Reviews

Life's Little Ironies by Norman Page, Thomas Hardy, Alan Manford

sjgrodsky's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective 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? No

5.0

A nice place to start with Hardy, since the stories are all quick reads and feature his trademark theme of love frustrated by class considerations. Most poignant (IMHO) is the first story, "An Imaginative Woman". It's a tribute to Hardy's skill that you know 90 percent of the resolution after the first few paragraphs, yet you keep turning the pages, hoping desperately for something different. Spoiler alert: you know 90 percent, but there's a 10 percent surprise in the last paragraph.

sjgrodsky's review against another edition

5.0

A nice place to start with Hardy, since the stories are all quick reads and feature his trademark theme of love frustrated by class considerations. Most poignant (IMHO) is the first story, "An Imaginative Woman". It's a tribute to Hardy's skill that you know 90 percent of the resolution after the first few paragraphs, yet you keep turning the pages, hoping desperately for something different. Spoiler alert: you know 90 percent, but there's a 10 percent surprise in the last paragraph.

hananhn's review against another edition

3.0

مفارقات الحياة- توماس هاردي
الكتاب عبارة عن قصص قصيرة للمؤلف الإنكليزي توماس هاردي. و تكاد القصص تذكرك بأجواء روايته "عمدة كاستربريدج" من حيث أجواء الريف الإنكليزي و الشخصيات الفريدة الحية التي تشعر بأنك تعرفها رغم قصر القصص.
تدور أفكار الروايات حول القيم و المباديء التي تشكل هوية الإنسان و رضاه عن ذاته، و القرارات التي قد يتخذها و تحدد مصيره فيما بعد.

و لعل من أفضل ما قيل في قصة إراحة الضمير
:” علّمتني الأيام أن هناك نوعاً من الإهمال في أداء الواجب لا تَستطيع الحلول المتأخرة أن تفُض مشاكله، أو تمحو آثاره. فسيئاتنا التي اقرفناها في الماضي، لا تظل قابعة فيه تنتظر الإصلاح، بل هي أشبه بنبات متسلق ينتشر و يضرب جذوره في الجديدة في الأرض، حتى إذا قطعت الساق الأصلية لم يتأثر النبات و لم يَمُت“

jannie_mtl's review against another edition

3.0

Strong start, but the interconnected stories that make up the second half of the book were less interesting.

florante's review

emotional funny lighthearted reflective sad fast-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? Yes

4.5

jessylovesreading's review

emotional informative reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

sophie_alice's review against another edition

3.0

(6) - read for uni
My rating may potentially be a little negatively biased as I personally don't tend to be a fan of short story collections such as this one.
Unfortunately my favourite story (An Imaginative Woman) was also the first one, meaning that the further on I read the more disappointed I was.
It's fine, but when only one story makes any kind of impact the rest of the book feels midly redundant.

charliespringbff's review against another edition

slow-paced

4.0