Reviews with content warning for Drug use - The Good Earth

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The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck

7 reviews

crunch1009's review

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

While reading through the book, I found myself incredibly engaged in every chapter. At times, it did feel rather slow but I enjoyed it nonetheless. The characters, I had a hard time trying to like, really only being fond of O-lan. The ending though, practically ruined the whole book for me. I felt sick to my stomach when reading the last 3 chapters and almost stopped reading it entirely. I can’t really see myself entirely understanding why Pearl S. Buck ended the book like so, but, it’s still a good read nonetheless.

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lay_kone's review

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emotional sad medium-paced

4.5

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marioosa517's review

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reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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jedore's review

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dark informative sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

“But hers was a strange heart, sad in its very nature, and she could never weep and ease it as other women do, for her tears never brought her comfort.”

This Pulitzer Prize winning novel that is included in “1,000 Books to Read Before You Die” has been on my Read List for over a decade. After reading and loving “Peony” by Pearl S. Buck a few months ago, I finally got to it.

It's never easy to read about extreme poverty or the horrific plight of females in China (anywhere!) or the awful behavior of the men in charge. However, despite all of these things being central to this story, I liked it and I'm glad I read it.

The story is centered on a farming family living in a small Chinese village in the early 1900s. It gives deep insight into the tenuousness of life for China’s poorest citizens, the power of land ownership to completely shift the trajectory of a family, and how greed and power can corrupt even decent men.

And by “men,” I literally mean men. It is primarily the men who are corrupted (to varying degrees) by strife, good fortune, poverty and riches. Not all of the females are innocent, but they are all second class citizens. As soon as I would sigh with relief about a positive turn of events, Wang Lung (the main character) would find a way to screw things up. Although Wang Lung's wife, O-Lan is far more level-headed and wise, she is totally and unfortunately powerless.

I think because the story was written from a male's point of view, I didn't emotionally connect to it like I did to Peony, which had a strong female main character. Also, the men were annoying at best, completely maddening at worst. Although this was wholly intentional on behalf of Ms. Buck, I still found myself wishing that the story was told by O'Lan.

It's easy to forget that Ms. Buck is not Chinese. Her grasp of the history and culture is mind blowing.

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