Rating: 
Summary: An Excellent Book to Read
Review: Pearl S. Buck's novel THE GOOD EARTH takes place during the 19th century. The story starts out as Wang Lung, a poor peasant begins his own family, after purchasing O-Lan, a servant. You learn about him and the ups and downs he encounters throughout his life, and how he rises to being a wealthy noble. You will also learn a lot about how the chinese lived during that time. Throughout the book, the author stresses how important Wang Lung's land was. Though Wang Lung had extremely hard parts of his life, when his family had absolutely nothing, he never gave up on his land. He knew that it was important to keep. I thought the book was very interesting. I learn a few lessons after reading it. At times the story was a little drawn out and lost my concentration, but overall the book was interesting. The book was also emotional at times. I would suggest reading this book if you like learning about different cultures.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting novel undermined by stiff prose
Review: Upon its publication in the early 1930's, Pearl Buck's "The Good Earth" must have been a curiosity -- a novel written by an American woman, based on her experiences and observations, about a Chinese family in their homeland. Wang Lung, the main character, is a diligent farmer who lives and works on a modest bit of land with his new bride, a former servant girl named O-lan, and his widowed father. As time goes by, one year brings drought and famine and Wang Lung moves his family to a distant city to find better opportunities. He gets a job pulling a rickshaw while O-lan and the children beg in the streets and even once resort to stealing meat from a butcher, which offends Wang Lung's sense of honesty. An interesting scene develops when he encounters a white Christian missionary who gives him, without explanation, a picture of the Crucifixion, an image that puzzles and horrifies him. During a peasant revolt against a wealthy house, he and O-lan acquire some money with which they are able to return to their own land and buy even more. With agricultural conditions now more favorable, Wang Lung builds his farm into a profitable business with time and hard work, and he can afford now to send his two oldest sons to a school for the education that he had never had for himself. As his wealth increases, his house becomes a small dynasty of extended family, including his troublesome uncle and cousin, and numerous servants and concubines, including a prostitute named Lotus whom he "bought" when his newfound prosperity presented him with too much spare time in which he grew bored with O-lan. At the end of his life, Wang Lung realizes that, despite the vast riches he has amassed, he has never shed the soul of a farmer and an almost religious relationship with the soil, one which his materialistic sons do not share. Implied in the novel's title, and illustrated in Wang Lung's dramatic reversal of fortune, is that the welfare of these farmers depends almost solely on the bounty of the earth and the mercy of nature. In fact, the story is a little too simplistic. It feels like a fable, containing simple lessons about hard work, kindness, pride, greed, and other basic human traits, written in stiff, mechanical prose that seems intended for young or naive readers. It contains the kind of sentimentality and melodrama that seems appropriate for a silent movie. Most curiously, it is not as thoroughly descriptive of Chinese culture, society, and geography as, say, Rudyard Kipling's writing about India or Paul Bowles's writing about northern Africa, but I suspect that Buck's other books about China provide more extensive detail. But despite my criticisms, "The Good Earth" is an informative, if not very effective, work.
Rating: 
Summary: It's Either Boring or Really Amazing
Review: This book is one that will either fascinate or bore you. In fact, your reaction may depend on when you read it as much as who you are. I was supposed to read this in high school, and I only made it halfway through, because it just didn't interest me. I couldn't relate to a poor farmer in pre-industrial China trying to care for his family while questioning the primary values of life itself. The issues didn't relate to me at all as an American middle-class teenager. I thought it was really boring. However, now that I am older, have a job, a family, a commute, no spare time, rare chances to be outside, and a healthy case of jaded cynicism, I can really appreciate this novel. At this point in my life, the agricultural lifestyle shown in _The Good Earth_ is fascinating and refreshing to read about. It helps me to appreciate all the amenities I take advantage of every minute of every day. It is incredible to imagine that a lack of rain could bring death. And of course, peasant uprisings are sort of an unfamiliar occurance in America these days as well. I can also empathize with Wang Lung's basic dependence on, and suceptibility to, forces out of his control. Luck plays a part in his destiny as much as hard work. The most interesting theme in the book is watching how the characters' circumstances affect their ethics, and their personalities, which is something applicable to anyone in its general details. In high school I had a substitute English teacher who was raised in China. She happened to teach my class while we were reading _The Good Earth_ . She ranted one day that "Pearl Buck doesn't know the real China!", although she didn't elaborate. Whether this book is accurate to the China of this time period is irrelevant to the story of human dilligence, hardship, luck, and happiness, which adults from any culture can empathize with.
Rating:
Summary: A well written novel
Review: I read this book on a plane flight to England. I didn't even notice the time pass by =) The book is written in simple language and is easy to understand. The plot follows one man, Wang Lung, from his marriage to his "retirement" of sorts. It shows many aspects of Chinese life during that time period as well as some universal lessons. A good book to read!
