Chinese Take-Away
I just finished another classic, The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck. This is another of those audio book things all the young folks are so crazy about. I have for many years tried to read the actual "dead tree media" version of this tale. (I hope my friends and enemies appreciate the quoted section.) I was never able to get past, It was Wang Lung's wedding day. I am glad I listened to this story, however.
I really picked very little in the way of writing techinque from this book. I used a POV style that I don't use very often and did a lot of telling and very little showing. The characters never received proper names, and to be frank, it was a pot boiler. I did learn that even stories about things I have no connection with whatsoever can be engrossing.
The way I knew that this story affected me was I was sad in the end. I know that since my father's death I have become far more emotional about things. I can't watch telephone commercials because I cry, which is convient because I don't have an antanea or satelite so I don't get televsion except for DVD's and Bluray. This book touched me though.
I believe that country people are the same the world over. We have a connection to our community and to our land. This is case in this text. The whole story revolves around Wang Lung's desire to do better, but when he is at the end of his wits, he always returned to his land. It provided him the ulitmate solace for whatever he needed.
The story goes for Wang Lung's adulthood with all the trails and tribulations. The saddest thing is that in the end, his land, that touchstone he has relied upon, is going to be sold once he is dead. His family connections will be lost and his mind his family will fall.
If you've never read it, pick up this book or audiobook. I recommend the audiobook it's easier to get into than the text. I'm a horror writer and have to stay emeshed in the genre, but I still love classics, and love to frolic in them. This story is itself a bit of horror, but one that maybe only those who are truly country can understand.
