Biblio-biography--Chapter Three

Another book that I've loved throughout my life is The Good Earth by Pearl Buck. My parents owned a copy of it, which is where I got the idea to read it my first time the summer after sixth grade. Pearl Buck published The Good Earth in 1931 and it was a best seller for two years. She was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for it and several other awards, and it was made into a stage play and a movie.

Mrs. Buck had been raised in China by her missionary parents, and then continued to live there as a young married woman teaching at a university. She knew China at the beginning of the 20th century, during the time of the last dynasty. This book is so poignant and tragic and realistic. It is the story of Wang Lung, a poor farmer, whose marriage day is the opening chapter of the book. If you haven't read this book in your life, you should.

I loved it because it was about a farmer. I was 12 when I first read it. I could completely identify with Wang Lung throughout the story because his focus is always on the land. There is nothing he won't do to keep his farm. At one point in the book, the whole family is forced into the city because of a famine. For Wang Lung, this is temporary. He doesn't know how he will do it, but knows that he will return to his land, and eventually a series of events give him the resources he needs to go back. His wife is an heroic farmer's wife, like my mom. (My dad was more thoughtful to my mom than Wang Lung was to O-lan.) And, my mom actually took off a few days when she gave birth...

An interesting stylistic aspect of the book is that it is written as though it has been translated from Chinese without really adjusting the syntax to accommodate English. It has a sense of being told in another tongue. It is, in fact, written in quite lovely English, but her style of writing and her use of language give it a distinctly foreign voice. I was transported to China while reading it.

Buck went on to write a series of novels about Chinese life. My grandmother gave my parents a copy of Pavilion of Women for Christmas once. I have it now; it is signed with love. Grandma was a school teacher, so she appreciated literature. I read that book, too, as a girl. I couldn't seem to get enough of Buck's writing.

While living in San Diego as a young Navy wife, I used to shop at thrift stores regularly where I'd often discover excellent treasures. My favorite find, though, was six Buck books, including The Good Earth. They were a beautiful set, bound alike, and in decent condition. I don't remember if they were expensive or cheap. I just knew I really had to own them. I read them all. Some of them, I wouldn't re-read. But a couple of them were just terrific, almost as good as my farmer's book.

I'm not sure I read The Good Earth aloud to my kids. Probably not, because reading aloud tended to be done with younger people and it isn't really a little kid book. One aspect I especially loved about it as a 12-going-on-13 girl was the frank (yet tastefully chaste) sexuality in the story. The book was full of real life: concubines, childbirth, adultery, drug abuse. Wow---I was enthralled. But, mostly I related so strongly to the protagonist who loved his farm and knew that it was essential to real life. I knew just what he meant; I felt that way, too.