The House of Earth Trilogy is made up of three great books by Pearl S Buck, "The Good Earth", "Sons", and "A House Divided". I would be hard pressed to pick my favorite of the three. I had read "The Good Earth" when I was in my early 20's and it started me off on my love affair with books.
Re-reading The Good Earth at this time in my life was a whole new experience, however. It was like reading an entirely different book to me, with things that stand out now being totally different than what stood out to me at 20. The one thing that got to me then and now, though, is the description of the famine that the characters of her book went through. It was heart wrenching and unbelievable, and I don't doubt that she was speaking of things she saw with her own eyes. She tells of famine so far reaching that there isn't a thing to eat, not even a rodent for they had all been eaten. Wang Lung and his wife feed their children dirt because they feel that there surely is some nourishment in dirt, minerals and so forth.
I don't think I'd be alone in making the statement, "I have never missed a meal because there was nothing to eat". I don't think I'd be alone in saying I have made the statement, "There isn't anything to eat in this house!", when our pantry was full as were our freezer and refrigerator as well. In "The Good Earth" Ms Buck speaks of famine and drought to the very point of death. Where family members lay in bed all day long, too weak to speak. Too weak to speak Can you imagine? The youngest of their children was under a year old and due to lack of food, she became retarded and stayed mentally at that age for the rest of her life.
Their will to live intervenes, however, and gets them out of the drought area to the city where the wife and children beg and Wang Lung pulls a rickshaw even though he is still so very weak. They fought their way back by saving whatever bits of silver that they could save, until they had enough to go back to their home and start over, once the famine in their part of China had passed.
Wang Lung's love of the land takes them all back to their home where Wang Lung begins to not only recover, but to buy more and more property that he can plant, and harvest and save every cent that isn't needed in the sparse lifestyle that they are used to living. Eventually, Wang's meager holdings grow into great wealth. He and his family then leave their earthen house for a city home that was once owned by the riches family in their area. There they stay and raise their three boys and the little retarded one whom they refer to as "the fool". She nor any of his children have names, but are referred to as first son, second son, third son and so on.
The boys grow and by the end of The Good Earth, they have personalities and names that have come from what they do in life. In that country at that time, parents chose what children would become when they grew up, and chose occupations that will benefit the entire family and generations to come. (why didn't I think of that? ) Families lived together under the same roof, but if possible, in sections to themselves.
So, "Sons" is all about these three boys of Wangs. They are called, Wang the Landlord, who is the oldest son and in charge of vast land holdings of the Wang family. Wang the merchant, the second son, is in charge of selling the harvest and all of the other things needed to continue farming. Wang the youngest, the third son, Wang ha determined would take his place in the fields when he himself can no longer work the land. Wang the third didn't see his future the same way his father did, so at age 12 or so, he ran off and isn't seen again until he is a grown man.
Ms Buck develops the personalities of these three sons, though Wang the third, who becomes "Wang the Tiger" I felt was the focal point of this second novel. The other sons play supporting parts, but Wang the Tiger is the one we "live with" most of the time in the second book. He is a war lord and has visions of becoming very great and being lord over vast areas of China. He doesn't do too poorly, and manages to accrue a good deal of wealth for himself and a vast army as well.
The custom of parents choosing the brides and grooms for their offspring is still alive and well in "Sons". Wang chooses wives for his first two sons, but the third son doesn't feel a need for women at all, though when he does, it's his choice as to who she is. He is perhaps in his thirties before he meets a woman who captures his heart and for the first time, "The Tiger" is smitten. Because he is so blindly in love with this woman, who isn't worthy of that devotion, he ignores all warnings given to him by his trusted men. He marries her and trusts her with his every thought. This women, however, is a viper in his bosom. When he discovers this, his heart is broken and he drives his sword into the heart of this beloved creature as she lay sleeping in his bed.
Again, I must praise Pearl Buck's writing abilities here. I can't even begin to describe the complex personality that is "Wang the Tiger". I have tried and can't do it. How she manages to weave into one personality, the variety of complexities that make up Wang the Tiger, leaves me in awe. His ability to love to the depths that he does, and his ability to be evil enough to kill this woman that he adores because she means him harm, leaves me shaking my head.
