The Good Earth

The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was an interesting read for me.  It was recommended to me as a way to explore Chinese history, but I found it was more a lesson in relationships.  The relationship between Wang and Olan, his wife.  His relationship with his children, father, uncle.  And of course, his relationship to the land and what it gives him, and what it takes from him.  It is a story of the relationship between the poor and the rich, and how money shapes the way we view everything from ourselves, to religion, to the rights we think we are entitled to.  Being poor brings a lot of problems...being rich brings even more.  And war trumps everything. There are no epic confrontations, no mysteries to solve, no great revelation....just a story of an imperfect man, doing the best he can to raise his family.


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