Rating: 
Summary: The best book I ever read!
Review: It has been has been over 18 years since I read this remarkable book, yet it still holds a lasting impression on my mind. Very few books that are required reading left such a mark on my mind. The Good Earth is in a class of its own.The Good Earth really helps you realize how a money and wealth can change people not just on the outside but on the inside. You see how Wang Lung changes his ways and values. You also see how growing up rich compares to growing up poor and how that could effect one's attitude towards life and others. One generation can change things dramatically when wealth comes in to play. The parents may have been hardworking to get wealthy and the offspring they yeild seem prone to laziness that only opulence can allow. Pearl Buck managed to bring China's history to light in a way that Americans could understand. I never thought I would like a historical book on China...but I could really relate to these characters even though their lifestyle and traditions were so foreign to me. It is a life changing look in to the a whole different world than we are accustomed to. This is the #1 book that I reccommend to my friends. It really makes you stop and think about what is TRULY important in life and to appreciate what you have and not to take things for granted.
Rating:
Summary: The worth of land...
Review: This book was an easy read and an enjoyable one at that. For any of you who like an interesting story of hard work and earning a living this is the book for you. The point of this book is to show how with a little hard work and faith in your self and your family you can accomplish anything. This book makes you feel good about yourself and encourages you to work for what you want. Because before you can be the talk of the town you have to give em something to talk about!
Rating:
Summary: ONE OF THE FINEST PIECES OF LITERATURE EVER WRITTEN!
Review: The Good Earth is a masterpiece written by a literary genius! This book held me spellbound from the first word to the last. At the same time, it was a very educational book for it drew me into the minds and hearts of the Chinese people of a long-ago era. Who needs to read Chinese history when he/she can read Pearl Buck's works? Her novels ARE Chinese history, and they are very exciting. I have read The Good Earth twice and hope to read it again in the future. I also saw the movie, but, as usually happens, Hollywood takes a classic and destroys it. If I had seen the movie first, I would not have read The Good Earth, and that would have been a shame! Incidentally, I thought that Paul Muni, who was always one of my favorite actors, was terribly miscast as the lead.
Rating:
Summary: Stunning
Review: The Good Earth stands as one of the greatest books ever written. Truly, Buck is excellent. The Good Earth is first and foremost a book about life: the good, the bad and all the rather mediocre. The plot, such as it is, moves along at a relentess pace, letting us wander through life as it was in another place and time. One literally feels the raw emotion radiating from the characters. Before the book is done, you know them all like old friends. Life is filled with ups and downs and so it is here. One may be poor one moment and rich the next but beware, it can change again in an instant. The sheer scope and power of this masterpiece makes one wish it would go on forever. The closing scene is one of the most powerful and brilliant writings in literature anywhere. The circle of life, the change, the growth. This is what this book tells of. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It will always be with you.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Earth-Good Book
Review: This is definitely one of my favorite books of all time. This taught me a lot about 19th century china and the transitions that were taking place during that time. And, it's also a great story. The end was sad though. It shows how generation after generation culture and heritage become more and more diluted.
Rating: 
Summary: The Good Earth
Review: Pearl Bucks "The Good Earth" gives us her slant of life in 19th Century China via the life story of Wang Lung, a poor peasant farmer who rises above his lot in life to become a wealthy landowner. Written in a straightforward manner, easy to follow and comprehend, it trots along at a sufficient pace to maintain the readers' interest. Her benign approach to story telling never taints the subject matter with personal bias or opinion, always remaining true to culture and tradition of life in China as she saw it. Overall it's a good book.
Rating:
Summary: A Timeless Masterpiece
Review: This book has transcended generations in its appreciation and continues to enlighten its readers. I thought the story was captivating, but its commentary on pre-revolutionary China is riveting. It is a difficult task to find sympathy for any of the main male characters (except for perhaps Ching, if he is a main character). While I am not sure it was written to say as much at the time, as a reader now, I think you can read the book and ask whether it is fair to blame people for their actions when they are simply a part of their culture? To blame the culture or the individuals?
Rating:
Summary: oversimplified characters
Review: It's obvious that Buck thought there was little going on between there ears of Chinese farmers of the 19th century. I saw very little humanity. So little humanity that I found it impossible to ever regard Wang Lung highly in any way after he became decadent. The other characters were similarly flawed and showed me nothing that which I could relate. Only O-lan and Wang Lung's loyal neighbor turn out to be a sympathetic characters. I will still give it some stars. I did enjoy the familiar pattern of self-deception that Wang used to justify his own corruption. Who knows, maybe also I learned something about the culture or rural Chinese of the time. I'm not as cynical as Buck seems to have been; I would have preferred to see more sympathetic characters. Also a lot more psychological insights.
Rating:
Summary: A Beautiful Book
Review: The most deserving of the Pulitzer book I've read thus far - Pearl S. Buck captures so much of the life of pre-revolutionary China. Wang Lung's love of his land, and the inevitable mistakes and joys he experiences in life are universal themes; the relationship between the characters; all of these combine to make a book that will touch you, sadden you, and enlighten you all at once. Keep the Kleenex handy for this!
Rating:
Summary: Beautifully written masterpiece!!!
Review: It's amazing that this novel is told from a man's point of view, yet is written by a woman. Somehow you are fooled because you are so completely absorbed into the life of Wang Lung. Pearl Buck has mastered the art of language in the way she writes so simply, yet with colorful descriptions and beautifully depicted characters. I recommend this book to anyone and everyone. You will love it! IT'S A WONDERFUL READ!
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