Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy - Book Review

Hardy book 4 of 14. From August 2020 to September 2021 I'm reading one Thomas Hardy book a month. If you're interested in reading along with me, here is the order:
(2020/21)
August - Desperate Remedies: • Desperate Remedies by ...
September - Under the Greenwood Tree: • Under the Greenwood Tr...
October - A Pair of Blue Eyes: • A Pair of Blue Eyes by...
November - Far From the Madding Crowd
December - The Hand of Ethelberta
January - The Return of the Native
February - The Trumpet-Major
March - A Laodicean
April - Two on a Tower
May - The Mayor of Casterbridge
June - The Woodlanders
July - Tess of the d'Urbervilles
August - The Well-Beloved
September - Jude the Obscure
🎵 / rexlambo ~ bit.ly/sunrise-rexlambo

[@ingrid8313]

Interesting! I like your take on Bathsheba's sudden switch-up being too uncharacteristic. I felt similarly betrayed by her. In the end, Gabriel felt like the only stable character so I was also routing for him to take his leave. It was a good read with lots of thought-provoking commentary on human nature. The slow unraveling of what begins as a hopeful and untarnished story is always disheartening to witness but it's also valuable to note the behaviors that contribute to the chaos. I personally liked it! My first time reading a Thomas Hardy novel

[@nodrarb140]

I think Thomas Hardy does really awesome female characters. Bathsheba Everdeen is one of my absolute female characters and simply loved farmer Oak. I plan to reread this again. I would recommend the recent movie adaptation 😁

[@JentheLibrarianreads]

Hardy’s characters are definitely one of the main reasons I love his books. I may not always like them, but I remember them so vividly. I really like the recent movie adaptation, I thought it conveyed the essence of the story really well ☺️

[@williamcheyne4173]

I totally agree with you! It's fine - I mean, there're a lot of gorgeous landscapes in it for one thing - but the plot does feel quite simplistic and strained, stretching the bounds of believability in terms of the way you expect characters to behave. It does seem overrated... but that's not to say some of his other stuff ain't brilliant!

[@CourtneyFerriter]

"She turns him down because she's a fool" 🤣🤣🤣 Doesn't want a man to have control over her life, eh? Reminds me of Henry James's Portrait of a Lady (vague spoiler: that didn't end well).

[@laitae]

I'm planning to read a Hardy or two this year, perhaps influenced by you;) If I only read Tess (and tbh I don't remember much from it), which one should I read?

[@JentheLibrarianreads]

The top three I always recommend to people are Tess, The Woodlanders, and if you’re really in the mood for abject misery, Jude the Obscure. I really loved almost all of Two on a Tower until it got to the ending, which ruined everything for me, but the rest of it is good if I remember correctly.

[@BookishTexan]

I have to say that Hardy and I don’t get along, but I enjoyed _Far From the Madding Crowd_.

[@CourtneyFerriter]

Brian, YOU liked a Thomas Hardy book?? I'm shocked. I thought he was your sworn literary enemy. 😂

[@JentheLibrarianreads]

So many people don’t get on with Hardy, I think there might be a significant number more than those who actually like his books. I love two, and so far tolerate the rest 🤣

[@GunpowderFictionPlot]

I'm not sure why people always recommend this book as a starting point either. I mean if you love it, you're going to turn up to Jude or Tess and die of misery. Although this was my first Hardy novel and I enjoyed it. So maybe it's don't start with Jude, in comparison you'll only be disappointed with his other works.

[@JentheLibrarianreads]

I started with Jude. It’s been all downhill since then

[@ahmedhumayunrasheed2434]

Jen, Tess is nice but Mayor is the best!

[@ahmedhumayunrasheed2434]

Emma nice

[@ahmedhumayunrasheed2434]

Wuthering Heights nice

[@ahmedhumayunrasheed2434]

Jane Eyre nice

[@marcevan1141]

I think you are wrong about Bathsheba's sudden, overwhelming erotic attraction to Troy. Hardy actually addresses this seemingly uncharacteristic development in the book.