Product Description

The story begins on the wedding day of farmer Wang Lung and follows his simple, often one-sided view of the Chinese culture, times, and his connection with the land. The land is a recurring theme throughout the novel, seemingly nurtured by the apparent protagonists, rejected and ruined by the antagonists. The author uses the House of Hwang, a nearby house of nobles, to contrast and predict their rise and fall. As the House of Hwang meets its slow and desperate end, Wang Lung rises.

However, as the weather turns disastrous for farming, Wang Lung's family has to flee to the city to scrape out a meager living. Upon returning home, the family fares better. Wang Lung eventually becomes a prosperous man, his rise contrasting with the downfall of the Hwang family, who lose their connection to the land. At the end of the novel, when Wang Lung is an old man, he overhears his sons plotting to sell some of the land, thus showing the end of the cycle of wealth and downfall.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #105946 in Books
• Published on: 2007-07-16
• Number of items: 9
• Binding: Audio CD
• 200 pages

From AudioFile
As is often the case in classic works, the front matter of this book contains a lengthy quotation. When this happens on audio, there may be a few minutes of confusion when one wonders if the correct CD was placed in the player. But with the first chapter, a wonderful rendition of a time-honored story begins. Anthony Heald captures Bucks commentary on the human condition with a humble tone that matches the poignant life of Wang Lung and his wife, Olan, as they eke out a living in rural China. Healds performance pays homage to the novels historical integrity in its detailed account of the Boxer Rebellion and its aftermath. This is an outstanding production of Bucks most famous work. D.L.M. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

About the Author
PEARL S. BUCK was born in West Virginia and taken to China before the turn of the century. She began writing while in China and published her first novel shortly after returning to the United States. She won the Pulitzer Prize in 1932 for The Good Earth and the Noble Prize in Literature in 1938.