The Good Earth

A poignant tale about the life and labors of a Chinese farmer during the sweeping reign of the countrys last emperor.
Pearl S. Bucks epic Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of a China that was.
Though more than sixty years have passed since this remarkable novel won the Pulitzer Prize, it has retained its popularity and become one of the great modern classics.
“I can only write what I know, and I know nothing but China, having always lived there,” wrote Pearl Buck. In The Good Earth she presents a graphic view of a China when the last emperor reigned and the vast political and social upheavals of the twentieth century were but distant rumblings for the ordinary people. This moving, classic story of the honest farmer Wang Lung and his selfless wife O-lan is must reading for those who would fully appreciate the sweeping changes that have occurred in the lives of the Chinese people during this century.

Nobel Prize winner Pearl S. Buck traces the whole cycle of life: its terrors, its passions, its ambitions and rewards. Her brilliant novel
— beloved by millions of readers — is a universal tale of the destiny of man.

Pearl Buck grew up in China as the daughter of missionaries and from her experiences there wrote a story of a Chinese farming couple through bad times and good. In this story, the good times brought out the true character of the husband and the subservient role to which women have been historically relegated. One act by the husband that reveals his character, and his cunning, is his use of opium to effectively incapacitate troublesome relatives.