learns that the house of Hwang’s is growing poor, he does not believe it but when he discoveres they are selling their land, he says:

“Sell their land! Then indeed are they growing poor. Land is one’s flesh and blood.”

When, Wang Lang’s cousin proposes that he sells his land to certain people from the town during the drought when there is no food for anyone to eat, he says

“I shall never sell the land! Bit by bit, I will dig up the fields and feed the earth itself to the children and when they die I will bury them in the land, and I and my wife and my old father, even he, we will die on the land that has given us birth.”

This is one of those books that people absolutely love or hate. I belong to the former category. I do not generally re-read books but I have read this one thrice.

Pearl S Buck won the Nobel Prize, as per Nobel Foundation, “for her rich and truly epic descriptions of peasant life in China and for her biographical masterpieces”. However, some would argue, her depiction of China in the book is not entirely authentic. I understand the argument. At the same time, I strongly believe that Pearl S Buck is a brilliant author that did not get her due. Good Earth is her most popular book and I recommend that people who liked or did not like this book, go on and explore her other writings. I would recommend Imperial Woman and Dragon Seed, to begin with.

Also posted on my blog ( )

I read this book decades ago and enjoyed reading it again. I don't know if I noticed last time, but I was struck by how much her language and style were reminiscent of biblical language. I think she was the daughter of missionaries, so it would not be surprising--but I'd have to read some of her other work to see if that was deliberate for this book. I could see it being a choice.

I was so intrigued by this story. I sucked in to Wang Lung's life from the word go. This book was beautifully written and was so enlightening with regard to historical China, with it's culture and ways of life. The treatment of women may not have been an easy thing to stomach, but that was how it was in those times. I often thought that O-Lan was such a wonderful wife and partner to Wang Lung and really made him what he was from behind the scenes. I can't wait to see how the rest of the trilogy goes. ( )

The Good Earth tells the saga of one man’s life in peasant China. I assumed it was the late 1800s, but the time period was hard to place. In the first scene, Wang Lung is a very poor farmer on his wedding day, about to marry a slave girl from the great house of Hwang. As his luck variably changes for both good and ill over the years, the land is his constant: he turns to the cool, dark soil to walk and work in. In the end, he is an old man, about to die, and ready to turn the land over to his sons.

The writing was beautiful. I loved Pearl Buck’s almost Biblical prose that just flowed like poetry. And yet, probably a dozen times, I almost stopped listening to the audiobook because of the blatant mistreatment of women by all the characters. It was difficult to persevere to the end. And yet, since it was written by a woman who lived in China for much of her life, I figured she had a deeper point behind the misogyny.

I know I would have to reread it a few times before I can truly put in to words all that this is about. There is so much there. Maybe next time I read it, I won’t be blinded by the plight of the women.

More thoughts on my blog

This book is a fascinating look at life inside pre-industrial China. The author does an excellent job of conveying Wang Lung's passion for his land and the value that it holds. The most interesting part of the novel is the descriptions of class differences and luxuries (happiness?) that belong to each class. In the beginning Wang Lung is a poor farmer pleased with luxuries like a few tea leaves in his morning water. Towards the end of the book he is a wealthy land owner and member of the upper class who is no longer happy despite all his possessions. Does happiness come with wealth, or merely more obligations? This book is appropriate for HS readers although some may find it a slow read. ( )

It is a powerful morality tale that suggests greed and ill-goten gain will lay the seeds of corruption. Wang Lung's betrayal of O-lan, modesty, and good sense reveals his tragic flaw. However, O-lan evolves into the heroic figure as she quietly perserveres for the sake of the family. Overall, it's an outstanding selection for middle school readers and beyoud. ( )

I rarely enjoy a book as I enjoyed this one. As historical fiction goes, this novel was different from others I have read, because it isn't centered on any specific historical event. It's a character-driven story, which also happens to give tremendous insight into a particular time and place in history. The mood in this novel is probably its greatest strength; the reader experiences the great joy, pride, shame, and fear of the major characters, and really comes to care about their labors. I would recommend this book indiscriminately, its appeal should be universal. ( )

This book was very interesting in the beginning, but toward the end it seemed that it stretched out a bit too much. The earlier chapters described some of the customs and traditions of China during that time period and were much more interesting than the ending chapters. As Wang Lung became elderly and his sons began to become independent, I found myself just wanting this story to end. ( )

