What one reviewer said about Far from the Madding Crowd (Modern Library Classics) by Thomas Hardy:
Not my typical fare, whether in classics or in modern literature. The beautiful heroine of this 19th century novel, Bathsheba Everdene (naming of characters evidently isn't one of Hardy's foremost strengths), is pursued by three men. Their personalities remind me of the movie "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly". Gabriel Oak is the Good dependable and reticent hero, Francis Troy is the Bad dashing soldier, and you find out towards the end that the handsome Farmer Boldwood is actually quite Ugly inside, though not Bad like Troy. Bathsheba is a somewhat unconventional woman for the time: confident in her ability to deal with men in matters of business, able to endure jarring emotional setbacks, and not afraid of confrontation. Naturally, since this is a romance novel the heroine must also possess some deeply feminine qualities: she's an emotional roller coaster, has a keen yearning to be desired, and feels great empathy for others' sorrows.
The characters' personalities and the numerous coincidences and accidental events that drive the plot all smack of "soap opera." The story may have been a groundbreaking achievement in its heyday, but today it just feels overused because many dramas, whether in novel or film form, recycle this work's themes and plot devices. However, Hardy displays extraordinary skill with the English language and I was delighted with his word choice numerous times throughout the novel. As an example, Hardy's way of describing a pocket watch whose hour hand is broken: "...though the minutes were told with precision, nobody could be quite certain of the hour they belonged to." Now imagine virtually everything in the settings described in witty fashion like that and you'll understand why the prose can be relished on its own merits, quite aside from the generally lackluster plot. The shocking climax did surprise me though.
Due to Hardy's formidable descriptive powers, I got a clear picture of all people and events and my attention never wandered. Also, as an avid amateur astronomer I greatly appreciated Hardy's evident knowledge of the night sky. He makes numerous references to actual constellations and asterisms, by which Oak has incidentally learned to tell time at night.
We can hardly blame Hardy for writing a romance that was unique and original 100 years ago but not today. But it does keep this novel from rating five stars, in my opinion, for a reader *today*. Nevertheless, it's highly enjoyable and I'm still savoring the many brilliant moments of prose contained in this novel.
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