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mondovertigo's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, and Abandonment
Moderate: Mental illness, Murder, and Animal death
Minor: Child death
5aru's review against another edition
emotional
informative
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
While perhaps not as emotionally charged as Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Far From the Madding Crowd is yet another delicate, moving account of how much a woman's life in the 1800s was dictated by social and cultural forces outside of her control and even awareness. Thomas Hardy was a real one for knowing how poorly and how cruelly men used (and continue using) women and denouncing it in his novels. He writes a damn good scoundrel. Oh how I hated Troy's ass throughout.
Even if I don't appreciate how often he takes recourse to 'womanliness' to explain Bathsheba's nature, the way Hardy develops her character is still interesting and nuanced; even as she is continually perceived through male lenses (through Troy's, through Boldwood's, especially through Oak's, and of course Hardy's own) her character stays strong, managing to stand on its own before the reader's eye. Because Bathsheba is fickle, yes, and temperamental, and vain - easily swayed by pretty words -, but she is also a very young woman burdened with the hostile perceptions of men and occupying a position that is out of her depth, but that she must keep to survive. And Hardy never allows the reader to forget that: he shows her flaws and expands on her mistakes and their consequences, but still extends due respect and compassion to her not just as a human being, but as a woman, even with all the patriarchal stereotypes which that position implies. Hell, he even lets her talk back and defend herself before men's accusations, in the novel itself, and that much is already a wonder.
Even if I don't appreciate how often he takes recourse to 'womanliness' to explain Bathsheba's nature, the way Hardy develops her character is still interesting and nuanced; even as she is continually perceived through male lenses (through Troy's, through Boldwood's, especially through Oak's, and of course Hardy's own) her character stays strong, managing to stand on its own before the reader's eye. Because Bathsheba is fickle, yes, and temperamental, and vain - easily swayed by pretty words -, but she is also a very young woman burdened with the hostile perceptions of men and occupying a position that is out of her depth, but that she must keep to survive. And Hardy never allows the reader to forget that: he shows her flaws and expands on her mistakes and their consequences, but still extends due respect and compassion to her not just as a human being, but as a woman, even with all the patriarchal stereotypes which that position implies. Hell, he even lets her talk back and defend herself before men's accusations, in the novel itself, and that much is already a wonder.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Misogyny
edwardian_girl_next_door's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is my second Hardy read after The Mayor of Casterbridge. There's something so intoxicating about the world of Wessex that keeps drawing me back. I love when authors have multiple works set in the same relative universe -- it's so fun to see how they develop a common landscape, characters, &c. and to see how much you can recognise work to work. I definitely plan on returning, either through Jude the Obscure or Return of the Native.
I loved Bathsheba as a main character. Her independence and intemperate nature in the beginning of the story wasn't like the "strong, independent, not-like-other-girls" trope, which tends to be tacky and overboard. (Sometimes the author seems like they're trying reallllly hard for an inclusivity point, if you know what I mean.) Some people don't like the way her character changes over the course of the novel, but I think it is perfectly reasonable.For instance, when she falls in love with Serjeant Troy: Hardy sets up well beforehand that her besetting sin is vanity, and with a smooth-talker like Troy, who constantly tells her she's beautiful, she's doomed. At first, I didn't think that her love for him was believable, but then again, how many of us have a lovely friend who falls for someone so below their league? And we have to stand by and hold in our screams of rage while said friend dismisses all the flaming red flags because they're besotted. That's how I felt with Bathsheba. Troy can manipulate her so well that it's no surprise she ignores others' advice and her own gut feelings about him. After he turns into the abusive good-for-nothing he really is, she is understandably changed. She's more somber and realistic; a bit of wind is taken out of her sails. She says herself, "Love is an utterly bygone, sorry, wornout, miserable thing with me". If people are looking for a buoyant, happy story, they probably shouldn't read Hardy. However, I really liked the fact that, even though she is permanently changed, having grown into a more serious person, there is a hint of the old Bathsheba returning at the end of the novel: "Yet, though so plainly dressed, there was a certain rejuvenated appearance about her: -- As though a rose should shut and be a bud again. Repose had again incarnadined her cheeks; and having, at Gabriel's request, arranged her hair this morning as she had worn it years ago at Norcombe Hill, she seemed to him remarkably like the girl of that fascinating dream". Gabriel was there at the beginning, and Gabriel is there at the end; and it gives us reason to hope that with him she will be able to regain the parts of herself lost to her experiences with Troy and Boldwood.
