What one reviewer said about The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy:
Having never read Hardy before, I picked this book at random off a list provided by my Western Civilization teacher. I can't help but attribute my choice to destiny; this is quite possibly the best book I've ever read, written by the single greatest English author in history. While some other reviewers have classified his descriptive passages as somewhat dull, I thought they were rather intoxicating; I don't know how one could not enjoy the superbly vivid style Hardy employs. It's impossible to really describe his writing to one who hasn't read it.
The plot in Mayor of Casterbridge is compelling throughout. I read somewhere that the book was originally published a few chapters at a time in a literary magazine, and this is quite evident, as every many sections seem individually complete with rising action, climax, resolution, etc. Hardy still manages to integrate these individual sections without flaw and create a wonderful composition of the life of Henchard. As everyone else has testified, the conclusion of the book is moving beyond description- without a doubt the most affective book I've ever read. Be forewarned: this is a book that will surely leave the reader in a depressed and brooding state. Going by Kafka's standard, that a book should be "like a suicide... an axe for the frozen sea within us", The Mayor of Casterbridge is surely one of just a handful of the great books in English literature.
After reading the book I sank into a deep thought about the question---"who is really the mayor of Casterbridge?" Is it Henchard the former mayor or the man his step-daughter was married to? Maybe both of them. Thomas hardy's writing is thought to be somewhat dull but I would not agree with that after my reading the book. the book unvails the great picture of how people lived in that history period and what people thought and valued then. The weakness and helplessness of mankind are aslo rediscovered there.
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