Is the book worth reading?
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Vern_McIlhenney — 16 years ago(April 11, 2009 02:27 PM)
If I may dissent slightly from the consensus, after reading 'Far From The Madding Crowd' as a school pupil I can only say that it is a good job Hardy is already dead or I would have hunted him down and fed him his own eyeballs. I hated it more than words can say.
Wonderful film, though.
http://thefilmwotiwatched.wordpress.com/ -
Hardyboy09 — 16 years ago(June 11, 2009 09:21 PM)
HArdy is the master tragic novel writer. People who complain that his novels are too depressing, need to view them as classic literary tragedies! NO one seriously complains that Hamlet or Macbeth are too depressing, yet many people don't read Hardy because the stories are too depressing. They are missing out! His writing is gorgeous. Here are my favorites (of those I've read) in order:
The Return of the Native (the audiobook read by Alan Rickman is stunning).
Far from the Madding Crowd
The MAyor of Casterbridge
Tess of the d'Ubervilles
Jude the Obscure
The Trumpet Major
His short stories are also fantastic and he was a respected poet as well. -
eeyore6771 — 14 years ago(February 04, 2012 03:44 AM)
I too like Thomas Hardy. And I am glad you mentioned the audio book of Return of the Native, read by Alan Rickman. He perfectly captures each character in his reading. Egdon Heath itself is often seen as a major character in the book, and the descriptions in the book (and read by Rickman) are stunning.
I don't really think of the books as depressing. As you point out, they are tragedies in classic literature, with characters that are believable - heroic, yet flawed.
Another, smaller novel of Hardy's, is Under the Greenwood Tree. It was different than his other novels - lighter, with a happier ending, but still had much of what I like about his writing. He paints vivid pictures of his characters and of the places they inhabit. -
duke1029 — 16 years ago(July 07, 2009 05:08 PM)
I first read FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD nearly 50 years ago. It was part of the curriculum when I was a senior in high school. I found Hardy, unlike other Victorians like Sir Walter Scott, very readable. It is set in the southwest part of England, beautifully lush farm country. Hardy called in Wessex (He was actually born in Dorset, where CROWD was filmed.)
Hardy started life as an architect but turned to fiction later in life. Despite the quality of his work, he abandoned fiction and wrote poetry for the last three decades of his life. As in CROWD, his characters seem governed by social convention and fate.
TESS OF THE D'UBERVILLES has been filmed seven times, the best being Roman Polanski's version with Nastasia Kinski, and the MAYOR OF CASTERBRIDGE three, the best being the 1979 Masterpiece Theater miniseries with Alan Bates. The fifth version of CROWD is in pre-production now, adapted by Robert Benton to the American West with Cate Blanchett. I'm glad they're not going to try to remake the 1967 version, which with Nicholas Roeg's photography, Frederic Rafael's adaptation, Richard Rodney Bennet's evocative score, and John Schlesinger's superb direction is a masterpice of Victoriana.
Other notable Hardy novels are JUDE, THE OBSCURE and THE RETURN OF THE NATIVE. -
marian-hone1 — 16 years ago(July 25, 2009 11:23 AM)
I hope you have read and enjoyed the book by now. I studied the book at school and loved it and Hardy's writing. There's a lot to savour in his descriptions of people and places - very atmospheric and beautiful. You can sense that he loves the places he's writing about and the people - though they are fictional they are based on real places in Doset where he lived and I think his stories are quite gripping because you feel involved with the characters. For me this was his most enjoyable book but others prefer Tess of the D'Urbervilles.
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themill — 16 years ago(March 10, 2010 08:51 PM)
Hardy's always worth a read, one of the finest writers of all time in the English language. Here's my recommended list, in order:
Far From the Madding Crowd
The Mayor of Casterbridge
Return of the Native
Tess of D'Urbervilles
Jude the Obscure
This might be the order in which they were written, I don't remember. Anyway, you get a good progression there. Hardy becomes more hard-bitten and cynical, his writing becomes more pained and hopeless, but also more beautiful. Hahaha, well, I feel I should have been able to come up with something better than that. Not very articulate tonight.
