Nobel Prize winner Pearl S. Buck's iconic novel, The Good Earth chronicles the rise and fall of Wang Lung's fortune and family in China, from his humble beginnings as a dirt poor farmer working the land to his eventual triumph as a wealthy landowner and I didn't know was book ONE of a trilogy. This was assigned reading by my ladies book club and it was fascinating to read something that was published so long ago (1931) and yet still resonates so strongly today with it's powerful imagery and beautifully drawn characters. The book opens on Wang Lung's wedding day and is a fascinating study of Chinese culture, as we watch Wang Lung change and adapt to various situations presented by weather, politics, age and love, but through it all, his love for the land is most constant and it is a persistant theme that underscores each chapter of the novel. I don't know why it is though that it seems to be a woman on the cover of the current edition, which is quite pretty, but the original paperback which I found (originally priced at $.75) features a gaunt Chinese farmer in nothing but a loin cloth working on the land. Makes me wonder if the publisher thinks that modern readers would be more attracted to the book if they think it's about women's issues, which actually in a way the book is...which is probably why it was endorsed by Oprah.
Jayne
Community Manager
"We cannot really love anybody with whom we never laugh"—Agnes Repplier
