The Good Earth (House of Earth, #1) in Never too Late to Read Classics

Jul 21, 2015 Chrissie rated it liked it

Shelves: audible-us, hf, classics, 2015-read, china

I noticed right away when I began the book that Pearl S. Buck's writing style was special. The language is simple and clear, but at the same time emotive. There isn't a wasted word. There is a quietness in the lines that fills you with emotion. You watch a traditional, hard-working family, one very much tied to the soil, struggling to make something of themselves. The historical details are diffuse; I would guess that the story is set in the first decades of the 1900s. The book was published in I noticed right away when I began the book that Pearl S. Buck's writing style was special. The language is simple and clear, but at the same time emotive. There isn't a wasted word. There is a quietness in the lines that fills you with emotion. You watch a traditional, hard-working family, one very much tied to the soil, struggling to make something of themselves. The historical details are diffuse; I would guess that the story is set in the first decades of the 1900s. The book was published in 1931 and the time period covered probably ends in the thirties, when the central character Wang Lung is in his 70s. The book is in fact the first of a trilogy. The author, Pearl S. Buck, won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1938.

So what is the story about? A young Chinese couple, Wang Lung and O-lan, begin with nothing. The marriage was arranged and they knew nothing of each other. This book follows their lives and their children. Grandchildren are born but their lives are for the next books of the trilogy. For me, the story reads as an allegorical tale about the ups and downs of life. It is about how we change as we pass from childhood to adulthood and finally old age. It is also about the value of land. It cannot be stolen, as gold or silver or gems can be stolen. It gives sustenance, and it gives pleasure. Working the land gives a purpose to life and immense satisfaction.

The traditions and customs of China are beautifully drawn - clothing and food, marriages and birth and death, yearly celebrations, sexual discrimination. Customs are drawn so you see how the Chinese people feel about their own traditions. How do they see concubines and foot-binding and beauty. And ugliness. Book learning and war and famine. The role and status of the elderly, the position of the eldest son, the daughters, the retarded. What was it like to grow up in China in the early 1900s as one of the multitude? And what is success? The reader recognizes that which is common to all people and that which is specific to life in China.

When I began listening I wasn't thrilled with the narration by George Guidall, but it grew on me. I ended up really liking it. The lines are read slowly and movingly. Nice long pauses. Time to ponder. Time to shed a tear before the story continues.

I came to care deeply for Wang Lung and O-lan, but not for any of the other characters. This is why I hesitate to continue with the trilogy. This was a good story, movingly told, by an author that has a unique way of saying things simply, quietly and powerfully. The story itself isn't exceptional, but how it is told is. ...more

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Apr 03, 2017 Kelly_Hunsaker_reads ... rated it it was amazing

Shelves: classics, pulitzer, oprah-bookclub

Pearl S Buck loved China and it show in this book. She wrote this story with beauty, simplicity and poignancy. Every word is part of one long love letter to the land and the culture. As I read this book I found myself wandering across the globe and through time. My great-great aunt was a nun who lived in China from 1929 - 1949 and her letters described the people and the place with the same reverence.

I will revisit Wang Lung and O-lan again very soon.

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Dec 25, 2012 Ellen Librarian rated it really liked it

I've wanted to read this classic for ages and I'm glad I finally got to it now that I'm on a China kick. The story, which follows the changing fortunes of a peasant family in pre-revolution China, is easy to read in that it is written in deceptively simple prose. But it's anything but a simple story. Buck's genius is in weaving a quintessentially Chinese story that also feels universal. ...more

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Sep 11, 2017 Becca rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2017-read-in-colour, fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Wang Lung is getting married, and he realizes that he is a man and must provide for his woman. As they age, work together, have a family and save, we get a glimpse into the life of farmer and his relationship to the earth, which contrasts with the rich in the area.

Wang Lung's focus is almost always on the land, until he gets rich...then it moves into idleness and "rich man" behavior, such as purchasing another woman. We fear that he will follow similar patterns as the Lord from whom O-Lan (his ...more

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