Reviews

Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

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sidharthvardhan's review

4.0

I like the atmosphere Hardy buids - the rural surroundings, characters hardened by lots of daily hard work but still having a naivete. That said, there was something lacking toward the end of book - toward the point when Bathsheeba's husband Troy decided to come back. Until then, Hardy seems to be doing an incredible Hardy job but the later chapters seemed to me a bit forced- it was like Hardy didn't know what to do with extra two lovers so let one of them kill another and then himself. I didn't particularly like the happy ending. I probably would have liked it more if Bathsheeba had realized her love for Gabriel after he had left and it was too late. I'm sadistic that way but given Bathsheeba's character that ending would have made more sense because that's how Bathsheeba realizes her blindspots - too late. The mistakes she committed in sending the letter to Boldwood and in falling from Troy were results of such blind spots in her knowledge of how her mind works.

Unlike Tess, which was a tragedy, Far from Madding Crowd is more of a caution tale on vanity. Easily admirable as Bathsheeba is, her good qualities are undone by her vanity and her, what Milan Kundera would have called, 'inexperience'. It is because of this naivity that she is unable to see through tricks Troy plays. Her naivete doesn't excuse what she did to Boldwood either, although later is probably culprit of a lot of stocking and guilt tripping. Still, I mean reverse their genders and I don't think I would have faulted a woman for guilt tripping a man who evoked her emotions like that.

Two things that are important to Bathsheeba that I don't think get remarked enough are - 1. She has a desire to be strong desire to be true to her word (which is how Boldwood holds her prisoner to her words) and 2. Loyalty (she stays loyal to her apparently dead terrible example of a husband until she is sure about his death).

Third thing is that she has a way of getting used (addicted) to people around her; that's really only reason she decided to marry Gabriel - she was just used to his company. While Gabriel does look after her, he probably would have left her service long ago if he hadn't been so financially strained. To want to leave her alone at her weakest moment (toward the end) hardly does him credit - but it is this threat that works on Bathsheeba. And you could bet, had he never thought of leaving and instead always stayed loyal servant, he would never have got her to marry him.

All affairs Bathsheeba had seemed to be toxic in one particular way - her suitors are more likely to be rewarded by their flaws (Boldwood for emotional blackmail, Troy for lies and Gabriel for wanting to leave a friend in weak moment) than when they are acting decently (atleast Boldwood and Gabriel did; Troy didn't, he didn't love her and never suffered for her, only made her suffer- making him Bathsheeba's favorite) but then I guess that's what normal people are like.

imperrterritus's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

andotherworlds's review against another edition

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3.0

pre review - gabriel proving nice guys CAN win

neaddean's review against another edition

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funny reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

upsidedown10's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

This was a tale of two halves for me. The first half, I found very slow paced, but in a relaxing and pastoral way. I was vibing along with the descriptions of farm life and the villagers' stories even though not a lot was actually happening. Then the second half, things start to spin tighter and tighter until we come to the dramatic and quite explosive ending.

I liked both Shepherd Gabriel and Farmer Boldwood as characters and I found the twists and turns with them very interesting. I found Troy to be a little tedious as a character and I wasn't very engaged when he was on screen. Then we have Bathsheba, who I partially liked, but it was hard to love her when it felt like Thomas Hardy didn't like her. She was very wishy washy as a character and I found that I could feel the author moving the story more than I would have liked.

I also found the writing to be a little difficult to read compared with other classic books of the time. Hardy gets a bit tedious with his descriptions of farm life and I can see how this could be perfect for people looking for some cottage-core vibes, but it didn't make it very engaging for me. I was immensely grateful for the audiobook for this one.