The Good Earth (Enriched Classics) (utgåvan 2005)

I can see the objectively good literary technique in this, but I utterly hated reading it because it's so relentlessly bleak and the protagonist is so horrible. The only main characters I found bearable were O-Lan and Ching.

I loved it. Offers a complex, engaging portrait of a life not only away from the mainstream of history where I live, but away from the mainstream of its own country as well. ( )

Oh man, this story. It's a doozy. Some parts are just so very sad. The family just keeps trying and trying and trying. Their life is such a struggle. The woman, OMG, her entire life is heartbreaking. Thinking of her makes me feel overwhelmed. The Good Earth is about a family trying to live off the land and better themselves. Each decision affects their entire future. It's a humbling story for sure. This is a hard book for me to rate. I love a book that makes me emotional, and this did that very much. Some parts made me upset in a bad way though, but I guess it really was just staying true to how life was. If you're looking for a story to take you away, this did that for me. It totally took over my mind while I was reading it. If you're looking for a upbeat tale, this probably isn't it. It's not all sad like my review is making it sound though. I do recommend it very much.
4 stars ( )

Nicely written with sparse use of descriptive words but yet enough to get a feeling for the people and the setting. My Western values kept getting in the way as I read about the treatment of O-lan although it was apparent that she accepted it as the way of life. She worked so hard and yet he felt the need to take Lotus into the house as his sex toy. Wang Lung felt so strongly and rightly so about the value of land. As always the young do not value things like their parents. Wang's burden of following traditional ways for his father, uncle, and sons was admirable. Interesting how his thoughts about rich people changed as he became one. ( )

It is refreshing to read a book written with a purely linear plotline. That is likely due to its age or time in which it was written, but I still appreciated it. The book also has a consistent pace, even as it wrapped up. The story is both a good chronicle of culture in China for that time period and a good didactic exposition of the ebbs and flows of life, wealth, and generational change.
It is easy to understand how it became a classic novel. ( )