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Content snapshot
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Violence
Some
Poverty-related violence; famine and survival desperation
Language
Barely any
Mild period language
Sexual Content
Some
A man takes a concubine; female subjugation is depicted throughout as the historical norm
Substance Use
Some
Opium addiction is a significant subplot
Emotional Intensity
Some
Female subjugation, bound feet, and the casual acquisition of women as possessions; portrayed historically without endorsement
What this book is about
Wang Lung, a poor Chinese farmer, acquires land, a hardworking wife named O-Lan, and eventually wealth through a lifetime of labor. But as his prosperity grows, Wang Lung's connection to the earth that gave him everything weakens, and he turns toward pleasure, concubines, and status—betraying the values that sustained him. Buck's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel is a sweeping portrait of pre-revolutionary Chinese peasant life and the timeless tensions between ambition and gratitude.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Opium addiction subplot
Concubines and female subjugation as historical norm
Poverty-related violence and famine
Reader Verification
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