I liked it.

The Fertile Earth is a good story on a particular piece of India's history that I knew nothing about.

It's a story line that's been done many times: a true blue boy from the wrong side of tracks meets a traumatized girl from a rich family. There is lots of drama and many, many intertwined plots and characterizations. Many of the supporting characters are so vivid that the reader feels instantly drawn to them.

It's compellingly written and moves quickly. The ending is perhaps a little too neat but I was engaged in the story from the opening paragraph AND it gives a striking picture of a time that now I know a little more about.