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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
I've to gather my thoughts and write a proper review. For now 3,5☆ I think it's fair enough.
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Proper review
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Proper review
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There are four main characters:
Gabriel Oak: My favorite character.
Bathsheba Everdeen: Six years younger than Gabriel (20 something), vain, headstrong, cold, and steadfast.
Francis Troy: A sergeant, self-centered, conceited, self-serving, and self-absorbed. A scoundrel, basically.
Mr. Boldwood: A 40-something bachelor, dull, obtuse, and obsessive over Bathsheba.
Gabriel Oak: My favorite character.
Bathsheba Everdeen: Six years younger than Gabriel (20 something), vain, headstrong, cold, and steadfast.
Francis Troy: A sergeant, self-centered, conceited, self-serving, and self-absorbed. A scoundrel, basically.
Mr. Boldwood: A 40-something bachelor, dull, obtuse, and obsessive over Bathsheba.
This book is the first of Hardy's novels set in the fictional village of Wessex. I first read Tess of the d'Urbervilles, and I've to say that I liked that one more. The thing with this one is that I didn’t like Bathsheba (I loved Tess). At first, her character is the type that says, "I’m a strong, independent woman; I don’t need any man in my life. I take pride in making men suffer by rejecting them all, and I’m not like other women who completely lose their heads when they fall in love." But moments later, she’s head over heels for a man who is going to take advantage of her. She’s so stubborn that she ignores the advice of those around her, and then she suffers the consequences. After that, her character changes completely. Everything that happens to her afterward is of her own making—she made her bed.
In the first half I was really engaged with the plot. However, in the second half I just wanted to punch Troy in the face and slap Bathsheeba for being so stupid.
Loved the greek and roman references thoughout the novel, though.
In the first half I was really engaged with the plot. However, in the second half I just wanted to punch Troy in the face and slap Bathsheeba for being so stupid.
Loved the greek and roman references thoughout the novel, though.
I love the Victorians with their eloquent and more luxurious way of writing and Hardy is no different from the other greats. Didn't expect it to be as funny as it was.
Je suis très contente d'avoir pris mon temps pour lire ce livre : je l'ai dégusté avec grand plaisir, j'ai adoré le ton et le style, humoristique, descriptif, très intéressant à observer. En grande fan de cette époque, je n'ai pas été déçue de la manière dont elle a été dépeinte. J'ai beaucoup d'affection pour Gabriel, et même pour Bathsheba : je trouve qu'elle évolue bien au fil du livre, passant d'une jeune femme intelligente mais un peu frivole à une femme grave et posée. La psychologie globale des personnages m'a plu, et je ne me suis pas ennuyée même si j'ai été très lente à lire. C'était top !
I finally finished this book! It took three tries over three years, but I finally did it. I will need to think about it more before sharing thoughts on it, as it was a very complicated reading experience. I will say that the language was beautiful, although the sentences were so long it was hard to remember where they started by the time you got to the end of them. But for now I am celebrating the success of finishing the book!
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This book was initially part of a 2015 challenge:
I will be reading this in March 2015 as a part of my 2015 Book to Film Challenge. Feel free to play along!
Book to Film Challenge Book List: http://planetshannon.blogspot.ca/2015/01/2015-book-to-film-challenge.html
Challenge Introduction Vlog: http://youtu.be/mnuqlUH9svk
This title is available via Public Domain http://toronto.lib.overdrive.com/2CAD1AC6-11B5-4FDF-88F9-703AF2CF9992/10/50/en/ZRPublicDomainCollection.htm
~~~~~~~~~~
This book was initially part of a 2015 challenge:
I will be reading this in March 2015 as a part of my 2015 Book to Film Challenge. Feel free to play along!
Book to Film Challenge Book List: http://planetshannon.blogspot.ca/2015/01/2015-book-to-film-challenge.html
Challenge Introduction Vlog: http://youtu.be/mnuqlUH9svk
This title is available via Public Domain http://toronto.lib.overdrive.com/2CAD1AC6-11B5-4FDF-88F9-703AF2CF9992/10/50/en/ZRPublicDomainCollection.htm
I felt I should read at least one Hardy in my lifetime, so picked this.
A slow read, in bits and pieces. But very interesting - great use of language, altho I did need a dictionary at times for older English words.
A slow read, in bits and pieces. But very interesting - great use of language, altho I did need a dictionary at times for older English words.
An interesting style of writing & interesting characters, the story does get quite weird in the middle before a sudden resolution. Everyone's feelings are both quick and stubborn almost for no reason.
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Hardy writes really beautifully about pastoral Wessex and the way of life at that time. That was one something that really kept this book afloat and acted as a good backdrop to the meandering character development. He writes nature and farming in an interesting, engaging way, and manages to weave humour in in a way I didn't expect.
I also enjoyed the characters, Gabriel Oak is obviously great, and for me was human enough that he wasn't annoying. Bathsheba was an interesting lead, and the exploration of her role as a woman and her relationships with men in that time felt like a Hardy staple. I have a lot of sympathy for the way she behaved, and don't think I would have necessarily made better choices. I also didn't hate Sargent Troy as much as others I know did. Sure he's a scoundrel, but I felt quite bad for him at times.
What I liked less was the meandering nature of the plot, and how things just happens because character A needs to be in situation B.
I also enjoyed the characters, Gabriel Oak is obviously great, and for me was human enough that he wasn't annoying. Bathsheba was an interesting lead, and the exploration of her role as a woman and her relationships with men in that time felt like a Hardy staple. I have a lot of sympathy for the way she behaved, and don't think I would have necessarily made better choices. I also didn't hate Sargent Troy as much as others I know did. Sure he's a scoundrel, but I felt quite bad for him at times.
What I liked less was the meandering nature of the plot, and how things just happens because character A needs to be in situation B.
emotional
lighthearted
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book is about Gabriel Oak a shepherd who wants too marry this younger woman Bathsheba, but she turns him down. She ends up getting involved in the lives of a couple of other men meanwhile Gabriel ends up working for her and still pining for her. This is one of those classical books and they are just boring to me. I was only reading a certain amount of pages per day of this book and I found that I was falling asleep every single time I would read. It just wasn't holding my attention. About halfway through I decided to read a synopsis of this book and once I did that I found that it was keeping my attention more. Also, the ending gets a bit more exciting.
A Thomas Hardy novel with the ending of a Jane Austen novel. I'm impressed by Hardy's respect for nature (which comes through in all his novels) without being overly Romantic or melodramatic. Instead, the natural world is a fact of existence operating on a higher plane than the small world of humans. The symmetrical plot lent a satisfying sense of predictability without being too predictable; the ending could be guessed at but the journey was full of surprises. An enjoyable read that was at times a bit long winded or awkward in prose but forgivable due to the easy attachment I made with the characters of Bathsheba and Gabriel Oak.
¿Una novela romántica del XIX, que cuenta las desventuras amorosas de varios personajes en la Inglaterra rural? Hace unos años no me habría acercado ni con un palo. Pero sin embargo ha sido una lectura tremendamente agradable y entretenida. Un ejemplo de que en literatura no hay que decir "de este agua no beberé".