Highly readable novel based on Buck's own experience of life in China.

http://pulitzerpalaver.blogspot.com/2... ( )

Reading The Good Earth was a clarifying experience for me: Pearl S. Buck's novel is a famous and well-executed example of a mode of novel-writing that I personally dislike, and as such, it helped me understand my position towards books like it. Buck is quoted, on the back of my edition, as having said "I can only write what I know, and I know nothing but China, having always lived there." To me this seems exactly true: the story of farmer Wang Lung and his wife O-Lan is about China, not about individuals who happen to be Chinese. It reads, to me, as more of an educational primer on traditional Chinese culture than a novel about real people. Wang Lung functions as a kind of Platonic ideal of pre-revolutionary Chinese peasantry (and, later, of pre-revolutionary Chinese wealth); every impulse or priority he possesses can be generalized to the populace at large. So he is healed and sustained by his connection to the land, because his culture lives by the agricultural economy of the time. He seeks a sturdy, hard-working wife because these are the qualities generally prized in peasant women, and spares a moment of regret that she cannot be pretty, because everyone desires physical attractiveness in a partner. He exults in her ability to bear sons because males are valued in traditional Chinese culture, and fears as a bad omen when she bears a girl, because females are culturally devalued. He works hard, because the peasantry is hard-working. He yearns to buy land and take the place of the formerly-grand family in his district, because he lives in a hierarchical social structure and all those on the bottom would rather be on the top. And so on.

Even Wang Lung's flaws and weaknesses are presented as typical, rather than exceptional. As he amasses wealth he starts spending more frivolously, as upper-class people (according to this analysis) typically do. One year, when the land is flooded and can't be worked, he becomes restless and snappish, eventually going into town and becoming enamored of a young prostitute. The implication is that when the Chinese peasants have money to spend and are not working the land, they will get into trouble:

"Now if the waters had at this time receded from Wang Lung's land, leaving it wet and smoking under the sun, so that in a few days of summer heat it would need to have been ploughed and harrowed and seed put in, Wang Lung might never have gone again to the great tea shop. Or if a child had fallen ill or the old man had reached suddenly the end of his days, Wang Lung might have been caught up in the new thing and so forgotten the pointed face upon the scroll and the body of the woman slender as bamboo.

"But the waters lay placid and unmoved except for the slight summer wind that rose at sunset, and the old man dozed and the two boys trudged to school at dawn and were away until evening and in his house Wang Lung was restless and he avoided the eyes of O-lan who looked at him miserably as he went here and there and flung himself down in a chair and rose from it without drinking the tea she poured and without smoking the pipe he had lit. At the end of one long day, more long than any other, in the seventh month, when the twilight lingered murmurous and sweet with the breath of the lake, he stood at the door of his house, and suddenly without a word he turned abruptly and went into his room and put on his new coat, even the coat of black shining cloth, as shining almost as silk, that O-lan made for feast days, and with no word to anyone he went through the fields until he came to the darkness of the city gate and through this he went and through the streets until he came to the new tea shop."

Wang Lung's behavior and mental health always suffer when he is away from the land, and he is always healed as soon as he gets back to working it - because, again, the life blood of the peasantry is the land, and Wang Lung is the ultimate peasant. When he finds economic success and moves to the town (because his society prizes those from the town over those from the country), he feels less happy and present: "Everything seemed not so good to him as it was before." Here is the Protestant idea, shared by Maoists and embodied by Wang Lung, that true virtue and happiness consists in hard, manual labor, and the pursuit of material opulence is a false quest.

O-lan, similarly, is the Platonic Chinese peasant wife: she is made unhappy by Wang Lung's new consort, but she bears it humbly because that is what's expected from her, only exercising her culturally-mandated prerogative to cut the second woman when she sees her. She bears each child alone and silently, returning to the fields later the same day, because the ideal wife labors beside her husband without complaint. When Wang Lung begins to amass wealth, she binds the feet of their daughter because the feet of upper-class women are bound. She is an excellent household administrator, because a wife should be, but she never makes herself conspicuous, because women should keep a low profile. Et cetera.

