THE GOOD EARTH

Pearl Buck's Pulitzer Prize-winning (1932) story of China at the time of the emperors remains a classic, one of the great novels of the twentieth century. Its protagonists, the peasants Wang Lung and his smarter wife, O-lan, stoically struggle amidst poverty and more children than they can afford, but always they try to hold onto their little land and, bit by bit, acquire more of this good earth. Ultimately Wang Lung becomes rich, but, curiously to him, not happy, rather more like the landed gentry he earlier envied so much. Kate Reading's narration shows perfect pitch throughout, with outstanding distinctions among a raft of characters and spellbinding handling of Buck's exquisite descriptions of Chinese life and social classes. Like Wang Lung's own, this marriage between author and reader is wondrous to behold, a joy to listen to. T.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/ NOV 02]