Author: Pearl S. Buck
Genre: fiction
Publication info: Buccaneer Books (the one I read, anyway), 1931
Pages: 260
I'm lucky to have family and friends who love to read, and whose reading tastes are similar to mine. When I'm looking for a new book to read, I often rely on recommendations, and the books recommended to me turn out to be some of the books I enjoy the most.
Such was my experience with The Good Earth. I had heard of it, as I'm sure most people have, and I was vaguely aware that it is good, but it wasn't until it was specifically recommended to me that I finally got down to reading it. I wasn't exactly sure what to expect. I knew early on that this wasn't like most books I've read, and it was hard to get used to at first, but pretty soon I came to enjoy it.
The Good Earth is the story of a poor Chinese farmer named Wang Lung. His story begins when he marries a woman who was a slave in the great house of Hwang. Although their relationship seems nothing more than cordial, the presence of O-lan (the wife) improves things vastly. Although there is a brief period of destitution, Wang Lung's family quickly rises from being poor farmers to being wealthy land owners.
What Wang Lung discovers is that the problems of the rich possibly outweigh the problems of the poor. At least that's what I got out of it. After reading about this man's life, I think I'd much rather be poor than obscenely rich. Wang Lung makes stupid mistakes, his sons bring him grief, and his relatives beg from him. At the end, though, there's no real reason to believe that Wang Lung has become a better person from all his trials.
It's an interesting book, a difficult one to describe. I would like to say I wish I'd read it sooner, but I'm not sure I would have appreciated it had I read it when I was younger. What's really fascinating about this book is the picture it gives of Chinese culture. It's quite a bit different from the one I know, but there definitely are values I could learn from it, especially family loyalty.
So my judgment is that The Good Earth. It's skilfully, sometimes even beautifully written, and its story is one you'll be likely to think about for a long time.
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Nine Stories
Author: J. D. Salinger
Genre: fiction, short stories
Publication info: Bantam, 1964 (originally published in 1953)
Pages: 198
J. D. Salinger is probably best known for his novel Catcher in the Rye, but this small collection of short stories is my first exposure to his work. Now I can see why he is considered one of the best authors of the twentieth century. These stories present aspects of life that are bizarre yet authentic—something that few authors can accomplish very well. And although most of these stories are quite tragic, they are also quite enjoyable to read.
But probably the thing I noticed most, and the thing I most appreciated, was the dialogue. Most of the stories in this collection are dialogue-heavy, but I didn't mind that at all because this is probably the best dialogue I have ever read. The characters interrupt each other, leave thoughts incomplete, and refer to situations that don't get fully explained. Have you ever read a story in which one character explains something to another character for no other reason than to explain it to the reader because both characters already know it? It's bad practice, and you won't see any of that in Salinger's writing. One of my favorite examples is in "A Perfect Day for Bananafish." Muriel is talking on the phone with her mother, who is concerned about Muriel's husband after "that incident with the trees." We never find out what that incident was, but we learn all we need to know about the husband's character from that simple reference. Salinger is simply artful with dialogue.
The downside is that the dialogue in these stories often includes a great deal of profanity. It's believable, but not necessarily pleasant. Potential readers be warned!
And speaking of not pleasant, none of these stories really have happy endings, if that's an important thing to you. Some of them end quite tragically, in fact. I for one enjoy that sort of thing, but not everyone does. I'm really glad this book of stories was recommended to me. If you're looking for some good literature that will make you think, this book is a good idea. You'll laugh (yes, some of it is really funny), you'll hurt, you'll wonder—all good things in literature.
Genre: fiction, short stories
Publication info: Bantam, 1964 (originally published in 1953)
Pages: 198
J. D. Salinger is probably best known for his novel Catcher in the Rye, but this small collection of short stories is my first exposure to his work. Now I can see why he is considered one of the best authors of the twentieth century. These stories present aspects of life that are bizarre yet authentic—something that few authors can accomplish very well. And although most of these stories are quite tragic, they are also quite enjoyable to read.
But probably the thing I noticed most, and the thing I most appreciated, was the dialogue. Most of the stories in this collection are dialogue-heavy, but I didn't mind that at all because this is probably the best dialogue I have ever read. The characters interrupt each other, leave thoughts incomplete, and refer to situations that don't get fully explained. Have you ever read a story in which one character explains something to another character for no other reason than to explain it to the reader because both characters already know it? It's bad practice, and you won't see any of that in Salinger's writing. One of my favorite examples is in "A Perfect Day for Bananafish." Muriel is talking on the phone with her mother, who is concerned about Muriel's husband after "that incident with the trees." We never find out what that incident was, but we learn all we need to know about the husband's character from that simple reference. Salinger is simply artful with dialogue.
The downside is that the dialogue in these stories often includes a great deal of profanity. It's believable, but not necessarily pleasant. Potential readers be warned!
And speaking of not pleasant, none of these stories really have happy endings, if that's an important thing to you. Some of them end quite tragically, in fact. I for one enjoy that sort of thing, but not everyone does. I'm really glad this book of stories was recommended to me. If you're looking for some good literature that will make you think, this book is a good idea. You'll laugh (yes, some of it is really funny), you'll hurt, you'll wonder—all good things in literature.
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