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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
[ Shop incentives ]
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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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Special K (MSL quote), USA
<2007-06-07 00:00>
I have never written a review of this kind, but I could not pass up sharing what a fabulously written book this is. Buck does an outsanding job of bringing real life to all of her characters, and soliciting emotion from the reader. The characters are all developed slowly but robustly, as well as the story line. There are numerous messages and conflicts in this book - good vs. evil, rich vs. poor, old vs. young, country life vs. urban life, the list goes on.
I don't appreciate when other reviewers give away the story line in their review so I won't do that here. However, I could not put this book down. Even if you have little understanding of Chinese culture, if you have parents, grandparents, aunts or uncles, you can understand the evolving and different ideals that each generation holds dear similar to Wang and his family and the potential for conflict these ideals have. I believe it will stir many emotions and feelings within the reader, which, to me, is the number one sign of a well-written book. Hope you enjoy it!
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Saurabh Mahapatra (MSL quote), USA
<2007-06-07 00:00>
This book takes you through the journey of life of a man. She weaves the tale in such a fashion as if she lives with them, knows each character in and out. The storyline follows the usual pattern of any ambitious man's life- struggle, prosperity, and the inevitable decay. |
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Shawn Prince (MSL quote), USA
<2007-06-07 00:00>
I know that I've read this book at least twice, once in grade school and once again recently because I remembered how much I loved it the first time. There's something gripping in the way Buck developed her characters in this work, which allows us to grow and understand and experience life with them over the course of their lifetimes.
We see the central character and his dutiful, faithful wife age from a young married farming couple to rather wealthy land-owning seniors, and in between we experience all of their struggles, sorrows, joys, accomplishments, bad and good decisions, failures, and regrets right along with them. The central character is frought with natural desires and temptations as he builds his wealth and status in the community, and he appears to us all-too-human as he revels in many of the distractions that we know will bring him unhappiness and will leave his wife in sorrow.
Not only is the reader allowed to vividly experience life through Buck's characters, but she skillfully transports us to a time and place in early-twentieth-century China where we can taste the culture, the thinking of the times, the prejudices, the beliefs, the customs, and the struggles of both the rich and the common man.
This is really a beautiful and elegant work. Highly recommended.
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Brian Asquith (MSL quote), USA
<2007-06-07 00:00>
This book sits quite well alongside Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath..similar tales of trials and tribulations. Although I
would say that Buck's prose is slightly simpler. Very good story and very well told. My enjoyment of it might have been heightened as I recently returned from China and so was able to picture the scenes/characters much more readily. A quick read and flows well. Recommended.
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1 2 Total 2 pages 14 items |
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