The Good Earth

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Summary: This book's not just about Chinese people--it's about people
Review: By the time I was assigned to read this in junior high, I had already read this book approximately seventeen times. I still enjoyed reading it for school. I've read it several times since then. It immerses you in historic China and makes you believe these people existed and their lives were lived in just that way--the best honor for a fiction book. The language is a delight, and gives a deep sense of the formality of Chinese culture and language. All in all, it's a classic.

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Summary: A truly timeless novel
Review: I recently read this novel for a book report. I am only in 8th grade, so I may not have grasped all the concepts of this book completely, but I still understand it and still believe it to be one of the greatest books I've read. Wang Lung's humble devotion to his land is the main reason I love it so much, even though O-lan was my favorite character. The ending was a little shocking and sad, which is the only reason I gave it a 4. It's a must read for any age!

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Summary: The Good Earth teaches as much as it entertains.
Review: In The Good Earth, Pearl Buck paints a detailed picture of China, which teaches just as much as it entertains. Chinese history is one of the aspects that makes The Good Earth worth reading. The book is set in the early twentieth century, about the time of the Republican Revolution of 1911, a bourgeois democratic revolution. Several other poignant occurrences (i.e. the Boxer Rebellion) give an accurate depiction of the period. Although The Good Earth is written in English, Pearl Buck has a gift of actually making us feel like we are reading Chinese. Her characters speak in short, concise sentences. The English that she writes is grammatically correct, but would probably be considered awkward or different if spoken in everyday America. For example, in chapter twelve, she writes, "Yes, one would say that in this city there could be none who starved." In the United States, we say something like, "No one could be starving in a city like that." Buck's way of speaking shows knowledge of the Chinese language. Buck's gift with words is also vital to the description of the roles of men and women in China. Male characters are active speakers, and may say anything they wish. However, female characters are soft-spoken, and when they mutter even a word, it must be said with the utmost propriety. Along with her mechanisms of language and history, Buck has created a book that appeals to our emotions. We fight with Wang Lung through all the hardships he faces as a father and as a farmer. We struggle with O-lan as she is unappreciated and very much alone. Also, we rejoice when the characters prosper. Before reading The Good Earth, China was a faraway place, which I did not think about often. Now, thanks to Buck's perceptive portrayal of the early twentieth-century Chinese world, I have a new knowledge of this distant land.

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Summary: true life fiction.
Review: the reason this book is good is because it is realistic. it could have happened. and being a "happy farmer" just wasnt possible. sorry...

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Summary: beautiful classic book
Review: This is the first book I'd read by Buck. I found the story realistic and sad, and usually I can't bear to finish such books. I finished this one. If you're looking for a classic book authored by a woman (how I came to this work) I highly suggest "The Good Earth."

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Summary: Thought-provoking book that is an entertaining read!
Review: Still timeless all these years! Very well written. I read this book in junior high and loved it then. I'm enjoying it even more as an adult. Good set of characters!

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Summary: An extraordinary book about life's glory and sorrow
Review: This is one of the best historical books I have ever read.From the beginning you were intrigued with the life of the young chinese farmer. However, at time it dragged on in the middle, but towards the end it picked up and left you in a state of wonderment.

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Summary: Vivid descriptions from a writer behind her time
Review: More than anything else, this book shows how vapid the Pulitzer Prize folks are. This is a good book in many ways: it carries you away like a good mystery, engulfs you in scenery, and keeps the story running. However, Buck didn't learn even the obvious lessons taught by Mark Twain et al. before her time about avoiding florid language and contrived dialog. It's a book with a purpose and probably (for I know no better) with a strong sense of the state of things in China during period in question, but it's also a frankly adolescent piece of writing.

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Summary: i did not like this book at all. it was too confusing.
Review: i did not like this book. it was too confusing

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Summary: I give it 2 thumbs up!!!!!!
Review: This is simply one of the purest, bets, most humbling books i have ever read. Summer reading list or not, read this book.