Rating:
Summary: A classic about Chinese peasant life before the Revolution
Review: This book earned Pearl Buck the Nobel Prize for its depiction of the life of the Chinese peasant and his relationship to the land. It's simple writing style captured the thoughts and feelings of the peasant Wang Lung. The story line could be found in any culture; a simple peasant, close to the earth and honest in his efforts, marries a woman who brings him good fortune and sons. His hard work eventually brings him wealth but also a share of unhappiness he is not equipped to handle. The transition from peasant to wealthy landowner is fascinating. The background of warlord China and the end of the old Manchu empire is wonderfully drawn from the view point of the peasants in the provinces distant from the Northern Capital, Beijing. The language style is so beautiful in this book. This is a book worth reading and re-reading. Buck was a great story-teller, and the Good Earth is a true classic.
Rating:
Summary: A Must Read!
Review: The Good Earth is by far the most fantastic tale of adventure through the eyes of a Chinese peasant that will propel you through dramatic twists of love, ambition, greed, and fate. The art of story telling has been perfected by this piece of work by Pearl S. Buck!
Rating:
Summary: Kristen & Sarah's Review of "The Good Earth"
Review: Wang Lung starts out as a likebale character. As the book proceeds, he becomes a more of a...let's say..."non-likeable" man. In other words, he was a PIG...yes a pig...a P-I-G - PIG! O-lan on the other hand, was a very respectable woman who did everything she could to help her family...with the exception of killing her daughter, but that's not the point, is it? Moving on with the story, Wang Lung has a...well..."interesting" uncle who decides that since he is starving to death, it would protocol to eat 3 of his daughters, I mean they were just girls right? Well when the drought comes along and Wang Lung, O-lan, Wang Lung's grandfather, and their children must move south. They take the "firewagon" (a.k.a- A TRAIN) and arrive there with their few belongings. They then build a hut out of mats. They have...well...no money. So, Wang Lung earned his "living" by pulling jinrickshas while his wife, grandfather, and children beg for money and food. Later in the book...well since we are only about halfway through now...we'll be sure to get back to you when we find out what happens next...
Rating:
Summary: Remarkable Work
Review: I have read this book three times now, not because there is nothing else to read but because it is such a good book. It is amazing to trace the life of Wang Lung, from the dirt poor farmer to a wealthy man and to see how money affects him along the way. The characters are remarkable and you empathize especially with O-lan who endures so much for her husband yet never becomes happy. The book also emphasizes not losing your roots or your culture for that is what made you who you are. The characters in the book undergo constant changes and barely resemble the men and woman you meet at the begginning of the book, yet this change is gradual and skillfully done and of course not all characters change for the good. This book is truly an exceptional work.
Rating:
Summary: Dirt farming makes for a clean living...
Review: It is a story of rags to riches. It is a story of youthful ambition that becomes aged boredom and means without purpose. The story conjures memories of one of my favorite excerpts of bathroom graffitti: "When I climbed to the top rung of the corporate ladder of success.... I discovered that I was a roofer." Buck writes of a simple Chinese farmer, a man who humbly approaches the local aristocracy for want of one of the house slaves to become his wife and bear his children. Together, he and his wife raise a family and methodically and carefully become the newest of aristocratic land barons that they so timidly revered in their youth. The contentment this once simple slave to the earth dreamed of leaving in his past, he fondly cherishes in the prosperity of his old age. He watches wealth corrupt himself and his family, as he once witnessed of the former gentry, all the while thinking that he would be immune to these temptations if he were standing in their hallowed shoes. Buck writes with a prose that captures all of the simple story-telling characteristics of the Orient. The sentences are kept short, the point is made and the story is told without the frills and thrills that a modern-day American author might be known to incorporate. The story and its premise are clear enough that a child could read and understand it, but I reserve my recommendation that your children may include this in their reading repertoire. There are some issues of morality that may or may not seem objectionable in this day, age and in the company of Americans. It condones the presence of polygamy and theft as a means to advance one's self, and at the same time illustrates the results of such questionable ethics. But, dear reader, if there were one message to take with you after perusing this cheerless story, it is that no matter how wealthy Wang Lung may have ever been... his heart prospers in his land and he remains the simple farmer he has always been.
Rating:
Summary: Read it many times, still enthralled...
Review: I stumbled across this book years ago in my high school library, and I have never been the same. I am so glad that I was never forced to read this book in school and that it wasn't ruined for me by English teachers. It's sad to think that this has happened for many students because it is a breathtaking book. If you have never read this book, please do. If required reading in school gave you a bad taste in your mouth for this book, pick it up again and give it another try...read it for yourself and in your own way. It is a wonderful book...a treasured favorite on my bookcase. For most Americans, _The Good Earth_ will be a shock. It is a very foreign, alien book with people interacting in ways very different from our own society. _The Good Earth_ takes place in rural, pre-Communist China. It's the story of a farmer and his family and how they acquire land and wealth and the lifealtering changes (for the better and definitely for the worse) that result from the corrupting power of money. This book gives a valuable glimpse into the Chinese concept of filial duty. The family relationships and obligations may surprise many Americans who function under a much different dynamic. The relationships between men and women are also strikingly different and can be very disturbing. But the book as a whole is a lovingly rendered story that draws the reader into caring about the characters. As time passes in the book, the reader has the unique privilege of growing and maturing with the family. As you turn the last page and read the final word, your mind and soul will thank you for the enriching experience. I strongly recommend this book.
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