Okay, for some reason, I'm having a really hard time with this recap and I'm not sure why. I loved The Good Earth. It's probably the best novel I will read this year. (That is, if we're not counting my re-reads because nothing will ever touch Anne Shirley, y'all.)
The Good Earth was written by Pearl S. Buck in 1929, first published in 1931, and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1932. Buck later went on to become the first American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1938. Though Buck was born in West Virginia to American parents, she was raised and lived mainly in China from the tender age of 5 months old until her early 40s. Personally, I think that qualifies her to write about China though she has often been criticized for The Good Earth by many Americans who claim it is a collection of racist stereotypes. I would argue that Buck's life proves the point that she was anything but racist what with all her advocacy for minority groups and her humanitarian work.
In The Good Earth, we follow the life of a peasant Chinese farmer, Wang Lung, from the day of his wedding to a slave woman named O-Lan to the end of his life. The Good Earth is beautiful, tragic, poignant, lyrical, and full of wisdom. All throughout my reading of The Good Earth, I couldn't help but compare it to many Biblical stories. Wang Lung reminded me so much of King David and much of the novel read like a New Testament parable.
There were many times while reading this book that I felt so frustrated with Wang Lung, but for the most part I was just captivated by this truly beautiful portrayal of life. I started this book at the end of June thinking it would kind of transition me into my July reading, but once I began I couldn't put it down and ended up finishing it in June.
I would definitely recommend it. And since I'm still having trouble stringing my thoughts into a cogent blog post, here's another photo of my copy of this novel with my Japanese tea set (which seems wrong seeing as how Chinese/Japanese relations have always been tense at best). I will most certainly be revisiting The Good Earth in the future.
Have you ever read The Good Earth or anything else steeped in Eastern culture? Did you love it as much as I did?
The Good Earth was written by Pearl S. Buck in 1929, first published in 1931, and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1932. Buck later went on to become the first American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1938. Though Buck was born in West Virginia to American parents, she was raised and lived mainly in China from the tender age of 5 months old until her early 40s. Personally, I think that qualifies her to write about China though she has often been criticized for The Good Earth by many Americans who claim it is a collection of racist stereotypes. I would argue that Buck's life proves the point that she was anything but racist what with all her advocacy for minority groups and her humanitarian work.
In The Good Earth, we follow the life of a peasant Chinese farmer, Wang Lung, from the day of his wedding to a slave woman named O-Lan to the end of his life. The Good Earth is beautiful, tragic, poignant, lyrical, and full of wisdom. All throughout my reading of The Good Earth, I couldn't help but compare it to many Biblical stories. Wang Lung reminded me so much of King David and much of the novel read like a New Testament parable.
There were many times while reading this book that I felt so frustrated with Wang Lung, but for the most part I was just captivated by this truly beautiful portrayal of life. I started this book at the end of June thinking it would kind of transition me into my July reading, but once I began I couldn't put it down and ended up finishing it in June.
I would definitely recommend it. And since I'm still having trouble stringing my thoughts into a cogent blog post, here's another photo of my copy of this novel with my Japanese tea set (which seems wrong seeing as how Chinese/Japanese relations have always been tense at best). I will most certainly be revisiting The Good Earth in the future.
dibs on borrowing it for my beach trip! love, mom
ReplyDeleteYou got it!
DeleteI read the Good Earth years ago. I remember finding the story captivating and a pretty quick read, but it left me feeling incredibly sad, so I don't remember "enjoying" it.
ReplyDeleteEan took an Asian Lit class at his college, so I think we have a couple novels that I'd like to read at some point. "The Housekeeper and the Professor" is one of them. He has quite a few random books from his college lit classes. A Thousand Acres is a retelling of King Lear that won a Pulitzer, so I've wanted to read that one too. I think that one was from a Norwegian-American course, though, lol.
Yeah, The Good Earth is definitely tragic, but it's just so very compelling I couldn't help but love it.
DeleteI've seen A Thousand Acres on so many "essentials" book lists, but I didn't realize it was a retelling of King Lear. Maybe I should read that in conjunction with King Lear whenever I get to it.
"Here's another photo of my copy of this novel with my Japanese tea set (which seems wrong seeing as how Chinese/Japanese relations have always been tense at best)."
ReplyDeleteThis is why you're my best friend. That sentence made me laugh out loud. Which made you look at me funny, seeing as how we're sitting in the same room right now. :D
Honest to goodness, when I heard you laugh, I actually thought to myself, "She must have just read the Chinese/Japanese sentence." I seriously did. #BFFtelepathy
DeleteYesssssss!
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