The Good Earth

By: Pearl S. Buck

Narrated by: Anthony Heald

Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

Pulitzer Prize Winner, Novel 1932

This Pulitzer Prize-winning classic tells the poignant tale of a Chinese farmer and his family in old agrarian China. The humble Wang Lung glories in the soil he works, nurturing the land as it nurtures him and his family. Nearby, the nobles of the House of Hwang consider themselves above the land and its workers; but they will soon meet their own downfall.

Hard times come upon Wang Lung and his family when flood and drought force them to seek work in the city. The working people riot, breaking into the homes of the rich and forcing them to flee. When Wang Lung shows mercy to one noble and is rewarded, he begins to rise in the world, even as the House of Hwang falls.

©1958 Pearl S. Buck (P)2007 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Critic reviews

"A beautiful, beautiful book. At last we read, in the pages of a novel, of the real people of China." ( Saturday Review)
" The Good Earth has style, power, coherence and a pervasive sense of dramatic reality." ( New York Times Book Review)
"To read this story of Wang Lung is to be slowly and deeply purified; and when the last page is finished it is as if some significant part of one's own days were over." ( Bookman)

A Facinating Journey into the Past

Published in 1931, "The Good Earth" is the first in "The House of Earth" trilogy. The book was awarded the Pulitzer prize in 1932, and its author, Pearl S. Buck went on to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. It is the beautifully written story of Wang Lung, a Chinese farmer with a deep and enduring love for his land. The story spans his lifetime from young adulthood until his old age near his death. The setting is rural pre-Revolution China. The language is simple and dispassionate. The characters are flawed but richly presented. The themes are universal, timeless and filled with irony. It is a story of the passions that drive all human beings to achievement and often to tragedy and destruction. The author takes us on an emotional journey of ambition, survival, the attainment of wealth, self-sacrifice, family, the abandonment of traditional values and of lust. The contrast between modern Western culture and the Chinese agrarian culture at that time is striking, and I perceived that the story contained a faint thread of disdain for that society's treatment of women. As a modern woman, this particular quality is not difficult to identify with, but I found it to be slightly unsettling. I thoroughly enjoyed the book but found that while the author presents the characters and customs with affection, she remains firmly an outsider with a voice tainted - almost imperceptibly - common to Western writers who find themselves immersed in an alien culture.

A beautifully written classic

I loved the imagery and the characters. A beautifully written and timeless story for generation after generation.

A good read or listen every time

Would you consider the audio edition of The Good Earth to be better than the print version?

I don't think the audio edition can be considered better, as much as it can be considered to "enrich" the experience of the book as a whole. Buck wrote with such clarity of subject and description - it is not hard to visualize from her printed words. Heald's narration only takes that clarity and puts it in your ears.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Good Earth?

The moment when the farmer realizes his error in having taken two pearls from his wife, to give to his mistress.

What about Anthony Heald’s performance did you like?

He didn't overly embelish tone or voices - very nice smooth presentation of a classic.

Who was the most memorable character of The Good Earth and why?

The main character, the farmer - the story is about him and his love of the land.

Great easy to follow read

I am a literature teacher at our homeschool co-op, we did this for our final read, mostly a class of sophomore boys. All of the boys and the few girls really enjoyed this book, as did I. I only warn about a few spots for kids if this is a little touchy for kids.

A Good Read

This book was pretty interesting. The beginning started of well. In my opinion this book
started of very well and stayed quite interesting until about the middle where it sort of became still interesting but a little slow and depressing down to the slightly dissatisfying ending. I think that it would have been productive for the author to end the book at the end of part one. Despite the less enrapturing begging the good earth is still a masterful novel. It shows about how great wealth can only bring sorrows and to have a little over enough is ideal, that love is what's important. Although unlike many books about love vs. money it is not about one's love for one's family but love of the earth. Belonging with the earth which spawns undying satisfaction and the only true happiness.The good earth although not perfect sends a powerful message and begs of your attention. It translates an understanding deeper than bone it's not to be missed out on!

I love this classic!

Mr. Heald reads the story so that it comes alive. It was a pleasure to listen to the story having read it many years ago.

Beautiful - my favorite book

Beautiful story - transported through time - the narrator brings depth to the characters - excellent.

A True Classic

This book tells the true account of man. it documents well the path a man may travel in his lifetime.

worthwhile

read it again and again. Once in my 20's, about 6 times in my 60's. true to life. this is a masterpiece

Classic book

As this book is a classic I was able to get it for cheap. The performance and story was beautiful and engaging. Though often as the story progressed I lost more and more respect for the main character, the writing was strong enough that I continued.