The Good Earth is a novel by Pearl S. Buck, first published in 1931 which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel in 1938. It is the first book in a trilogy that also includes the books Sons (1932) and A House Divided (1935).
It is the story of a peasant family in China in a times of famine, flood, and prosperity. A peasant Wang Lung who lives with his widowed father, marries O Lan, the homely former slave of a wealthy household. Through frugality and hard work they fare relatively better than other farmers in the village. However, as the weather turns disastrous for farming, the family -now grown to include the couple's three children- has to flee to the city to find work. They sold their meager possessions -but not the land- and took the train for the first time.
While at the city, O Lan and the children beg and Wang Lung pulls a rickshaw. They found themselves aliens among their more metropolitan countrymen and foreigners. They no longer starved, but still lived like paupers: Wang Lung's work is barely able to pay for the rickshaw rental, and the family eats at public kitchens. Meanwhile, hostile political climate continues to worsen, and Wang Lung longs to return to the land. They were able to do so after a riot gives Wang Lung some wealth.
Upon returning to their home the family fared better. With their money from the city Wang Lung is able to buy an ox, farm tools, and hires help. He is eventually able to send his sons to school, builds a new house and live comfortably.
It was made into a movie of the same name in 1937.
