The Good Earth by Pearl Buck
Reviewed by Vicki Carver
[large
type edition] [B&W
Video Version]
Oprah Winfrey's Book Club has been reinstated but instead of
recommending newly published books, she is focusing on older, more classic
titles.
One of Oprah's "new selections" is The Good Earth, by Peal S. Buck,
which was first published in 1931. Peal Buck grew up in China where her
parents were missionaries. This enabled her to write about China with great
authority.
The Good Earth is the story of a farmer, Wang Lung, who marries a
kitchen slave O-Lan. Wang Lund is very poor when he first marries O-Lan, who
he has never seen until he purchases her and marries her. Wang Lung believes
that O-Lan is a very plain woman but is impressed by her ability to work hard
and live frugally, Wang Lung and O-Lan work tirelessly on their land in order
to survive.
The political conditions in China are beginning to change during the early
20th-century with the transition from having an emperor reign to a new social
order. O-Lan soon realizes she is pregnant and honors Wang Lung with a healthy
son. More children follow and gradually Wang Lung begins to acquire more land.
There are tough years with no rain and famine but Wang Lung's family works
very hard to survive. Years pass.
Wang Lung gradually becomes wealthier. O-Lan as worked very hard to help her
husband acquire more land. However Wang Lung does not cherish O-Lan as a wife
and mother to his children.
He views her more as a possession who enables him to achieve the status and
respect of being a wealthy land owner. Wang Lung fails to appreciate his
wife's unending devotion to him.
The Good Earth is written as a first-person novel told from the
viewpoint of a Chinese man. The novel is written very simply without using a
lot of descriptive words.
However, the subtle writing style Buck uses allows the motions and feelings of
the characters to be more exposed.
The impact on the reader is profound even though the writing style is so
simple and straight forward.
China is becoming increasingly recognized as a world power. Reading the
Good Earth is helpful in understanding the evolving culture of a vast
empire. It is also a beautifully written story.