Wang the Tiger isn't without his pain over the loss of this woman, though, as he does mourn her. When he catches himself doing so, though, he snaps himself out of it and reminds himself what evil she had planned for him and how he needed to do what he did. This gets him through this time.
Eventually, The Tiger's life appears to be lacking much and he yearns for a son. His father has long been gone, so he appeals to his brothers to find him a wife. They both find one so he marries them both. They are two different types of women, so they serve his purposes. He wants more than anything, to have a son. So, he impregnates both women. One of his wives is educated and not "ugly" as it is said. The second wife is strong and capable of bearing many sons, though has only a few black teeth. These women are not needed as mates, but rather as baby factories. When they deliver, the smarter of the two gives him a "slave" as they call girls. Not any worth there!!! The one lacking teeth gives him a boy, however, and The Tiger can hardly contain his joy. He sits for hours just watching this baby nurse and grow. He is afraid to pick him up, though, so he is unable to express all that he is feeling towards this creature.
As is the custom, he chooses this boy's future and of course wants him to carry on the family "war lording" business. When he is about 4 or so, Wang the Tiger takes his son away from his mother and keeps him with him. He hires a tutor to train the boy in ways of war, as well as the usual subjects. The boy misses his mother and sister and gets depressed. The Tiger notices this but doesn't understand what could be going on. One of his trusted men finally clues him in and he lets the boy go to see his mother and sister once in a while. Problem solved. The Tiger never does figure out that it's okay to be a rough and tough war lord and still show tenderness towards his child. The boy grows up as a quiet and very intense person, which doesn't surprise any of us, now does it!! As "Sons" draws to a close, we find The Tiger getting on in age and not really up to being a Tiger, though still plans to wage war on this group and that one, one day.
Times are a changin' in China, however, and a great revolution is taking place. Young people are rebelling against the old ways of their parents, are dating whomever they want and refusing to allow the parents to choose who they should marry and when. (sound vaguely familiar? Thought it would) The grandsons of Wang Lung are all into the new ways and it's no wonder that eventually The Tiger's son ends up in the local jail for something that happened while he was associating with his rowdy cousins. Rather than being put to death, however, his neck is spared and he and his cousin are whisked away by the family and sent to a foreign land to go to college.
"A House Divided" follows these boys to this new land that sounds a lot like the good old USA, though a name for the country is never given. Ms Buck isn't into labels, which adds a dimension to her work that is lacking in many a writer's books. Because she doesn't tell us everything, we're free to build it, shape it, color it and decorate it for ourselves.
In this third and last novel in the trilogy, the people have names. Yuan is the name of Wang The Tiger's son, and Ai-lan his daughter. He never really gets to know this girl, but brother and sister remain very close over the years.
A House Divided follows the years of going to school and growing up of primarily the son and daughter of Wang the Tiger. Yuan is growing up in a foreign country but also in a foreign time as well. Being brought up in the part of China where the old ways were still taught, he finds himself in the midst of conflict about who he should be, how he should be and what he should do with his life. This struggle and the many encounters in the life of this young man make up the story of A House Divided. This young man, though very much an individual, strives to find a way to embrace both the old and the new ways and seems to accomplish this when all is said and done.
After reading House Of Earth I went on to begin a novel by one of my favorite modern authors and found it "thin" and lacking substance in the beginning. The modern auther, Belva Plain, is an excellent writer, but I must say that even a good modern day writer can't hold her ground when put back to back with the likes of Pearl Buck.
I liken the Classics to ribs. The meat on these bones are so wonderfully tasty that they keep you coming back for another rib to get those tiny bits and pieces of that oh so savory meat. Though sparse on the bone, those morsels of meat are well worth the work of picking those bones dry
Thus are my feelings about the classics, Pearl S Buck's books in particular. Do pick up one of her works and taste it for yourselves. You won't be left unsatisfied when you do.
Happy reading,
Mary
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