The one part of this novel that kept it from being five stars was Troy. Oh, Troy. A rakish, cajoling, manipulative man, the epitome of the folk song "The Rambling Soldier".At no point could I believe that he actually cared for Fanny Robin. When he was with her, he was extremely reluctant to marry her, and very cruel at her simple mistake of confusing the churches. The only thing I could think of (to make him love Fanny) was guilt after seeing her destitute and pregnant, but even that's a stretch. I really don't think he cared for anyone, or at least a woman, for a day in his life. If he really did love Fanny, and only married Bathsheba for her money, then why didn't he try to find Fanny afterwards? It simply doesn't make sense to me, and my confusion was only magnified by his grand display of grief at her grave. Perhaps I'm viewing him from the wrong angle, or missed some clue that Hardy dropped about his true character, but I wonder if his sudden adoration of Fanny resulted from a forced plot change, since it rings so false. In my opinion, Francis Troy is one of those people who uses their relationships to advance their own standing in the world because they refuse to use their own talent for good or profit.
If anyone's interested in watching the 2015 movie adaptation, I'd recommend it! It's a pretty faithful adaptation -- it necessarily cuts out a lot of the side character happenings for the sake of time, and I don't quite like the way they represented Boldwood, but I'll forgive it all for the talented Carey Mulligan :)
I loved Bathsheba as a main character. Her independence and intemperate nature in the beginning of the story wasn't like the "strong, independent, not-like-other-girls" trope, which tends to be tacky and overboard. (Sometimes the author seems like they're trying reallllly hard for an inclusivity point, if you know what I mean.) Some people don't like the way her character changes over the course of the novel, but I think it is perfectly reasonable.
The one part of this novel that kept it from being five stars was Troy. Oh, Troy. A rakish, cajoling, manipulative man, the epitome of the folk song "The Rambling Soldier".
If anyone's interested in watching the 2015 movie adaptation, I'd recommend it! It's a pretty faithful adaptation -- it necessarily cuts out a lot of the side character happenings for the sake of time, and I don't quite like the way they represented Boldwood, but I'll forgive it all for the talented Carey Mulligan :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Animal death, Death, Murder, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Stalking, Misogyny, Alcohol, and Gaslighting
Minor: Child death
iwishihadmoretimetoread's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Gun violence, Grief, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Suicide attempt, Murder, Animal death, and Physical abuse
aloy's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Animal cruelty, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, and Violence
priya_can_read's review against another edition
Long, emotionally intense, with lots of intricate plot details, MANY historical footnotes... and I'm already reading huge tomes for school!! Will pick it up again someday soon, though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Animal death, and Racism
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Grief, Rape, Classism, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Abandonment, and Alcohol
I mean, it's a Thomas Hardy novel. It is sad and weepy, but the language is such a treat, and it's a fascinating look into the time period, and the tensions between the trend of rapid industrial development in Britain and its agrarian heritage.vistacanas's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Bathsheba loved Troy in the way that only self-reliant women love when they abandon their self-reliance. When a strong woman recklessly throws away her strength, she is worse than a weak woman who has never had any strength to throw away.
This is one of the rare occasions when seeing the movie prompted me to read the book. I loved the movie! It pretty much nailed the lives of my adult life…my ex-husband, my ex-lover, and the ultimate love of my life. So I ran and bought the book, but held off reading it until the memory of the book faded.
I so wanted to love this book as much as I loved the movie…but, I didn’t.
The theme and character development were excellent, but they weren’t enough to make up for the shortcomings for me.
First, this is a hardcore classic. The language and many references, including lots of biblical ones, were very dated making footnotes a regular occurrence and a lot of nuances missed (unless you wanted to conduct research (which I did not).
Second, oftentimes descriptions of the environs would drag on for multiple paragraphs. Zzzzzz…
And, finally, the most important part of the whole story felt like an afterthought. I don’t want to spoil it, but let’s just say that Mr. Hardy should have spent way less time describing the countryside and way more time on the last chapter!
If not for my love of the movie, I don’t think I would have finished this book. I read mostly at night and it acted like a Benadryl stretching my total read time to over a month.
I’m really glad the filmmakers brought this story to the current generation because the theme and message really are fantastic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Grief, and Classism
Moderate: Stalking, Child death, and Death
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