I must say that I couldn't finish this book, because I found reading it so unpleasant. I generally love the classics and have a high tolerance for slow, plodding books, but I found this one painful.I understand that we should allow Lawrence a different standard for his portrayals of Mexico and "natives" since he was writing before our contemporary multicultural awareness. Nevertheless, I would expect insightfulness in his portrayal, whereas I found a simplistic racism. Had I finished the book, perhaps I would have found that he had more to say than what I have gleaned so far- that Mexico and Mexicans are evil, reptilian, and hopeless. That message was so repetitive that I had to give up on the book in order to save myself from the dark mood of the whole reading experience.