Book Review: The Good Earth

I was channel surfing the TV a few months back when I came upon Oprah. She was concluding the summer book and introducing the next book to read for her book club. I had thought about joining her book club now and again, but since the fall book was a classic and looked good, I determined to really get with the program. I was well rewarded.

The Good Earth, by Pearl S. Buck, is set in prerevolutionary China (early 1900's) and follows the life of Wang Lung, a simple, but shrewd farmer. The story begins with Wang Lung preparing to go to the house of Hwang (a rich family) to receive a kitchen slave, Olin, for his bride. Even though they are too poor even for a wedding, Wang Lung and Olin work hard and create a reasonable life for themselves until a terrible famine forces them into the city to beg. Fortune shines down on Wang Lung as he joins the people who make a rebellion against the rich families, and with the money he obtains, Wang Lung is able to go back to his land. With hard work and shrewdness of money, Wang Lung is able to prosper to the point of owning many servants, another wife, and even taking over the old house that the Hwang family had owned.

Throughout the book, no matter what Wang Lung faces, his land always brings him peace and happiness. Buck uses the symbol of the land to illustrate everything important in life. "Wang Lung sat smoking, thinking of the silver as it had lain upon the table. It had come out of the earth, this silver, out of his earth that he ploughed and turned and spent himself upon. He took his life from this earth; drop by drop by his sweat he wrung food from it and from the food, silver" p. 25. It is the land that gives him the wealth he desires and heals him from the depression of sheer poverty in the city. The land heals him from the lust of his concubine. And, when he is old, Wang Lung desires nothing more than to be back in his country house, watching the farming of his land. "It is the end of a family---when they begin to sell the land. . . .Out of the land we came and into it we must go---and if you will hold your land you can live---no one can rob you of land" p. 260.

My favorite character in this story is Olin. Even though China is very much a patriarchal society, it is really Olin that holds the family together in her quiet way. Women were seen as merely slaves to keep the house and bear sons. Wang Lung does not choose Olin as his wife, and believes her to be stupid and ugly. Yet, Olin not only does what is required, she goes out of her way to help her husband in the fields, give birth to her children quietly, and do whatever she can to make the family a success. Without Olin, Wang Lung would've starved in the city. Yet, it is not until Olin is dying that Wang Lung realizes he had a treasure that was as great as his precious land.

The Good Earth gives an intimate portrayal of preindustrial Chinese culture. Buck elaborately describes the houses, the cities, family life, holidays, and everything else so that one really feels he has been transported back in time. These pictures are descriptions of things she really saw and experienced during her many years living in China. Her storytelling language is easy to read, almost like poetry, yet provokes deep thought about what is really important in life. It is no wonder this novel won Buck a Pulitzer. I certainly recommend it.