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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Though I had read this many years ago, I had forgotten how much I loved reading Thomas Hardy. The words are beautiful and this audio book, read by Nicholas Guy Smith was so enjoyable. I love the characters of Bathsheba Everdend and Gabriel Oak. I want to read and reread more Hardy immediately!
To be a virgin Thomas Hardy reader at my age was not something I was especially proud of, so I'm relieved this is out of the way. Not that it was a hardship reading the book. On the contrary, it is justifiably a great classic, and I marvelled at Hardy's mastery of the English language. Perhaps a little too verbose for the modern taste, but I revelled in it and also expanded my vocabulary along the way.
emotional
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
Uživala sam u ovoj knjizi. Daleko od toga da je moje omiljeno delo ikada ali je bilo očaravajuće. Svi ti opisi, toliko dobro fokusiranje na građenje karaktera, promenem likova i otkrivanje pravih lica je nešto što je Hardi zaista maestralno uradio. Dopada mi se što ova knjiga za razliku od nekih drugih njegovih ne odiše tamom. ŠTo se likova tiče Gabrijel Oak iz knjige je definitivno zanimljiviji od onog na filmu, nisam imala ništa protiv njega mada se meni Vilijam Boldvud idalje ubedljivo najviše dopaa, volim taj tip odsečnog gospodina, njegovo građenje prijateljstva sa Gabrijelom je jedna od svetlijih tačaka ove knjige. Batšiba je super lik, jaka žena ali ume na momente da nervira. Narednik Troj je isprva lik iz snova onda postaje noćna mora. Divna knjiga, sa divinim opisima kojoj ću se sigurno vratiti u budučnosti.
Second half of the book needed more sheep. They were sadly lacking even at the sheep fair
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 / 5
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Review:
Like reviewers at the time, I found the slow start to this book incredibly vexing and majorly boring. In fact if I had not been studying it I would have put this book down after the first sentence and probably never picked it up again. The fact I was studying it made it even more boring and had me struggling to finish it. Had I not been sat on a plane for 6 hours I probably would’ve never finished.
Hardys’ old English and rambling sentences, often going on for 4+ lines made this a slow read requiring lots of concentration. Once I had the audiobook and listened while I read I did find it much easier, however the audiobook was a different version which had different phrases and often included more or excluded large chunks of the text. It did improve my enjoyment of reading, and by the last 100 pages I found myself actually enjoying the book.
Hardy gives his characters lots of incidents and describes these incidents in great detail. His writing allows vivid imagery and allows the reader to paint a picture before their eyes. You can tell he has been to many of these places before as he often writes fondly of aspects of each scene bringing seemingly pointless details to life. The last 100 pages contain the best incidents and are the only things that got me through this book! I feel like Hardy gave these events much less page time and describes them in much fewer details so I often felt like I was missing out on character insights. I wish Hardy had used free indirect style with his narrator so we could slip into the characters minds and figure out exactly how they were feeling and thinking.
While a book I would not choose to read personally, I did enjoy its conclusion and although the characters were often vexing I did find them loveable in their own ways. I don’t think I’d read this one again; although as it was a challenging read it felt rewarding to finally finish it and I’m happy I managed to do it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
sad
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:
Complicated