The Good Earth
3 journalers for this copy...
Ancient (1944) edition is on its way to tqd.
Journal Entry 2 by livrecache at By mail in A BookCrosser, A Bookcrossing member -- Controlled Releases on Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Released 16 yrs ago (12/18/2007 UTC) at By mail in A BookCrosser, A Bookcrossing member -- Controlled Releases
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
RELEASE NOTES:
Off to Sydney and a new home, albeit temporary.
Off to Sydney and a new home, albeit temporary.
It may be ancient, but it is a well preserved and quite lovely copy. (I do like the smell of old books, when I was a student and completely stressed I'd stop in at a fabulous antiquarian shop on the way home and just smell the books. The lovely owner let me have the keys to the shelves and I got to potter around quite happily. Always cheered me up no end.)
So if Xmas becomes too stressful this year, I can just run off into the corner and sniff this book a few times. :)
Thanks heaps, livrecache, you are a very generous bookcrosser!
UPDATE 12 August 2010: I have read this book, enjoyed it very much, and Jubby has selected it from the Oz VBB. I'll pass it along to her asap, hopefully face-to-face so I can meet the new baby!
So if Xmas becomes too stressful this year, I can just run off into the corner and sniff this book a few times. :)
Thanks heaps, livrecache, you are a very generous bookcrosser!
UPDATE 12 August 2010: I have read this book, enjoyed it very much, and Jubby has selected it from the Oz VBB. I'll pass it along to her asap, hopefully face-to-face so I can meet the new baby!
The Good Earth was patiently waiting on Mt TBR for Far Too Long. (My parents had a copy and I used to be fascinated by the name "Pearl S. Buck". It still has a certain almost-otherworldly charm to me now.) I picked this up finally because several people mentioned it on the "1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die" group, in terms of "why isn't this one on the list"?? A very good question, and one that I shall ask myself.
The Good Earth tells the tale of Wang Lung, a peasant farmer. At the start of the book he is a young man on his way to collect his wife-to-be, an ex-slave from the great House of Hwang. And by the end of the book... well, I don't want to give any spoilers, but his life has changed drastically. But not always for the better, because he never quite outgrows the need to be seen by others as a great man.
Wang Lung and his family, especially his wife O-Lan, were wonderful creations. I was a bit worried that a book written by the daughter of missionaries in China over 80 years ago would be somewhat condescending towards the Chinese, or that her christianity would overpower any story. I shouldn't have worried, Buck has a lot of compassion for her characters, and none of them are ever anything less than three dimensional.
It was an almost simple story with its straightforward narrative, unlike many a modern sprawling novel with far too much busyness and distraction. But the depth of the characters saved it from being anything other than a wonderful read. And I guess that's why it's still a popular and well-loved book, even after eighty years.
I stayed up far too late far too many nights reading it (*yawn*). Which is unusual for me and a book that isn't a thriller/adventure style yarn. And when I finished it, I regretted having to say goodbye to Wang Lung and his family. I think they knew how to write books in 1930. And why isn't this one of the "1001 Books I Must Read Before I Die"?
The Good Earth tells the tale of Wang Lung, a peasant farmer. At the start of the book he is a young man on his way to collect his wife-to-be, an ex-slave from the great House of Hwang. And by the end of the book... well, I don't want to give any spoilers, but his life has changed drastically. But not always for the better, because he never quite outgrows the need to be seen by others as a great man.
Wang Lung and his family, especially his wife O-Lan, were wonderful creations. I was a bit worried that a book written by the daughter of missionaries in China over 80 years ago would be somewhat condescending towards the Chinese, or that her christianity would overpower any story. I shouldn't have worried, Buck has a lot of compassion for her characters, and none of them are ever anything less than three dimensional.
It was an almost simple story with its straightforward narrative, unlike many a modern sprawling novel with far too much busyness and distraction. But the depth of the characters saved it from being anything other than a wonderful read. And I guess that's why it's still a popular and well-loved book, even after eighty years.
I stayed up far too late far too many nights reading it (*yawn*). Which is unusual for me and a book that isn't a thriller/adventure style yarn. And when I finished it, I regretted having to say goodbye to Wang Lung and his family. I think they knew how to write books in 1930. And why isn't this one of the "1001 Books I Must Read Before I Die"?
Just jumping in. Thanks for your comments, TQD. I loved that book (not that particular copy) as a teenager. It was on my parents' shelves, and I used to read it, and re-read it regularly. It had so much charm, and I found it quite captivating. it's good to know that it has withstood the test of time.
Thank you very much TQD - received over a lovely lunch today.
