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3.36 AVERAGE
3.36 AVERAGE
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A very light story with surprising low stakes for what Hardy would later develop. There are novella is carried by the dialogues of ancillary characters because it’s here that Hardy captures the pastoral world he want to set his “plot”
funny
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Very much here for the vibes - and Hardy's wit. Like many of his novels, there's quite a melancholy undertone, as the idyllic world in which it's set is about five minutes away from ending with the industrial revolution. Not my favourite of his novels, and one of his weaker female characters, but it's still a bloody good book, and like I say, as usual, the vibes are immaculate 😩👌
Well, I liked it better than Tess of the D'Urbervilles. But, much like Shirley by Charlotte Bronte, I wish they had spent more time on the sub-plot than the romance. I found the choir being supplanted by new music to be a much more interesting and timeless topic than a silly, vain girl and her clueless suitor. On the plus side, the description of the countryside was just beautiful and made me feel like (and wish) that I was there.
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
When Tess of the D’Ubervilles, which I recently read, showed up as a group read in the Reading with Style Challenge along with a 19th Century task, I knew it was time to read another Thomas Hardy book. Under the Greenwood Tree was the perfect choice as it was about music and a little romance with lots of humor, especially toward the end of the book. This peek into a small community in England of the 1800s involved me from the first page as it opened on Christmas Eve as the musicians traveled door to door through the village. This little group of church players is about to be replaced by a pretty church organist who is the love interest of three men. The rules of courting come into play as do the whims of the rather fickle Fancy Day. This was not the heavy Thomas Hardy of Tess and Jude the Obscure, and I do like his darker stories of the poor and downtrodden, but a pleasant little gem in which Hardy’s writing voice shines through.
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
I enjoy most books by Hardy yet this one felt tedious and I was struggling to follow the point of it...perhaps one to come back to another time!
Thomas Hardy is a favorite author of mine and I love this book. The natural world and his human characters are exquisitely observed and adroitly described in beautiful language. This tale depicts the everyday life of a rural community and, as many of Hardy's novels do, the passing away of old ways for new ones. At turns wistful, comical, poetic, and dramatic, this slim novel is a fantastic artwork.