Finished 'The Good Earth',

by Pearl S. Buck. Sorta glad I read it, but am not gonna read the the next book in the series, 'Sons', that follows the sons of Wang Lung. The story chronicles the life of a Chinese peasant, who, through (very) hard work and determination, builds a small dynasty for himself and his family, through the constant acquisition of more land, (hence, The Good Earth). BUT, he is not a likeable character, and although you get to know a lot about the Chinese culture, during the first half of the 20th century, it was hard for me to remain interested cuz he had so many flaws it was hard for me to care about him or his family. His loyal wife suffered through drought, floods, locusts and an army invasion with him , but he dumped her and moved his favorite prostitute into their home, as soon as he could afford it, although he allowed his wife Oo-lan to stay and do all the work. He gradually gained financial success, but was never happy once he quit working the land. Bottom line, I struggled through it and feel very fortunate to be who and where I am, but I knew that before.