Reviews

Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

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seanajk's review against another edition

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challenging reflective medium-paced

4.25

zebra52's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No

1.5

jobustitch's review against another edition

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4.0

I am starting to think that Thomas Hardy is one of my favorite authors. The characters he creates are so multi-faceted that they jump off the page. I feel like the four main characters are so very real that I may have met them somewhere. Maybe I'll make this my summer thing. Listen to one Hardy novel every summer. So enjoyable.

akosmia's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

3.75

cait_readsxox's review against another edition

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5.0

I really enjoyed this Victorian Classic! It was a phenomenal story with phenomenal writing! Definitely a new favourite of mine and I can’t stop thinking about it! It really had the flare for dramatic and really vivid writing. Hardy writing is similar to L.M Montgomery, in the sense that they both write very beautiful and vivid settings in their stories. This is definitely not a classic with likeable characters, these characters are flawed and make awful decisions sometimes. There is a lot of dramatic moments, stunning farmland setting, beautiful scenes, sad scenes, funny dialogue & humorous scenes. I’ll definitely read more of his stories! ❤️

catherine_t's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

Beautiful, spirited Bathsheba Everdene arrives in the sleepy Wessex village of Weatherbury to take over her late uncle's farm. She attracts three suitors: faithful shepherd Gabriel Oak, dour gentleman-famer William Boldwood, and dashing Sergeant Francis Troy. Bathsheba's independent nature and fickleness lead her into relationships with all of these men that lead to disastrous consequences.

Or so the blurb on the back of the book says. I could write an essay (at least one, probably more) on why Bathsheba isn't the cause of all the disasters that befall her. She is almost as blameless as Tess, quite frankly, barring the incident of the valentine.

Bathsheba is endlessly fascinating, far more than her three suitors, whose names express their characters: Gabriel Oak, a stalwart good man; William Boldwood, a staid yet impulsive man; and Francis "Frank" Troy, a fickle, wayward man.

Far from the Madding Crowd deserves the designation of classic. It was the first of Hardy's Wessex novels, and is still one of his best-known and most read. Highly recommended.