The Good Earth
Wang Lung, a poor farmer in 1920s China, rises with his wife O-lan through famine and wealth, holding to land above all else.
2,125-word summary · 9 min read
family + poverty
4 books tagged both “family” and “poverty”.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Francie Nolan grows up poor in 1910s Williamsburg, reading on fire escapes while her family scrapes by, and learns how schooling can lift her out.
2,485-word summary · 11 min read
Hillbilly Elegy
Vance traces Mamaw and Papaw from Kentucky to Middletown through addiction, Marines, and Yale Law.
3,390-word summary · 15 min read
The Glass Castle
Jeannette Walls's memoir of a childhood spent hungry and moving, from a stove fire at three to a Bronx apartment and parents on the street.
2,255-word summary · 10 min read