A HOUSE DIVIDED

The House of Earth trilogy, which starts with THE GOOD EARTH, is Buck’s powerful portrayal of early twentieth-century China. This book ends the trilogy with the story of Wang Yuan, the grandson of the couple in the first book. The book stands on its own but would certainly be more meaningful after hearing the first two books. Yuan represents a young man of privilege as the Chinese culture is transforming due to the Western influences and political events of the 1930s. Adam Verner uses a clipped accent for the speech of the Chinese characters; for the character of Yuan he makes that accent a bit stronger. Further, he delivers Yuan’s convictions as if they were his own. As a narrator, Verner sounds fully engaged in the story’s events and the questions it poses. J.E.M. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine [Published: AUGUST 2010]