Far from the Madding Crowd

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  Hardy follows the Darwinian notion that things happen by chance, and some split-second decisions go on a long way, sometimes even make a life/death difference. Like how playful Bathsheba's valentine gift had such life-changing and shattering effect on Farmer Baldwood; and how gotten tangled with Sergeant Troy by chance in a dark night in turn altered her own fate. I totally agree with the way he staged the events; life itself is left to chance by large in my opinion, but as individual we can ... (show more)

  Hardy follows the Darwinian notion that things happen by chance, and some split-second decisions go on a long way, sometimes even make a life/death difference. Like how playful Bathsheba's valentine gift had such life-changing and shattering effect on Farmer Baldwood; and how gotten tangled with Sergeant Troy by chance in a dark night in turn altered her own fate. I totally agree with the way he staged the events; life itself is left to chance by large in my opinion, but as individual we can at least in some sense test our fate by perseverance. This book has given me plenty of heart-skidding moments. The intricate relationships evolving four characters and underlying psychology were very well portrayed, almost a Hardy signature. Now as a Hardy fan, I do think that this early piece of his isn't exactly one of his best compared to his later works and is a bit wordy. Nonetheless I still found it a great read. (show less)

   

   

  by Facebook-gebruiker on Aug 10, 2009 at 09:38PM

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  I'll start by saying that the mere mention of Thomas Hardy usually brings groans and laments to those who must read him or have read him. As a writer from a completely different era, his prose and subject matters seem to have little or no connection to contemporary events; very few modern readers can appreciate him. This being said, I found "Far from the Madding Crowd" to be a surprisingly good read. There was very little in terms of verbiage that made reading it difficult (as op... (show more)

  I'll start by saying that the mere mention of Thomas Hardy usually brings groans and laments to those who must read him or have read him. As a writer from a completely different era, his prose and subject matters seem to have little or no connection to contemporary events; very few modern readers can appreciate him. This being said, I found "Far from the Madding Crowd" to be a surprisingly good read. There was very little in terms of verbiage that made reading it difficult (as opposed to many other writers of the same period), and the subject matter was pretty timeless: a beautiful woman and the web of intrigue provided by her suitors. Hardy's plot is seamless and his descriptions crisp. Even the descriptions of rural farming and life were engaging. All in all, it's a very solid novel. Hardy is one of the masters for a reason, and nowhere is that more evident than in "Far From the Madding Crowd." (show less)

   

  by Jake McConnell on Aug 10, 2009 at 03:37AM

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