Most helpful customer reviews
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8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
DECEPTIVELY SIMPLE, Sep 24 2004
Pearl S. Buck's masterpiece, THE GOOD EARTH, should not be missed. In fact, it deserves to be read again, if it has been awhile for you as it has been for me. What I love about a book like this one is its lucid, concise language. Too many writers try to dazzle with obtuse vocabulary and awkward, if not ungrammatical, syntax, or they simply hope to confuse and intimidate readers, and sadly too many readers want to be dazzled in that way and want to be confused and intimidated--otherwise, how else would you know the story is deep, right? Silly! Fortunately, Buck understood well the tenants of China's great Buddhist tradition of deceptively simple writing. Writing that is easy but not easy. Writing that is wise by being direct and honest.I also highly recommend Jennifer Paddock's recent novel, A SECRET WORD. Deceptively simple as well, but very deep and passionate and hopeful like THE GOOD EARTH.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Unforgettable classic, Oct 27 2008
I read this book years ago and it has stayed with me ever since.
Originally published in 1931, it won the Pulitzer prize the following year.
The setting is in China, right before the revolution. Wang Lung is a poor farmer in a village and the book starts with his wedding to plain O-lan. They have four children together, three boys and one girl. He is a very hard working farmer and bit by bit, thanks also to O-lan's skills, he builds a fortune by buying land from the House of Hwangs's family, landowners in a nearest village whose wealth declines dramatically due to their relentless spending.
We are dipped into Chinese culture, taken from the seemingly bottomless poverty of the early days throughout the rise to wealth, only to be propelled downwards again due to a terrible draught and subsequent famine, when everything seems lost and the family has to move to the city, starting all over again.
We are reading spectators of the rise and fall and twists & turns of Wang Lung's family. Many touching episodes have moved me throughout the book, especially the ones connected with hard-working, silent, subservient O-lan and later on, the ones related to their mentally retarded baby girl.
The story is absorbing and mesmerizing, exquisitely written. Page after page, truly unforgettable. A must-read classic.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Simply Wonderful! Here's Why..., May 26 2005
This 1932 Pulitzer Prize winning novel is still a standout today. Deceptive in its simplicity, it is a story built around a flawed human being and a teetering socio-economic system, as well as one that is layered with profound themes. The cadence of the author's writing is also of note, as it rhythmically lends itself to the telling of the story, giving it a very distinct voice. No doubt the author's writing style was influenced by her own immersion in Chinese culture, as she grew up and lived in China, the daughter of missionaries. This is the story of the cyclical nature of life, of the passions and desires that motivate a human being, of good and evil, and of the desire to survive and thrive against great odds. It begins with the story of an illiterate, poor, peasant farmer, Wang Lung, who ventures from the rural countryside and goes to town to the great house of Hwang to obtain a bride from those among the rank of slave. There, he is given the slave O-lan as his bride. This is a potent story, brimming with irony, yet simply told against a framework of mounting social change. It is a story that stands as a parable in many ways and is one that certainly should be read. The actual writing, page by page, is of great note here. The author's genius lies in the simplicity of her story-telling, her careful (and deceptively "simple") choice of language, which never strains. Quite remarkable. I certainly recommend this book! Along with The Losers Club: Complete Restored Edition by Richard Perez, a quirky, highly entertaining novel I picked up off Amazon, this is best novel I've read so far this year. Don't miss this wonderful reading experience!
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