I LOVE BOOKS 2008-10-23

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

I read this book years ago and it has stayed with me ever since.
Originally published in 1931, it won the Pulitzer prize the following year.

The setting is in China, right before the revolution. Wang Lung is a poor farmer in a village and the book starts with his wedding to plain O-lan. They have four children together, three boys and one girl. He is a very hard working farmer and bit by bit, thanks also to O-lan's skills, he builds a fortune by buying land from the House of Hwangs's family, landowners in a nearest village whose wealth declines dramatically due to their relentless spending.

We are dipped into Chinese culture, taken from the seemingly bottomless poverty of the early days throughout the rise to wealth, only to be propelled downwards again due to a terrible draught and subsequent famine, when everything seems lost and the family has to move to the city, starting all over again.

We are reading spectators of the rise and fall and twists & turns of Wang Lung's family. Many touching episodes have moved me throughout the book, especially the ones connected with hard-working, silent, subservient O-lan and later on, the ones related to their mentally retarded baby girl.

The story is absorbing and mesmerizing, exquisitely written. Page after page, truly unforgettable. A must-read classic.

R. Nicholson 2008-10-17

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

This is Pearl S. Buck's stunning Pulitzer prize winning novel, 'The Good Earth'; it was written in 1931.

The book itself is easy to read, written in plain language using simple words to describe people, places and things. No dictionary or thesaurus needed here.

This is not only the story of Wang Lung and his wife O-lan (by arranged marriage), but also in a sense, a historical novel that gives the reader a glimpse of early 20th century, rural China. The tale follows Wang Lung life that starts from the humblest of beginnings; to later, when the winds of revolution started to bring a subtle but steady changes to his way of life as he knew it, with some unexpected effects.

While reading this book, I could not help but feel that this story could be transposed to any poor rural area almost anywhere in the world; its theme has a universal chord to it.

Conclusion:
A beautiful story of a changing China and its people.
Highly recommended.
5 Stars

R.Nicholson

L. Gajewski 2008-09-07

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

This book does exactly what the author intended: It creates a picture of the Chinese culture right before the arrival of the revolution, providing a view of a world quite different from our own. I have read several of the negative reviews, and my advice is, if you cannot for one moment let go of your attitude that the only right way is the way we do it now--the Christian American way--then you're going to have trouble with this book. Also, if you think that all writing has to be at the level of modern pulp fiction, then you also will be sadly disappointed. But if you read the book for what it is, a picture of a particular place and time, then this is an excellent book to develop a certain sense of understanding of the Chinese culture, particularly the agrarian part of it. These are not good people or bad people; they are just people of a particular ethnicity, with their own set of motivations and traditions. They are going to do things we don't like or understand, but then that is the purpose of a book like this--to make us think not in terms of right and wrong but in terms of why.

Ms. "J" 2008-08-15

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

Really liked this book, but hated how Wang Lung and his family treated his oldest daughter. She is never given a name. She's only referred to as "The Fool". The family leaves her to play alone, outside, with her piece of cloth. Rarely do they check up on her. And, if nobody thinks about it she is sometimes left outdoors. She's treated this way just because she is mentally challenged. It's bad enough that Wang and the other does this. But, it's really hurtful, that O-lan, the mother, does this. You would think that maternal instinct would cause her to feel differently. However, it doesn't.

Joni D. Myers 2008-08-08

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

This is a classic novel about the human condition. The innocence and tentativeness of unproven youth; the rise and fall of an individual's fortunes (monetary and otherwise); the boredom and potential for dissolution that middle age can bring; and finally the nodding, smiling dotage at the end of a life. All the seven deadly sins as well as the seven virtues are illustrated in this novel and it achieves greatness through its beautiful and tragic depiction of each. This book transcends cultures as we can all relate to the feelings these characters experienced.

My book club recently read this and while several members had read it previously, some, including me, had not. It was an absolute delight and I wish I had picked it up sooner.

If I had to make any criticism of the book, it would be that the end was a bit abrupt after all that I felt I had invested in the main character of Wang Lung.