This book was published in 1931 and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1932, neither of which I knew when I picked it up. It's a sweeping novel spanning the life of peasant farmer Wang Lung from the day of his marriage to the day of his death as an old man in pre-revolution China. I cannot comment on its historical accuracy, but as a story about people and families, it's gripping. I think several re-readings would probably be needed to find all the different themes running through the book, but there are clearly lessons about the value of hard work, the relativity of poverty, the dangers of hubris, and even feminism. Wang Lung feels a part of the land and saved by the land, yet ultimately his success takes him and his family away from that land. He highly values his sons and considers daughters no more valuable than slaves, yet it's the women in his family who consistently bring him happiness and comfort, while his male relatives bring almost nothing but trouble and discord. There are illustrations of the value of wealth and the superficiality of beauty and much more woven throughout also. But overall it's a detailed and surprisingly captivating story of this poor farmer and his family struggling and succeeding, only to ultimately become that which they feared and disliked at the start of the book.