Books: More Good Earth

SONS—Pearl S. Buck—John Day— ($2.50).

Readers of Authoress Pearl Syden-stricker Buck’s The Good Earth (TIME, March 16, 1931), homely melodrama of a Chinese family, now in its 23rd printing, will look, forward to Sons, which tells them more about the fortunes of the Wang family. As lengthy (467 pages) as her first best seller, Sons is just as pleasantly written, should give the reader the same pleasant feeling of delving deep into Chinese consciousness.

Sons takes up the tale where The Good Earth dropped it, at Wang Lung’s death. His three sons, Wang the Landlord, Wang the Merchant, Wang the Soldier, divide the property. Wang the Soldier, who likes to be called Wang the Tiger, takes his in cash. He has a scheme to revolt against his aging general, lead the best of his troops to another province and set up as a war lord for himself. His scheme succeeds, and when he delivers his chosen province from the tyranny of The Hawk, brigand in residence there, he finds his career ready & waiting. The Hawk’s woman is attractive but untractable, finally seems to yield to Wang the Tiger’s shrew-taming blandishments. He marries her, loves her like a war lord, and when he finds she is plotting to betray him, kills her on the spot. This incident gives him a dislike for women; his other wives are taken merely as good investments. As Wang the Tiger’s star rises, the fortunes of Merchant and Landlord Wang, who supply him with cash, rise too. Like a clever serializer, Authoress Buck draws her curtain before the inevitable end.