Finished: The Good Earth (Buck). A really good book! A Pulitzer Price winning book that I was ho hum about reading, but it actually kept me turning the pages to see what happened to Wang Lung and his family. As the book opens, Wang Lung is a poor, young farmer in China who lives only with his father. His father has arranged for him to have a slave as his bride, since that is all that poor farmers can afford or expect for their arranged marriages. Wang Lung goes to pick up his bride, O-Lan from the richest house in the neighborhood where she is the cook. O-Lan is tall, sturdy and not attractive at all...but boy what a gem she turns out to be! Wang Lung works the land of his father and grandfather before him, and has success with his crops. O-Lan works side by side with him, even through the births of two sons. Of course, all that matters in these times in the late 1800's and early 1900's in China are the male children. Female children are pretty much called slaves from the time they are born and often sold by their parents if they are destitute for money. So, Wang Lung and his family do well for a few years, and then nature interferes and refuses to send rain for the crops. All the crops in the surrounding country dry up and die, and all the people in the village are starving. O-Lan, who gave birth to a baby girl third, is now pregnant with her fourth child. As the family practically starves, they even finally kill their only ox which they need for their farming, but soon the meat from the ox is gone as well. O-Lan gives birth to another girl in a difficult birth and she kills her right away rather than have another child to provide for, and rather than have her suffer the starvation they are suffering (O-Lan has lost her ability to make milk, so her first little daughter is already starving). Wang Lung's evil uncle, who doesn't seem to be starving, comes by with unscrupulous friends who are willing to buy Wang Lung's land for a pittance. Wang Lung refuses and says if all else fails, he'll always have his land. He decides to take his father and his young family south to the city where O-Lan and the children beg on the streets while Wang Lung breaks his back making ends meet hauling a rickshaw around. Finally, as a war approaches, the times get even more desperate even in the city. There is no food to be had anywhere. Just when Wang Lung is moments away from selling his little daughter for some food, a revolution occurs and the poor, starving people break through the walls of the "great rich ones", storming their homes, and looting all their riches. Wang Lung hangs back because he's never stolen anything in his life. As he straggles in the back, he actually comes across a rich man that the other people didn't see. The rich man begs for his life and says he'll give Wang Lung anything if he lets him live. Finally, as Wang Lung's anger stirs as he sees the wealth that surrounds him, he tells the rich man that he'll "let him live" if he gives him all his gold and silver. The man does so, and Wang Lung and O-Lan are able to head back north to their land, buy a new ox, buy enough seed to start over, and more. O-Lan gives birth to another son and another daughter and Wang Lung and O-Lan's crops, and therefore fortunes, take a huge turn for the better. Soon, Wang Lung has enough saved up in both silver and food stores to survive the huge rains that come and flood most of the village. All the land is under water and no one can get any farming done. The land stays this way for weeks and Wang Lung gets a wanderlust he's never had before. He finally looks at this strong woman who has stayed by his side, given him sons, given him advice, and shown wisdom during many stressful situations...and does he appreciate her? No, he thinks what bad luck he has that his wife is so ugly. Soon, he gets bored and visits a "tea house"...where you do more than drink tea. Many young women live upstairs and sell themselves to men of the town. Wang Lung becomes enamored by one young woman and actually ends up bringing her back to his home and building another part of his home for her as a second wife. I suppose concubines were more common there? O-Lan is terribly hurt, but she keeps doing everything that has always been expected of her...taking care of the food, the house, the children, her father-in-law, and Wang Lung himself. Wang Lung feels slight guilt at times, but never enough to change his actions. He also never really faces poverty again, but he has many trials as he deals with his sons growing older and getting spoiled and testy. None of the sons work the land or appreciate its worth as Wang Lung has always done. They want to go to school and be educated, and mostly they want the status and material things that money can bring. So, Wang Lung's life continues on and he gets wealthier and wealthier. O-Lan falls ill and dies, and finally Wang Lung sees what he will miss...but he still can't admit that he had any feelings for his wife. So, years go by and life goes on. Wang Lung can't see that he's becoming like the rich men he used to despise. One day his oldest son insists that they buy the big empty house that used to be owned by the same rich people who sold him their slave O-Lan in marriage all those years ago. So....Wang Lung moves himself and his family to the big house and lives the rest of his life there, surrounded by his children, his grandchildren, and several slaves. Finally, when he is old and knows he will soon die, he tells his sons he wants to go live back at the old house so he can walk out the door and feel the earth beneath his feet. The sons visit every day and one day he hears them talking about selling the family land after their father dies. He gets upset and insists that they never sell the land, and they reassure him they won't....but then they exchange glances over his head and you just know they WILL sell the land. I can't explain why I liked this book where women are treated so, so lowly. I do know that I liked the O-Lan character immensely! I was so sad when Wang Lung broke her heart, and then when she died. I just read that this is the first book in a trilogy! I may have to read the other books to see if the sons loose everything and maybe gain some life lessons.