The Good Earth is a novel by Pearl S. Buck published in 1931 and awarded the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel in 1932. The best-selling novel in the United States in both 1931 and 1932, it was an influential factor in Buck's winning the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1938. It is the first book in a trilogy that includes Sons (1932) and A House Divided (1935).
Here is the SparkNotes Context section which does not give away the plot of the book.
All three of my kids had read this book (required reading list the summer before freshman year) before I did.
All three of my kids loved this book. I sent each a text the day I started it. And got three texts back saying how good it was all the way thru.
We all agree that one needs to be an experienced classic book reader (probably) to enjoy this book. Less sophisticated high school readers, in all three of my kids Freshman English classes (for example), did not like it at all.
The story is simple and easy to understand. I personally think the whole book is strong and captivating. There were no weak areas in my opinion.
There were parts which were very sad to youngest (she is a crier, so is my husband, they are quite the pair at movies and plays). It was not sad to me. It was simply how they lived and what they did and what happened.
The ending was ironic as it is exactly what happened in my mother's family.
Different book, different ending - I was listening to a woman tell about how two of her children were complaining she played (serious) favorites with the third. I listened to what she said and the two were correct, she was not being fair or nice. And she was not setting her children and grandchildren up to have (positive) relationships with each other. I wanted to say to her - you need to read the story of Cain and Able and then read East of Eden. Saying to my grandparents - you need to read The Good Earth - would not have achieved anything because they would not have believed what their son would do after their death, but he was actually raised to do exactly what he did. Excluding mental illness which is a whole other issue, most of us do what we are raised to do, unless we purposely, mindfully change our path, and the paths of our children.
If you are a true classics lover and have not read this book, time for a visit to the library.
