The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck

This is an obvious choice. I already told you I dig Pearl S. Buck, so, of course I'm a fan of her most acclaimed novel.

In case you somehow got through high school without having to read it, The Good Earth is the story of Wang Lung, a peasant farmer in a rural part of China yet-untouched by the modern world. Along with his good wife, O-lan (who he completely fails to appreciate), he survives flood and famine - always striving for something better. But when he gets the life of his dreams, it doesn't make him nearly as happy as he thought it would.

Putting it like that makes the book sound like a sappy, morality play. It's not. Buck shapes her simple prose so beautifully you can actually see the sweat dripping off Wang Lung and O-lan's brows as they work together in the fields. This is another book that won the Pulitzer Prize for a reason.

Imperial Woman by Pearl S. Buck

Pearl Buck is on my short list of favorite authors (along with Anya Seton, L.M. Montgomery and Diana Gabaldon). Even a bad novel by her is still pretty good compared to most of the stuff that gets published.

Imperial Woman is based on the true story of the last Empress of China. Tzu Hsi (a contemporary of Queen Victoria)gave up the great love of her life to become one of the most powerful women in the world. It makes for a great and heartbreaking story of triumph and endurance.

I recently read another novel about Tzu Hsi, called Empress Orchid, by Anchee Min which gave me a whole other perspective on her life. It's hard to say whether I still like Imperial Woman best because it's the definitive novel on Tzu Hsi, or because it's simply the one I read first. In any case, both are worth a look.