Reading 1001 discussion

5 stars

I absolutely loved this book! It is the first time I have read Thomas Hardy and I have more that I have moved WAY UP the TBR pile. The interesting thing about my fervor for this book is that I truly disliked Bathsheba Everdene. I found her to be vain, simpering and boring. And I am a reader who loves books for their complex and intriguing characters. So how the heck did this one rate 5 stars? I am not sure I can even explain it... bur Hardy write beautifully intricate and poetic sentences. There were many, many sentences and paragraphs that I read aloud to my husband. His use of language is clever, lyrical, and lovely. He made me laugh. I listened to the book and read along with a paper version. I stopped often to reread and to figure out exactly what was said. I stopped even more often to reread just for the joy of savoring the words. Despite all those stops I read the entire book in two days and it was wonderful. I will definitely revisit this one soon.

4 stars

Slow paced, but beautifully written, this book should appeal to those who like romance delivered in a literary package. Hardy's protagonist is Bathsheba, a beautiful and unusually independent woman, who inherits a farm. She is courted by three different men who vary widely in their natures and their intentions: a steady loyal farmhand/shepherd, a handsome obsessive farmer, and a charismatic soldier. The book slowly unveils the tensions caused by the desires of these three men and Bathsheba's attempt to cope with their attentions (both wanted and unwanted). In between, Hardy does what he does best - describes everything in spectacular language, but sometimes more detail than one might really want or need. For me, the plot line was predictable in the broad strokes, but not in the details. I wavered between a 3 and a 4, but ultimately have settled on a 4. 5 stars for the beautiful language, 4 stars for an engaging plot idea, but 3 stars for pacing which struck me as slow until the last third.

This was my first Hardy and I read it as it was on my Random Reading List for 2022. I have put off reading Hardy as I assumed it would be a slow steady slug. It was not.
Hardy is certainly paced to reflect the slow steady rhythms of the rural countryside where even dramatic disasters (fire, storms) do not compare to the conflicts and tensions created by three men in love with one woman. This woman, Bathsheba Everdene, is a tiresome, vain character who nevertheless has her own mind, and is not likely representative of her class at the time the book was published. She is far too independent and self-sufficient, although that self sufficiency comes from inheriting a farm from her well to do uncle. Also, much of her independence comes from knowing that she is beautiful and therefore can attract men. Two of the men are more two dimensional: the obsessive upper class farmer who falls apart when his love is not returned, the cad of a soldier who loves her beauty but not her being, and then there is our quiet hero who loves Bathsheba tirelessly without losing himself in the process. There is one other woman we meet who plays a key part and that is Fanny Robin, who contrasts with Bathsheba, in that she is equally beautiful, but poor and love is her downfall.
The language is rich and full of rural detail and often full of witty quips from the mouths of the rural secondary characters.
I am now committed to reading the rest of Hardy on the list (there are many) and looking forward to them instead of dreading.

A favorite quote: "It is difficult for a woman to define her feelings in language which is chiefly made by men to express theirs."

Reason read: TBR takedown
This book was Hardy's fourth published novel. It is set in Wessex (rural sw England) and the idyllic but hash life of a farming community. The time period is Victorian England. The main female character is Bathsheba Everdene. She is not your typical female in that she is an independent female farmer. She does not want to lose her independence. The three male characters, all suitors of Bathsheba, are William Boldwood (gentleman farmer), Gabriel Oak, (hired hand), and Sergeant Troy (Don Juan in uniform).

The themes are love, honour, and betrayal. I found myself at times disliking Bathsheba and other times liking her. Gabriel is the loyal faithfaul friend, William Boldwood is the obsessive, Troy is a false horse and Bathsheba, usually so smart and careful fails to see the danger.

This book is unlike other Hardy books that I've read. It was the happiest. There are references to characters of this book in Mayor of Castlebridge. It is not as tragic as Tess nor as depressing and nihilistic as Jude the Obscure. It can be called a romance with three suitors.

This was my second Hardy this year, and I enjoyed both, although I preferred this one to Mayor of Casterbridge. Hardy is known for focusing on the details of nature and rural life, and you get a lot of that here.

Hardy loves a linguistic device of oppositions; I'm sure it has a specific name but I don't know it. A few examples: "Men thin away to insignificance and oblivion quite as often by not making the most of good spirits when they have them as by lacking good spirits when they are indispensable.” or "When a strong woman recklessly throws away her strength she is worse than a weak woman who has never had any strength to throw away."

Bathsheba is a complicated female character and the plot took some twists I didn't see coming. Nice way to end the year.

⭐⭐⭐⭐
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"It is difficult for a woman to define her feelings in language which is chiefly made by men to express theirs."

“The poetry of motion is a phrase much in use, and to enjoy the epic form of that gratification it is necessary to stand on a hill at a small hour of the night, and, having first expanded with a sense of difference from the mass of civilized mankind, who are dreamwrapt and disregardful of all such proceedings at this time, long and quietly watch your stately progress through the stars. After such a nocturnal reconnoitre it is hard to get back to earth, and to believe that the consciousness of such a majestic speeding is derived from a tiny human frame.”

"Love is a possible strength in an actual weakness. Marriage transforms a distraction into a support, the power of which should be, and happily often is, in direct proportion to the degree of imbecility it supplants."

"...some women require only an emergency to make them fit for one."

“She was of the stuff of which great men’s mothers are made. She was indispensable to a high generation, hated at tea parties, feared in shops, and loved at a crises.”

Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
4/5 stars

I have had this book on my to-be-read list since 2015, the year the latest movie came out. I enjoyed the movie and did not know it was based on a book.

“Bathsheba Everdene has inherited a prosperous farm in Thomas Hardy’s fictional Wessex.” “Bathesheba’s passionate nature draws the attention of three suitors: wealthy farmer William Boldwood, dashing and seductive Sergeant Frank Troy, and devoted shepherd Gabriel Oak. The drama of their entanglements is one of the great love stories in literature.”

I enjoyed the journey of Bathsheba Everdene. I looked forward to each chapter to see what was going to happen next. This is quite a modern tale for women given it was first published January 1, 1874. Even though Bathsheba was an independent spirit she still fell prey to bad decisions. This is my first Thomas Hardy and I seem to have a few more to read for the list. Now time for a re-watch of the movie.