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The Good Earth (平装)
by Pearl S. Buck
| Category:
Chinese history & culture |
| Market price: ¥ 98.00
MSL price:
¥ 88.00
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| Stock:
In Stock |
MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
It is a story built around a flawed human being and a teetering socio-economic system, dealing with timeless and universal themes of virtue, corruption, decadence, and cross-generational conflict. |
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AllReviews |
1 2   | Total 2 pages 14 items |
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Lily Young (MSL quote), USA
<2007-06-07 00:00>
I'm not sure how historically accurate The Good Earth is and I am also not sure if it is presumptuous for a Caucasian to write this book but I am positive this is a beautifully written story that has themes that resonate with all lives and cultures. The farmer is perhaps more attuned to life's cycles then any other profession on earth. The Good Earth superbly describes the seasons of one farmer (Wang Lung) and his family's cycle from poor to rich and sometimes in between. Greed, love, jealousy, revenge, survival, lust, and aging are all examined here. The characters are all well developed and memorable though it is a bit disconcerting that the reader is never told the names of some characters as they are referred to as "Poor Fool", "Uncle's Son", "Youngest Daughter" etc. Yet these unnamed characters are much more developed than the named yet one dimensional players in many lesser works. I had avoided this book for a long time just thinking is was not my type of book. I'm really glad I have finally taken time to read this rewarding novel. |
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Chanta Rose (MSL quote), USA
<2007-06-07 00:00>
Life is so different now; more complicated. The Good Earth transports the reader back in time to China where people lived off of the land and men and women both knew their place. This book is so well written you will fall into the era as if it were now and just accept all of the "oddities" that go with it. From poverty to wealth we follow Wang through his life and am entertained all of the way through. |
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Rosine (MSL quote), USA
<2007-06-07 00:00>
I found this book to be very easy to read and am fascinated with the characters. Wang Lung's story is raw and brutal. Following Lung's development, I found myself liking him, pitying him, loving him, despising him, forgiving him, and accepting him. |
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Mccallister (MSL quote), USA
<2007-06-07 00:00>
This is a well-crafted, complex tale of a man's rise from povery and subsistence to wealth, and the metamorphosis this transitions brings about in his personality and interpersonal relationships. The more he rises, the more he loses, and the ending is inevitable and predictable to everyone but him. The story is very detailed and should not be tackled by impatient readers. But, the detail that makes this story a challenge also brings the reader into a
different time, a different culture, a different belief-system. Reading The Good Earth gives the reader as much of a taste of an alien, unfamiliar world as any well-written science fiction, other-planet novel. |
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Joey (MSL quote), USA
<2007-06-07 00:00>
This is a classic story which is well written in a straightforward style. It is historical fiction and allegorical at the same time. It is often used in high school english classes because it is entertaining and yet all of the deeper aspects of fiction exist in a very accessable fashion. You can't go wrong with this deservedly popular novel.
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Rendon (MSL quote), USA
<2007-06-07 00:00>
This book is wonderful. I love to read a book in which I feel as though I have grown as a result. This is one of those books.
From the first paragraph of the book until the very end, I had a hard time putting it down. Pearl S. Buck does such a good job of helping the reader visualize the people and the setting. I became very attached to the characters; I alternately laughed and cried, feared for them and rejoiced for them. I have a completely new perspective on the hardships of the lives of that time and for the deeply rooted cultural values that made some members of society worthy of a more full life than other members of society. This is truly a touching book that I highly recommend.
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Felix Crumn, USA
<2007-06-07 00:00>
Rarely do you read a book and feel changed. Rarely do you read a book and feel like approaching life,work & family differently.
I want my friends to read this book because I want to discuss with them the feelings the man in the story felt about providing for his family and dealing with his son's choices.
Pearl S. Buck's Pulitzer-winning novel is set in pre-revolutionary China. But the trials and triumphs of the simple farmer are true for any culture. The simplicity of his life and his motivations create a stark stage for the introduction of life's themes that are simple but profound.
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John (MSL quote), USA
<2007-06-07 00:00>
This is a very interesting story about the trials and tribulations of a man who overcame extreme poverty with hard work, determination and being in the right place at the right time. Wang couldn't have accomplished this exploit without his wife O-Lan, yet he never really appreciated her exploits when she was alive. It is only when Wang sits back and reflects on his life does he truly realizes her worth. Another interesting topic that the author touches is the identity crisis that affects the whole family as they climb the social ladder. The children seem to deny their rural roots yet it's the land that feeds them. It's the "nouveau riche" crisis. Where do they belong? That the question that his sons try to answer.
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Nemmer (MSL quote), USA
<2007-06-07 00:00>
I finished this book in 3 days, and I'm not even a reader! Just take a weekend to yourself and you will discover a newfound appreciation within yourself. In so many words, it changed the way I thought about my family and my work. Highly recommended! |
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Sigrid Macdonald (MSL quote), USA
<2007-06-07 00:00>
This beautiful book captured my attention from the first paragraph, and I could not put it down. Immediately, I cared about the plight of Wang Lung, and admired his fierce determination to survive famine and overcome poverty. Buck has created a character who rises to the challenge of certain moral isses, but fails at others.
Wang Lung's attachment to the land is moving, he recogizes that only by owning land can he be safe from starvation. He is also a proud man who needs to work and craves self-sufficiency.
The role of women as slaves and concubines is portrayed with great empathy. Our hearts break when the women are mistreated or disappointed by the men of the culture, which is common.
This is a book that I will recommend to everyone I know, including my book club. It covers the cycle of life from youth to old age, the clash between rich and poor, and the ongoing strife between the genders - a timeless gem of a read.
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1 2 | Total 2 pages 14 items |
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