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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
1. Easy language, could be your best kick start for classics.
2. Writting is so appreciable, as well as all the romantic lines are written with so much beauty and grace.
3. Characters are very well explained, without even explaining the characteristics, which helps in keeping the flow of the story.
4. At first I didn't like the character of Bathsheba, to me she was just like another confused 20 years old , who takes impulsive decisions, but at the end of the book I understood the this book is not only about love, it's also about like and maturity, which comes after doing mistakes.
5. Hardy rightly points out in this novel that "It appears that ordinary men take wives because possession is not possible without marriage, and that ordinary women accept husbands because marriage is not possible without possession; with totally differing aims the method is the same on both sides. Which is enough to summarise the novel.
2. Writting is so appreciable, as well as all the romantic lines are written with so much beauty and grace.
3. Characters are very well explained, without even explaining the characteristics, which helps in keeping the flow of the story.
4. At first I didn't like the character of Bathsheba, to me she was just like another confused 20 years old , who takes impulsive decisions, but at the end of the book I understood the this book is not only about love, it's also about like and maturity, which comes after doing mistakes.
5. Hardy rightly points out in this novel that "It appears that ordinary men take wives because possession is not possible without marriage, and that ordinary women accept husbands because marriage is not possible without possession; with totally differing aims the method is the same on both sides. Which is enough to summarise the novel.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Hardy has by far become my favorite author. He creates such a vivid world with characters to match. I loved every minute of this novel, twists and turns included.
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-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
All the things I love about dating in one book - love bombing, leading on, jealousy, stalking, gas lighting, cheating, ghosting, unrequited love and a girl who always goes for the wrong man because she’s blind to the perfect man next to her.
3.5 stars. My first Thomas Hardy book. Loved the setting and style and character development, but ultimately felt like it was a long, exciting build up to a lackluster ending.
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
Far From the Madding Crowd written by Thomas Hardy is the love story of Bathsheba Everdene and her three suitors. It takes place in rural Wessex.
And honestly, I never expected to learn this much about sheep and shepherding when starting this book. It made me realize how difficult and demanding shepherding is as a profession.
This was the first book I read by Thomas Hardy and I can say with certainty that I love this story with all my heart. I laughed, and there were times where I was so shocked that I had to stop and just process. Hardy knows how to hit you with those emotional punches.
Bathsheba’s growth in the novel something that stuck out to me. She starts out as free-spirited, prideful, and vain young woman. By the end of novel, she is reserved and more humble. She’s suffered from the mistakes of her youth and has mellowed out since then. She’s still Bathsheba, but a little different.
And I have to talk about how Hardy wrote Bathsheba. The words of Bathsheba didn’t sound like the words of a man at all. Her words felt wholly and entirely like a woman’s words and thoughts. It was like Hardy captured the words of a free-spirited and fiercely prideful woman and poured them into the mouth of Bathsheba. She’s beautiful and spirited, but not perfect. She has obvious flaws which make her feel more human.
“She was of the stuff of which great men’s mothers are made. She was indispensable to high generation, hated at tea parties, feared in shops, and loved at crises.”
Bathsheba’s first suitor is a shepherd named Gabriel Oak. If someone were to ask me who the most attractive man was I would say Gabriel Oak. Forget Mr. Darcy, Gabriel Oak is everything I want in a man. Loyal, loving, and constant as the sun. He’s the man you run to for advice, help, or if you just need a shoulder to cry. He’s the man the I picture when Tift Merritt sings about a ‘good-hearted man‘. I’m starting to understand why most modern romance novels never appealed to me.
Sometimes I think he’s too good for Bathsheba. But on the flip side, I think Gabriel is the only one who can handle Bathsheba. He never lets Bathsheba treat him like a doormat and when she genuinely needs help and asks for it he always comes to the rescue.
Oh, and Hardy’s nature writing. I have always enjoyed it when authors write whole passages dedicated just to describing the nature and scenery. There are a few passages where Hardy describes the night sky and it was one of the most beautiful description I’ve ever read. It’s a shame that I don’t see that many modern authors write such detailed and beautiful descriptions of nature.