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Title: Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy, Nathaniel Parker ISBN: 0-7540-0125-3 Publisher: Sterling Audio Books Pub. Date: July, 1998 Format: Audio Cassette Volumes: 12 List Price(USD): $96.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.48 (29 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A Fun Hardy Read? It Exists
Comment: I've always condidered myself to be sort of an optimist; so it is really odd that I've always really loved Thomas Hardy's books. I count Tess of the D'Urbervilles and Jude the Obscure among my very favorites, and whether or not it is my favorite, I think that The Mayor of Casterbridge is marvelously written. Still though, reading all of that fatalism and cynicism can be a little much. It was really nice to pick up this novel and not read so many grim scenes.
Far From the Madding Crowd is a pretty simple love story driven by the characters. First, there is Bathsheba Everdeen. She's vain, naive, and she makes the stupidest decisions possible. Yet, you still like her. Then there are the three guys who all want her: Troy who's like the bad guy straight out of a Raphael Sabatini novel, Boldwood who's an old lunatic farmer, and Gabriel Oak who is a simple farmer and is basically perfect. The reader sees what should happen in the first chapter, and it takes Bathsheeba the whole book to see it. The characters really make the book. The reader really has strong feelings about them, and Hardy puts them in situations where you just don't know what they're going to do. The atmosphere that Hardy creates is (as is in all of Hardy's novel) amazing and totally original. I don't think any other author (except Wallace Stegner in America) has ever evoked a sense of place as well as Hardy does. Overall, Far from the Madding Crowd is a great novel. I probably don't like it quite as well as some of his others, but I still do think it deserved five stars.
Rating: 4
Summary: A story of patience
Comment: Though I have never read Thomas Hardy before, I shall again very soon. I greatly enjoyed Far From the Madding Crowd. I kept associating Bathsheba, the heroine, with Scarlett O'Hara. They are both women from the past who are struggling for a place where only men typically tread. Unlike Scarlett, Bathsheba's emotions are more restrained. She's so young, but matures through the book. The reader yearns for the day she finally matures to the point that realizes she needs a partner in life, and her perfect partner is Gabriel Oak, her steadfast mate of fate.
I definitely recommend this book for one of those cold rainy weekends curled up on the couch.
I am looking forward to diving into my next Thomas Hardy novel, Jude the Obscure.
Rating: 5
Summary: Forget the infamous "love triangle"...
Comment: In Far from the Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy introduces us to the precarious "love square". At the core of all the turmoil is beautiful farm girl, Bathsheba Everdene - spirited, vain, intelligent and adept at toying with the hearts of men. Inevitably beguiled by her charms a humble and kind farmer, Gabriel Oak, fervently attempts to win Bathsheba's affections. Enter the competition: (suitor#2) Farmer Boldwood - a wealthy and temperate middle-aged man respected in the community, eventually plunges into maniacal obsession at the mere possibility of making the beloved Miss Everdene his wife; and (suitor#3) Sergeant Francis Troy - a dashing young philandering soldier, with his share of inner demons, ruthlessness and vanity, vies for Bathsheba's hand in marriage. Bathsheba's ultimate decision, and the cataclysm it evokes, lies at the epicenter of Hardy's unforgettable ambivalent story.
Far from the Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy's fourth novel, saw publication in 1874 and earned him widespread popularity as a writer. A delicately woven tale of unrequited love and regret, set in the mid-19th century, Far From the Madding Crowd is a masterpiece of pure story-telling. Hardy's classic style is a pleasure to read as he masterfully brings his characters and their dealings to life. I would not hesitate to say it definitely captured my heart as another favourite.
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Title: The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy, Alan Rickman ISBN: 1572700904 Publisher: The Audio Partners Pub. Date: 25 February, 2002 List Price(USD): $44.95 |
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Title: Jude the Obscure (Penguin Classics) by Thomas Hardy, Dennis Taylor ISBN: 0140435387 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: September, 1998 List Price(USD): $7.95 |
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Title: The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy, J.I.M. Stewart ISBN: 0375760067 Publisher: Modern Library Pub. Date: 14 May, 2002 List Price(USD): $7.95 |
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Title: Great Expectations by Charles Dickens ISBN: 0679405798 Publisher: Unknown Publisher - Being Researched Pub. Date: 10 March, 1992 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
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Title: Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte ISBN: 0553212583 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 October, 1983 List Price(USD): $4.95 |
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