Thursday 15 January 2015

The Good Earth by Pearl Buck

The Good Earth opens on Wang Lung's wedding day.  As the son of a farmer, his only option is to marry O-lan, a slave working in the great house of the village.  Although they start off as strangers and with next to nothing, Wang Lung and O-lan make a good pair, making the most of their land and growing family.  When a famine strikes and the family are forced to flee to the city, it is O-lan's determination and luck that keep them alive, and even enables them to return to their farm much richer than before.  As Wang Lung starts to accumulate more land and become more than just a peasant farmer, his expectations start to alter the family dynamics.  He starts to view O-lan as too simple, too plain and not enough for him.  As his sons grow up with more security than Wang Lung thought possible, the family begins to change for ever.

I really enjoyed The Good Earth.  Although Buck isn't Chinese, she lived in China for the majority of her life, and she presents the customs and attitudes of the time without judgement or condescension.  In fact, she doesn't even stop the story to explain things that would have been self-evident to Wang Lung, such as foot binding and the role of women, and this makes the story stronger.  Buck doesn't impose any Western ideas or views on her Chinese characters, even when their attitudes will make Western readers uncomfortable.

For me, The Good Earth was all about O-lan.  Having suffered through her childhood and adolescence, she is ready to live a quiet life with Wang Lung and devote herself to their family.  She suffers constantly throughout the book and yet is always thought of last.  Although Wang Lung does come to respect her in some way, for most of the book he ignores her presence, does not appreciate all that she does, and he is never able to love her.  When she returns to work the fields after literally just giving birth, he accepts this as what she should do.  O-lan made me wonder how many women there are like this in the world, forced by custom and attitudes to do everything for their family, never getting any reward or potential for personal growth, essentially giving up their own lives.  O-lan had so much inside her, but Wang Lung never thought to find out who she really was.

Another thing that struck me whilst reading The Good Earth was the parallels with Dickens' Great Expectations (this may sound strange, but bear with me).  Like Pip, Wang Lung starts to think of himself as grand, and therefore deserving things according to his new station.  A more attractive wife. Sons that are scholars rather than farmers.  Many rooms to their house.  Tenants that defer to him and treat him with respect.  As in Great Expectations, this can only end in misery for Wang Lung, something that is perfectly summed up in the last scene of the novel, which coincidentally was one of the strongest endings I've read in a long time.

I would definitely recommend The Good Earth.  I had my reservations about a book narrated by Chinese characters written by a Westerner, but these were unfounded.  The Good Earth is very well written with memorable characters, and I can't wait to read more of Buck's work.

Source: Personal copy
First Published: 1931
Edition Read: Simon & Schuster, 2005
Score: 5 out of 5


The Classics Club: Book 32/72
My list of titles can be found here.

25 comments:

  1. I remember reading this when I was a teenager and loving it; I promised myself I would revisit it again one day, and have yet to do that. I was also surprised that a Westerner could so easily grasp another's culture without having to do a lot of explanation. It certainly made me curious and would research and I think that was a fun way to read this book as a kid. Your review is a great reminder for me to read it again.

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    1. I think I would have enjoyed this as a child. I've read quite a few books about China or set in China as an adult, so I wasn't as enthralled by the new culture as I would have been if I read The Good Earth as a child.
      Hope you enjoy your reread :)

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  2. I read this for high school and while I don't remember hating it, I don't think I liked it a whole lot either. It is one I want to re-read as an adult though because I really do think there is a lot more to it than my 16-year old self could appreciate back then.

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    1. I have a few books I read at around 16 that I need to revisit - especially Crime and Punishment and The Trial, they totally went over my head!

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  3. I read this last year (45 years past my teens) and loved it. It was the easily the best book that I read in 2014. I can't believe I waited so long to read this Nobel Prize winner!

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    1. Glad you enjoyed it too, I think it will probably be a contender for my top books of 2015.

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  4. Thanks for a great review one to add to the wishlist!

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  5. A wonderful review, Sam! I really loved this book, although it does leave you somewhat sad. Great observations about Great Expectations. I'll have to look for the parallels when I read it.

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    1. Sometimes the best books do leave me a bit sad. The end of The Good Earth was definitely a depressing one though.

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  6. Lovely review. I have Good Earth on Kindle so I'll be reading it at some point as well.

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  7. This has been on my TBR shelf for ages. At about the same time I bought it I made a note of a biography by Hilary Spurling - Burying the Bones: Pearl Buck in China, and I had the idea of reading them as a duo. But of course other books have got in way and I haven't done it yet!

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    1. Thanks for mentioning the Hilary Spurling book, I'll have to keep a look out for it!

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  8. I have never read this book but you have probably convinced me. I have heard a lot of good things but there are so many similar books, even though this was probably among the first. Great review!

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    1. You're right that there are a lot of similar books now, and it does make this one slightly less powerful.

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  9. This is one of those classics that I have not read that I really need to! Glad you enjoyed!

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  10. I just reread it this past year! I thought the writing style was beautiful. I've downloaded a couple more books by Pearl Buck, and I hope to get to read something else from her soon.

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    1. I'd like to read more by her too - which titles did you download?

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  11. I loved this book, too, and recently learned it is part of a trilogy. The next book is Sons, but I'd like to reread The Good Earth before reading it.

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    1. Ooh, I didn't know this was part of a trilogy, I'll have to look up Sons :)

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  12. I've passed this book on my library shelves hundreds of times, and honestly, I never knew what it was about. For some reason, I'm drawn to books about Asian culture. Snowflower and the Secret Fan, Memoirs of a Geisha and Amy Tan's books are some of my favorites. I'm going to have to make an effort to find time for this one. Thanks!

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    1. I've read Lisa See and Amy Tan's books, and it's pretty safe to say that if you liked those, you will really enjoy this one.

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  13. I love this book. I love this review. I love it all! Great observations here, Sam!

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