How long does it take to read The Good Earth?
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck takes about 5 hours 48 minutes to read at 250 words a minute.
Part of The House of Earth trilogy
Next: Sons
About 5 hours 48 minutes
A weekend read
First published 1931. 316 pages, about 86,900 words.
12 days at 30 minutes a day
Estimate based on 275 words per page.
At other speeds
| Slow, 150 words a minute | 9 hours 39 minutes |
| Average, 250 words a minute | 5 hours 48 minutes |
| Fast, 400 words a minute | 3 hours 37 minutes |
The page count is the median across 169 editions, so your copy may differ. How we calculate.
About the book
This tells the poignant tale of a Chinese farmer and his family in old agrarian China. The humble Wang Lung glories in the soil he works, nurturing the land as it nurtures him and his family. Nearby, the nobles of the House of Hwang consider themselves above the land and its workers; but they will soon meet their own downfall. Hard times come upon Wang Lung and his family when flood and drought force them to seek work in the city. The working people riot, breaking into the homes of the rich and forcing them to flee. When Wang Lung shows mercy to one noble and is rewarded, he begins to rise in the world, even as the House of Hwang falls.
Subjects: China, fiction, Fiction, historical, general, Social life and customs, History, Farmers' spouses, Married women
