Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Review of The Good Earth

The Good Earth
The Good Earth
Author: Pearl S. Buck
Genre: Literature & Fiction
Book Type: Paperback
reviewed on


Having to read for a second time after about 40 years since the first time I read, it wasn't too bad. Wang Lung reminds me of many people in the news today or were previous newsmakers who rise above poverty and lose the humility they once had that made them successful. Although he is an early 20th century Chinese farmer, his story is universal. He wonders at times as he ages why he can have no peace in his household. He forgets the woman who worked daily by his side to make sure that his land would produce the crops that would eventually enable him to acquire more land and become wealthy. In his obsession to the land he loses touch with his children and his way of life. Pearl Buck's writing made me feel as if I were reading a Biblical parable at times. I think it is worthwhile to revisit a book that has been around a long time. What produced a Wow moment so many years ago, still had an effect, just not quite the same, not exactly a WOW moment.