There's nothing wrong with this type of storytelling; some people like their characters to seem universal in this particular way. This story-type was very popular in the socialist-minded 1930's (The Good Earth came out in 1931), because it so neatly prioritizes class conflict and typically glorifies the working classes, in addition to being written in a widely-accessible style. Personally, I find it's not to my taste. I am probably displaying my western-ness in my preference for stories with highly individualized characters who are engaged in more complex and subtle ways with the mores of their societies. Nevertheless, Buck's novel is well-written, with a quiet, well-balanced plot, and I can understand its enduring popularity even if it won't become a favorite of mine.

This was required reading in high school. I found it quite interesting to read again from an adult perspective.Much of this book enrages me - which in my opinion proves it to be well-written. It grabbed my attention and my emotions. It unfortunately didn't improve my (already much too low) opinion of men in general. I appreciate the overall message of the story despite my misgivings and find it well worth the read. (Or perhaps re-read.) ( )

A great book, worthy of the title classic. Story of the farmer Wang Lung and his rise up the class ladder through hard work, and some luck. Beautifully written characters and storyline, I really fell in love with the Wang family. ( )

http://amiralace.blogspot.com/2005/01... ( )

This is an excellant book and it's easy to see why Pearl Buck won the Pulitzer for this great novel of pre-revolutionary Chinese life. The beauty in the book is that no single section stands out above the rest. The greatness is in the sum of the parts. You appreciate it's true beauty after completing the book and reflecting on it for a while. Buck wonderfully creates the tension in the main character Wang Lung as he struggles between his own conscience and the traditional Chinese values. It's easy to become engrossed by the characters as you see the rise of a poor CHinese farmer and family to become rich all by living off the land. Anyone interested in traditional Chinese culture and a good story as well will definately like this classic book. ( )

This book grabs you. The characters are as real as it gets. Each part flows into the next seamlessly. You end up living with the characters while you are reading the book. Each nuance and detail stands out. I can still replay some scenes, as I imagine them, even though it has been a good year or more since I read it. Some people don't like the characters of the story, but taking cultural differences into account and human weakness and strength, I find them to be real in their timeless flaws and virtues. ( )

Splendid look at historical life in China—despite its inherently unlikable characters. ( )

Pearl Buck's classic novel is an epic portrayal of agrarian China near the turn of the twentieth century, leading up to the 1912 Revolution. The novel opens on the wedding day of Wang Lung, a poor farmer. His wife, O-lan, has spent her youth as a slave for a wealthy family in town. Up to this time, Wang Lung has had to care for his father in addition to farming the land, and he is simply glad to have someone to cook, clean, and tend to his father while he works the land. His relationship with O-lan develops, in a traditional way, as she bears him children and works with him in the fields. During a time of widespread crop failure, they migrate to a southern city and learn to survive in far different conditions. But the pull of the land is strong, and eventually Wang Lung and his family return to their home town and prosper as farmers and landowners.

Over the years the family experiences birth, death, marriage, and war; happiness as well as suffering. Buck brings the characters of Wang Lung, O-lan, and their children to life. Wang Lung could be rather distasteful by modern, western standards, even when he was simply trying to provide the best for his family. At other times, he was motivated by selfish desires and made decisions which would be harmful viewed through any cultural lens. And I felt sorry for O-lan, who was helpless under his partriarchal rule.

Towards the end of The Good Earth, Wang Lung prepares to pass his land to his sons, just as China is preparing to pass over into a new era of its own. My edition of this book included a reader's supplement with cultural notes and photos of weddings, markets, and ordinary people which helped bring the story and the time period to life. This book is more than just an epic family saga, it also paints a fascinating picture of the life and customs of a country on the brink of dramatic change. ( )

Excellent book. I read it with Oprah. It is an awesome story. It is a true classic story. ( )

I had this book on my pile for months, and just now found enough spare time to read it. So far, i am completely riveted. Although the part I am in is wrenching, to say the least, I cannot put it down. The storytelling is so simple and beautiful because of it. I can't wait to finish.

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. ( )

Although my kids read this book in high school, I wasn't enticed to read it until I was well past that age. The Good Earth gave me the appetite to read more about the diversity of Chinese culture, and then to expand that interest to other cultures. I now seek books about many different cultures (especially biographies) in order to open my mind. ( )