Customer Reviews

Dragon Seed

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I thought I would never read a novel as outstanding as The Good Earth. And then I read Dragon Seed! Thus far, this is the greatest book I have ever read! There are truly no adjectives to satisfactorily describe the depth and poignancy of this novel. My heart filled with sorrow as I turned the pages of this mesmerizing story of the Chinese peasants' condition during World II. I would go back to re-read a paragraph every now and then in order to let the words seep into my very soul. I could not comprehend this unspeakable man's inhumanity to man, but there it was, as only Pearl Buck could write about it. Not to read this book at least once is not to have lived. I will carry the drama and heartbreak of Dragon Seed with me for the rest of my life. Dragon Seed is not just a novel; it is an experience of the heart and soul! It should be a must for everyone who truly loves great literature, and it should be required reading for every public high school student in this country.

Pearl Buck describes the simple life of a village family in China before and during World War II. She follows the lives of each family member, the daughter & her husband who cooperate with the Japanese, the sons who escape to the hills & join the Chinese resistance, the youngest teenage daughter who is sent away to avoid rape, the simple aging farmer & his wife who stay with their land at all costs. While the village & nearby city are never named, it is evocative in some respects of the new book, "The Rape of Nanking." I've read this book twice.

I read this book because I love Pearl S. Buck books! Of all her books this is the best! And even of all other books, this is my favorite! There is just so much to this book that no movie or review such as I am giving could properly give justice to it. The sequel to it, The Promise, is a must-read only because the end of Dragon Seed will not be enough for anyone. I would describe this book as historical fiction. The events are real, the place is real (which we find out in The Promise, is a hamlet outside of Nanking/Nanjing-Pinyin), and the cultural Chinese family as presented is real. Everything else is just magical fiction! The book is humorous in places and serious in others. This is the ONLY book i have ever read twice, and i could read it for a third time! I can tell anyone in the film industry that this book can be made into the next great movie success story! This is the best review i can give for the greatest book ever written. Now the best I can do is wait to see if my review can encourage the entire world to at least give this wonderful book the chance it deserves!

At the age of 15 I stumbled upon this book. Who was Pearl Buck? I did not know. As I read it I became spellbound. This strange foreign family did not seem strange or foreign to me. They seemed, well, familiar, comforting. I realized they were my mother, my father, my brothers because although they lived in another place and time--their feelings, their struggles were timeless. This was my first clear introduction to understanding that human beings are the same everywhere. They are good and they are evil. Adversity brings both out in people. Dragon Seed was my first Pearl Buck novel, but now I have an extensive collection, that aside I've also traveled in Asia extensively. Not to mention the fact that my husband and children are Japanese! (Dragon Seed is in China but she's also lived in and written about Japan, India). Pearl Buck opened the windows of the world to me and more importantly, revealed the human soul. By the way, just so whoever wrote the other review knows: Dragon Seed WAS a movie starring Kathryn Hepburn. However, I think a remake starring a Chinese woman would be more appropriate. Also, frankly they distorted the plot horribly in the original movie.

I have read many books in my time but the two books that stand out for me are Dragon Seed by Pearl S. Buck and This Perfect Day by Irn Levin. Although The Good Earth is a fine book by any standard, Dragon Seed brought the characters to life for me. I have re-read these two books so many times that they have become a little "raggy" with time. Each time I read them I find something new, some new slant on what the authors were saying. The movie that was made from the book Dragon Seed could have been done better and although I like Katherine Hepburn, the part she played should have been played by an oriental. But, the book will live on and will continue to make itself felt for many years to come. Someday, I hope to find someone who will put these two books on a tape for those who have vision difficulty. I have not found them available for the visually impaired thus far. I feel that this is keeping a large section of the population from enjoying these books and I do hope that this will be corrected in the near future.

I always preferred reading magazines rather than novels because i thought novels were boring and reading them was a waste of time. After reading Dragon seed my perception about novels took a shift in the positive dierction. No other author can bring out the subtle aspects of life in times of difficulty as pearl buck has did. I read this novel as a thirteen year old but i still remeber every part of it(i am 22 now). Such is the impression this novel has created. one can read a lot of books on philosophy and humanity but still miss out on some key aspects. i promise u will have the feeling of having read a thousand books on the human nature in this one novel. The novel ends with a positive note and a glimmer of hope which will make every reader search for the silver lining even during the most turbulent times.

I was recently handed this book by my wonderful mother-in-law. It is taped together with duct tape, has yellowed pages that fall out when you turn the page. She assured me it was a great book. Having read The Good Earth, I was excited to get this book, but I had no idea what I was in for. I struggle to find the words to describe the beauty of the language and the clear descriptions of the feelings and places in this tragic story. To be honest I have not even finished it yet, but I just had to go on Amazon to see if other people loved this book as much as I do. Read this book. It will leave its mark on you!

Although Good Earth is a celebrated novel, as it should be, I believe Dragon Seed is a book as worthy and even more in many ways as it involves generation differences and war. Amazon offers many Pearl Buck books that can't be found anywhere else. These books have opened a whole new world for me. I love the old time Chinese culture and Dragon Seed is so full of the many aspects, phrases, and customs so unlike today - in our Western World. Each character is so carefully constructed with soul depth, despite the fact that most could not read or write and lived a simple life. The Gods seem to come to life and the tragedy the people suffer so real and frightening during the revolution. The simplistic lifestyle is as well depicted as that in Good Earth. This book is a must for all Old Chinese Culture lovers. So exciting to cuddle up and read good literature.

I have now read 5 or 6 books by Pearl Buck, and I couldn't admire her writing more. This book moved me, as Ms. Buck states the thoughts and feelings of her characters that are so basic and so close to us that they could be uttered by our very own hearts. The only thing that was disappointing about this particular book is that I felt the ending came too quickly without us getting to know or see the outcomes of some of the characters. On the whole, though, a memorable and heart-rending book whose themes go deeply with all of us.

This is one of my favourite books of all time. The book is set in China, during the lead up to the second world war. It details the Japanese invasion of China in the late 1930s, and how it affects the fictional Ling Tan family. For those interested in a non-fictional account of part of this period, 'The Rape of Nanking' by Iris Chang is worth reading.