The Good Earth - a brilliant and compelling classic
I just finished The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck.
And wow, I have to say I'm amazed. This book blew me away. I loved the plot - it was so intriguing. The beginning of the book is misleading, as I felt it was a bit boring and going a bit slow. But during the middle and end, the book definitely reaches its zenith, and I was utterly compelled to keep reading.
Wang Lung is a poor Chinese farmer. In the beginning of the book, he wakes up to his marriage day. On this day, he goes to the great House of Hwang and gets a kitchen slave as his wife. O-lan, his wife, is a plain woman whose feet are unbound. She is not pretty, but she bears for Wang Lung many children. She also takes care of him, and all the while Wang Lung continually underappreciates her. She is like a shadow in the background - only being used for Wang Lung's pleasure, for bearing him children, and for cooking and cleaning. A turn of events finds Wang Lung rich and prosperous, and when this happens, Wang Lung grows insouciant and haughty. Silver trickles out of his hands like water as he squanders his money on everything and anything. When he grows lustful, he goes to a tea shop, and soon there, he finds a beautiful, petite woman to pleasure himself with. As Wang Lung grows more and more prosperous, his personality changes more and more, and at times it seems like every vestige of the poor country farmer that Wang Lung once was, is gone.
I think The Good Earth ultimately explores human nature - especially avarice, lust, and depravity. It illustrates the destiny of man through the farmer Wang Lung. Pearl S. Buck wrote The Good Earth eloquently and beautifully. She writes in a way so that you care for the characters, that you sympathize with them.
I really enjoyed reading about Wang Lung and all of his experiences - the good and the bad. It is no surprise to me now why The Good Earth won the Pulitzer Prize in the 1930s, and why Pearl S. Buck is a Nobel-prize winning author. I know that she was a daughter of a missionary in China, but even writing as a white woman, she transcends the difference in culture and writes confidently and accurately about China and Chinese customs.
I highly commend her for doing this, and am adding The Good Earth to my list of favourite books.
I highly recommend The Good Earth. It is a book that I underestimated at first, because of the beginning, but I stuck with it and it was definitely worth it in the end. Not only does The Good Earth explore the Chinese culture, but its message is one that is universal to everyone.
And wow, I have to say I'm amazed. This book blew me away. I loved the plot - it was so intriguing. The beginning of the book is misleading, as I felt it was a bit boring and going a bit slow. But during the middle and end, the book definitely reaches its zenith, and I was utterly compelled to keep reading.
Wang Lung is a poor Chinese farmer. In the beginning of the book, he wakes up to his marriage day. On this day, he goes to the great House of Hwang and gets a kitchen slave as his wife. O-lan, his wife, is a plain woman whose feet are unbound. She is not pretty, but she bears for Wang Lung many children. She also takes care of him, and all the while Wang Lung continually underappreciates her. She is like a shadow in the background - only being used for Wang Lung's pleasure, for bearing him children, and for cooking and cleaning. A turn of events finds Wang Lung rich and prosperous, and when this happens, Wang Lung grows insouciant and haughty. Silver trickles out of his hands like water as he squanders his money on everything and anything. When he grows lustful, he goes to a tea shop, and soon there, he finds a beautiful, petite woman to pleasure himself with. As Wang Lung grows more and more prosperous, his personality changes more and more, and at times it seems like every vestige of the poor country farmer that Wang Lung once was, is gone.
I think The Good Earth ultimately explores human nature - especially avarice, lust, and depravity. It illustrates the destiny of man through the farmer Wang Lung. Pearl S. Buck wrote The Good Earth eloquently and beautifully. She writes in a way so that you care for the characters, that you sympathize with them.
I really enjoyed reading about Wang Lung and all of his experiences - the good and the bad. It is no surprise to me now why The Good Earth won the Pulitzer Prize in the 1930s, and why Pearl S. Buck is a Nobel-prize winning author. I know that she was a daughter of a missionary in China, but even writing as a white woman, she transcends the difference in culture and writes confidently and accurately about China and Chinese customs.
I highly commend her for doing this, and am adding The Good Earth to my list of favourite books.
I highly recommend The Good Earth. It is a book that I underestimated at first, because of the beginning, but I stuck with it and it was definitely worth it in the end. Not only does The Good Earth explore the Chinese culture, but its message is one that is universal to everyone.