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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
If I had to give an alternative summary to this book: Man sells wife and baby, becomes rich and a series of Really Complicated romantic entanglements occur later on because of it. Also, many references to wheat and grain are present.
Seriously though, this book could very plausibly be a modern day television drama, one of those that go on forever and never seem to come to a conclusion. No spoilers here, but needless to say it's a very wild ride.
Seriously though, this book could very plausibly be a modern day television drama, one of those that go on forever and never seem to come to a conclusion. No spoilers here, but needless to say it's a very wild ride.
I'm pretty sure Thomas Hardy is just not the author for me. Casterbridge did not trigger my rage and frustration the way that Tess did, but it also just didn't wow me; I can understand a lot of potential scenarios in which someone would want to teach this novel (perhaps even in which I would want to teach this novel?) but it's not something I have an urge to work with as part of a larger scholarly project.
I think if this novel were actually Elizabeth-Jane's story, I would have liked it better, since she was the one character whose narrative arc I found particularly compelling. (It's interesting because apparently it's a critical commonplace that Elizabeth-Jane narrates most of the novel, but I don't feel like she is central to most of the novel -- something important to think about in pondering the typical positioning of Hardy's narrators, who tend to observe action of which they are not really a part.)
Like all of Hardy's novels (at least all that I've read) Casterbridge seems at times more interested in a place than in people -- what interests me about this particular place is that it occupies a strange place between the strictly rural and the strictly urban; I think that's where a lot of the fascination with Casterbridge lies for Hardy (and of course it's based on his home town of Dorchester so the fascination is strong).
Another thing I found interesting on the larger schematic level has to do with the repetitions and parallels that fill the novel -- events mirror each other, reunions (even remarriages) are frequent, and no event occurs that does not contain some sense of its history. It makes the novel feel much more insistently structured than the other Hardy novels I've read.
But at the end of the day it feels difficult to find something worth saying about the novel, and I'm left with the conclusion that Hardy is just not for me. I have a suspicion that if I read some of his less canonical works -- the ones he liked less -- I'd like him better.
I think if this novel were actually Elizabeth-Jane's story, I would have liked it better, since she was the one character whose narrative arc I found particularly compelling. (It's interesting because apparently it's a critical commonplace that Elizabeth-Jane narrates most of the novel, but I don't feel like she is central to most of the novel -- something important to think about in pondering the typical positioning of Hardy's narrators, who tend to observe action of which they are not really a part.)
Like all of Hardy's novels (at least all that I've read) Casterbridge seems at times more interested in a place than in people -- what interests me about this particular place is that it occupies a strange place between the strictly rural and the strictly urban; I think that's where a lot of the fascination with Casterbridge lies for Hardy (and of course it's based on his home town of Dorchester so the fascination is strong).
Another thing I found interesting on the larger schematic level has to do with the repetitions and parallels that fill the novel -- events mirror each other, reunions (even remarriages) are frequent, and no event occurs that does not contain some sense of its history. It makes the novel feel much more insistently structured than the other Hardy novels I've read.
But at the end of the day it feels difficult to find something worth saying about the novel, and I'm left with the conclusion that Hardy is just not for me. I have a suspicion that if I read some of his less canonical works -- the ones he liked less -- I'd like him better.
I really enjoyed this - the changes of the drama were believable and entertaining, although I have never encountered a case of "death by mocking."
This is the first Hardy novel I have read, and it was wonderful! A beautifully constructed twist on a traditional tragedy, stuffed to bursting with fantastic characters, meaningful insights and a few fun escapades to boot. Nothing was overcomplicated or hard to follow, and he writes with such authority that everything is rendered totally believable and realistic, even when this type of life is so far removed from my own.
While it is a tragedy, it was an absolute joy to read. In particular, I loved his exploration of his central characters, as while he did not shy away from revealing their (many) flaws, he also treated them with respect and pathos. I definitely intend to pick up more of Hardy's works.
While it is a tragedy, it was an absolute joy to read. In particular, I loved his exploration of his central characters, as while he did not shy away from revealing their (many) flaws, he also treated them with respect and pathos. I definitely intend to pick up more of Hardy's works.
I had SUCH a hard time getting into this book. The premise sounded so so good, just not my style.
One of my favourite books of all time. Thomas Hardy is the master. That is all.
Universe punishes Henchard badly for being a dick all those years ago. And continues to do so till the very end.
Redemption is massively expensive and is such a double sword. Henchard tries to immediately rectify his mistake of humiliating his wife and selling her off (along with their child!) as a commodity. He quits drinking - which he believes was the primary cause of his inaptetude. He reforms himself to a man of honor and a businessman, becoming mayor of farming village.
He feels things finally coming together in his life when his estranged wife, now a widow, walks into his town with her daughter on her tails. Their visit coincides with a Scottish gentleman whose business accumen impresses Henchard. Henchard ends up hiring the gentleman on the spot.
Weeks later the mayor remarries his estranged wife and adopts his daughter, turning them to a family they could have been had he not done that shitty thing two decades ago. Its all amicable and sweet and wholesome. For a little while. Hardy doesn't like his readers to be happy or smiling for more than five minutes.
Then comes uncovering the secrets. The secret the daughter didn't know about her mother and the mayor. The secret the mayor didn't know about his wife and their daughter.
From there everything is dramatic. Well it's been mostly dramatic from the very first chapter but Hardy takes it up further and makes the mood even bleaker. There are unbelievably perfect coincidences, melodramatic confessions, jarred love triangles and a lousy fate. The Mayor faces downfall in every aspect of his life because of his own shortcomings. Mayor doesn't catch a break. He can never win the fight he is fighting. If he miraculously does, then there is worst fight waiting for him around the corner. His temper and arrogance doesn't help him retain his friends. His enemies become harder to deal with.
Henchard for all his intentions and purposes remains deliciously flawed human till the very end.
Redemption is massively expensive and is such a double sword. Henchard tries to immediately rectify his mistake of humiliating his wife and selling her off (along with their child!) as a commodity. He quits drinking - which he believes was the primary cause of his inaptetude. He reforms himself to a man of honor and a businessman, becoming mayor of farming village.
He feels things finally coming together in his life when his estranged wife, now a widow, walks into his town with her daughter on her tails. Their visit coincides with a Scottish gentleman whose business accumen impresses Henchard. Henchard ends up hiring the gentleman on the spot.
Weeks later the mayor remarries his estranged wife and adopts his daughter, turning them to a family they could have been had he not done that shitty thing two decades ago. Its all amicable and sweet and wholesome. For a little while. Hardy doesn't like his readers to be happy or smiling for more than five minutes.
Then comes uncovering the secrets. The secret the daughter didn't know about her mother and the mayor. The secret the mayor didn't know about his wife and their daughter.
From there everything is dramatic. Well it's been mostly dramatic from the very first chapter but Hardy takes it up further and makes the mood even bleaker. There are unbelievably perfect coincidences, melodramatic confessions, jarred love triangles and a lousy fate. The Mayor faces downfall in every aspect of his life because of his own shortcomings. Mayor doesn't catch a break. He can never win the fight he is fighting. If he miraculously does, then there is worst fight waiting for him around the corner. His temper and arrogance doesn't help him retain his friends. His enemies become harder to deal with.
Henchard for all his intentions and purposes remains deliciously flawed human till the very end.
I haven't been this angry at book characters for a long, long time. I guess that would mean that Hardy can write some fleshed out characters if they make one so angry..
It's like watching a soap opera! Funny and also depressing at the same time...
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes