House of Earth Series

This epic saga chronicles the fortunes of a family and their struggle for survival and prosperity through tumultuous times in old China. Follow their rise and fall, their ambitions, and their sacrifices as they navigate profound social and political shifts. It is a universal story of human resilience, love, and the search for home amidst the tides of history.

Recommended Reading Order

The Good Earth
Pearl S. Buck
274 pages
10 hours of reading
A story of a Chinese peasant and his passionate, dogged accumulation of land and more land, while weathering famine and drought and revolution
1
4.0
The Good Earth Trilogy - 2: Sons
Pearl S. Buck
320 pages
12 hours of reading
Second in the trilogy that began with The Good Earth, Buck's classic and starkly real tale of sons rising against their honored fathers tells of the bitter struggle to the death between the old and the new in China. Revolutions sweep the vast nation, leaving destruction and death in their wake, yet also promising emancipation to China's oppressed millions who are groping for a way to survive in a modern age.
2
3.6
A House Divided
Pearl S. Buck
"A House Divided," the third volume of the trilogy that began with "The Good Earth" and "Sons," is a powerful portrayal of China in the midst of revolution. Wang Yuan is caught between the opposing ideas of different generations. After 6 years abroad, Yuan returns to China in the middle of a peasant uprising. His cousin is a captain in the revolutionary army, his sister has scandalized the family by her premarital pregnancy, and his warlord father continues to cling to his traditional ideals. It is through Yuan's efforts that a kind of peace is restored to the family.
3
3.9