The Good Earth — Pearl S. Buck

Wang Lung traces his roots to the good earth of China, to a small but precious patch of soil that he and his ancestors have tilled and toiled over for generations. To preserve that life-giving land, he wages a desperate struggle against flood and famine, drought and pestilence -- and against lust and greed, perhaps the most poisonous of all seeds of destruction.

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.