The Good Earth: Review

Etsy is the place to go on the internet for “ALL THINGS HANDMADE” with over 100,00 sellers world wide. One of the Etsy forums is sponsoring a blogger posting for recently read books, and my submission for August, 2008 is a review of Pearl Buck's The Good Earth, which follows.

The style in which Pearl Buck's renowned THE GOOD EARTH is written (a combination of biblical prose and a sort of Chinese narrative) has been said to "increase the dignity of its characters". It is a bit different to read, and the reader must fill in the "gaps" with necessary words and images in order to complete sentences. But after just a few pages, mental interpretation becomes easily patterned.

With references from Kirjasto, the story takes place in the 1920's in the time of intense famine in China. (Remember that from 1800-1850 about 45,000,000 people died of starvation in China.)

The main character, Wang Lung, is followed from his early life as a peasant living with his father, and then buying a servant wife from a prosperous town family, living a bare-bones life including intense hunger, and then on to his eventual position as a prosperous landowner.

O-lan, the servant wife, also figures prominently in the story. She was sold into slavery at the age of five or six by her father in order to feed his family. She then grows up in the wealthy house of Hwang as a kitchen slave, working 12-15 hours almost every day. O-lan is sold to Wang Lung while in her teens. Thus begins her adult life as a willing slave to her husband.

O-lan is a plain woman, often described by Wang Lung as having "big feet" (because they were not bound). Only the wealthy could bind the feet of a female child to increase her marriage potential to a suitable husband, and O-lan was destined to be a slave with unbound feet. And slave she was, with a unswerving devotion to her husband and her children and to the land Wang Lung acquired at her extraordinary expense.

The narrative starts out with relative prosperity in that they have enough to eat and O-lan bears two sons. Hardship follows, a drought comes over the land and O-lan gives birth to a girl. And although they need money for survival, O-lan decides not to sell the first daughter.

More from Kirjasto,

Revolution breaks out, houses are plundered, and Wang Lung gets in his possession a silver treasure. The family returns to their home region. Wang Lung buys land and soon owns also the house of now impoverished Hwang. The only problem is their retarded child, a girl, who don't speak. O-lan gives birth to twins, a boy and a girl. The elder boys go to school. Wang Lung buys another wife, Lotus. O-lan is not well after the birth of the twins, and she dies after the wedding of her sons. In his old days, Wang Lung gives his love to a young slave girl, who also takes care of the retarded girl. His youngest son moves from the house to become a soldier and because he also loves the young slave girl. Old Wang Lung witnesses for his sorrow that his children do not share his unyielding devotion to the land.

In 1932, Buck won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction for this book, and in 1938 won the Nobel Prize for Literature.

One biographer states ...

In 1949, outraged that existing adoption services considered Asian and mixed-race children unadoptable, Pearl established Welcome House, the first international, inter-racial adoption agency; in the nearly five decades of its work, Welcome House has assisted in the placement of over five thousand children...

.The Good Earth kept me spell-bound. The rich history of China is graphically crafted with Buck's choice of words. The story was captivating, and parallels to modern day life can be conjured up from every page of this narrative.

Mrs. Buck went on to establish the Pearl Buck Foundation in 1964. She died in 1973 at the age of eighty. Her fascinating life and biography is well worth reading in its own right.

Making Neck Pillows, Oh, My!

As usual, the world wide web is a wealth of information about making neck pillows: decorative, scented, or medicinal, it is all there.

Here are some sites worth reviewing if you want to make one yourself:

Kids-sewing gives a simple diagram of how to draw a kids’ pillow, using fleece material. It could be stuffed with polyester fiberfill or just plain uncooked rice. Then pop it in either the freezer or the microwave to comfort a child.

A pattern for a neck pillow in the shape of a dog bone can be found here at dogbone pattern.

But why limit this pillow to children? An adult pillow can be made easily, and the DIY website provides the easiest way I found to make a neck pillow.

And with step by step directions given by Sew Mamma, this tutorial for a Rice Heat Therapy Bag with Washable Cover looks simple enough.

Comfy Country Creations says this about Scented Neck Pillows:

Heated, scented neck pillows can give relief to sore, aching muscles while soothing the soul. Drape it around your neck, lay it across your back, or slip it between the sheets to warm the bed before retiring for the night. They are easily made and can be filled with grains or add some herbs and spices for a tranquil aroma.

A scented pillow sounds great! So I found this site which gave a recipe for scented rice:

In a glass Mason-type jar pour a teaspoon or slightly more of potpourri-type fragrance or essential oil, swirling the jar around to coat the insides. Add nearly a pound of uncooked, small grain rice. Place a coffee filter over the top and screw the lid on tightly. Shake well to coat the rice and place the jar on its side. Over the next few days, roll the jar frequently until the rice has taken up the scent of the oil. Cinnamon, apple, cloves, lemongrass, lavender, lilac, orange blossom, honeysuckle, rose, sandalwood, bergamot – the scent choice is yours.

If you budget allows, and you are not a crafter, perhaps you would like a Luxury Travel Pillow

...since those small pillows now provided by only some airlines aren't very comfortable. Inflatable travel pillows are available for less than $20, while slightly more cumbersome stuffed travel pillows are available from several manufacturers. Brookstone, for example, offers the Nap Travel U-Pillow ($25), which is stuffed with thousands of micro beads.

For $75, a u-shaped neck pillow from Tempur-Pedic is made from memory foam that cradles and molds around the user's neck and conducts body heat.

Either way you go, purchasing a new one from your supplier of choice, or making it yourself, neck pillows are always winners, especially if they smell oh, so nice!

Aprons - Making and Collecting Aprons

Aprons, especially vintage ones, have been on my radar for a few months. Not only are they making a comeback in style, but they are also making big impressions on bloggers. In a brief Google blog search, I found more than a dozen women who blog JUST ABOUT APRONS.

A brief history of the apron is given in Alana's blog:

The word “apron” actually originated from the word “naperon” which is a French word for a napkin or small tablecloth. And, some of you may be surprised to find that the apron did not start off as a piece of apparel worn singularly by women. Instead, aprons were mainly worn by men when they were first invented. ... men wore the apron while completing work in such professions as: blacksmiths, farmers and gardeners, fishmongers, meat and wood carvers, furniture makers, leather smiths, cobblers, tailors, jewelers, metal forgers, clock makers, barbers, and stonemasons to name just a few.

A few weeks ago, another post can be read here about Meg McElwee's figure flattering Sew Liberated Emmeline Apron. That project is almost completed, and I'm having fun putting the clever bodice together (it features three coordinating fabrics).

For your reading pleasure, here are a few fun blogs about aprons. They all have excellent graphics:

HER TIMES and Betty Ninja and Apron A Day and Flapper Girl Creations and Craft Chi and Lulus Vintage and Fuse Action and Rick Rack Attack and Tie One On and The Apronista (she is sponsoring two apron swaps for your participation) and Textiles and Quilts, which is especially for tips about collecting vintage aprons

For a quick pattern to make your own apron from one yard of fabric, visit: One Yard Apron.

Whew! On the right is a picture of a darling apron I purchased yesterday at the Farmers' Market in Palisade, Colorado.

It is similar to a wrap-around dress that goes over your head, made by Shelle Kareus and sold by her and her husband's business, the Uintah Trading Company.

Shelle and her husband are shown above with some of her aprons.

Don't you love it that Roy is a furniture maker and is wearing a catchy turquoise and red apron?

Leave me a comment and I will give you a contact telephone number if you would like to purchase one of Shelle's several types of delightful, hand sewn aprons.