Book Reco # 6: The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
A universal tale about the cyclical nature of human life.
Hi Dear Reader,
This week’s book recommendation is The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck. You might have read this book already since some schools require reading this but I’ve just recently encountered this without knowing anything about it. And it was good.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5 stars
The Good Earth tells the ups and downs of an honest farmer and his selfless wife. You can read this book as a typical rags-to-riches story, a book to get to know ancient China and its traditions, or a book about the social changes in China through the eyes of the poor. It's no wonder this book is a classic, the main story arc is universal.
It's a book about the cyclical nature of human life. At the start of the book, we see poor Wang Lung and his father barely having enough food for their day-to-day. Then, Wang Lung's marriage to O-lan brings him good fortune as O-lan is as industrious, thrifty, and wise as he is. Then, their good fortune begins to change when a severe drought hit the country. Having nothing to eat, the Wang family was forced to leave their land and move to the city where there is promise of food.
In the city, they squatted, were forced to beg, and worked day and night but still, their life was not better. I especially loved the city chapters of the book because of the truthfulness about the economic and social disparity between the rich and the poor. The Wang family's fortunes changed for the better again and they were able to come back to the country and buy more land.
O-lan, woman and mother. The anchor and the reason of this story. Despite the limited role provided to women at the time, O-lan is largely responsible for the survival of the family. Her wisdom and rationality got them through the hard times. Even though she is a woman of few words, her story tells about women's quiet power.
The beauty of this book is in its simplicity and universality. The writing is so simple but lyrical and it gripped me from the first page to the last.
I hope you’ll like this book as much as I did. Happy Reading and thanks for the inbox space!