Anyway, my personal favorite is "Return of the Native," though I think "Tess" and "Jude" are actually better novels. -
intofilm — 15 years ago(August 02, 2010 07:17 PM)
I think this is a good one to start with because it is probably the most positive of his novels. He wrote it when he was in a relatively happy point in his life. As time went on his plots became more and more pessimistic.
My husband and I read this novel to each other when we were dating, we enjoyed it so much. -
nettwench — 15 years ago(August 07, 2010 11:51 PM)
I've read Tess of the D'Urbervilles, finding it very sad yet beautiful, and an honest depiction of what life could be like in that particular time and place. "Jude the Obscure" is a good movie also, with Kate Winslet.
Ssssshh! You'll wake up the monkey! -
Bunnymonsterz — 15 years ago(August 08, 2010 12:05 AM)
I'm guessing you've read the book by now (or decided not to), but for what it's worth, I bloody LOVED it. It's one of the only Thomas Hardy books that leaves the reader in a relatively happy mood. The pacing is quicker than most of his novels because it was first published as a serial in a magazine, so each chapter had to end with a cliffhanger of sorts - had to leave the reader wanting more.
Also, there are several scenes in this book that are just phenomenal and extremely memorable, my favorite being the sword-play scene where Sgt. Troy seduces Bathsheba. Hardy is a very cinematic writer, and I can still picture that scene from his description (much better than how it was depicted in this movie, actually).
I also loved the opening scene of the novel, where Gabriel Oak sees the young Bathsheba sitting alone in a carriage, gazing at herself in a mirror. Not for any practical purpose - just pure vanity. Hardy is great at capturing little moments that are easily overlooked, but so telling about our humanity.
rolling downhill like a snowball headed for hell -
nettwench — 15 years ago(August 08, 2010 08:36 AM)
"Also, there are several scenes in this book that are just phenomenal and extremely memorable, my favorite being the sword-play scene where Sgt. Troy seduces Bathsheba. Hardy is a very cinematic writer, and I can still picture that scene from his description (much better than how it was depicted in this movie, actually)."
That was my favorite scene in the movie. That and the coffin scene - incredible! I am now a committed Terence Stamp fan! I'm looking forward to seeing him in "Billy Budd" on TCM Friday, August 13th, 11 pm.
Ssssshh! You'll wake up the monkey! -
HenryCW — 15 years ago(February 20, 2011 11:31 AM)
I think all of Hardys novels are worth reading, though the gloomy atmosphere and the often tragic resolutions in some of them might not be to everyones taste. Also, much in his books had been concerned with the inner thoughts and development of the characters, and these were not easily translated to the screen, where one could only guess what the characters think by what they do and say. Not many of his novels have been adapted
successfully
to the screen. The lighter mood and relatively happy ending to
Far From the Madding Crowd
somewhat distinguishes it from most of Hardys other novels. Though made over forty years ago, this film is in my opinion still the most faithful (and the best) adaptation of a Hardy novel to the cinema. Some critics including Ebert, were a little unhappy with the films focusing on the love story while largely overlooking the wider social context and constraints faced by the characters that Hardys novels often dealt with. But as far as external events were concerned, the film had followed the book very closely almost scene for scene. Thus those who like the film would certainly find it worth their time to read the book too. -
futhark985 — 11 years ago(May 21, 2014 08:57 PM)
Be systematic in your approach to literature, as in all things. Start with Hardy's first surviving published novel,
Under The Greenwood Tree
, and work your way forward. I'm doing the same now in watching the movies available based on the novels. The makers of
Under The Greenwood Tree
(2005) admit to have twisted the plot around to make it parallel
Far From The Madding Crowd
. Indeed, having just finished watching
Far From The Madding Crowd
right on the heels of
Under The Greenwood Tree
, I can see that both tell essentially the same story. It has been many years since I read through all the Thomas Hardy novels, but recall that there are definitely common plot patterns in them. This did not detract from my enjoyment in reading them.
Now I can't for the life of me understand why Netflix does not offer
Jude
(1996) in its catalog of DVD offerings. -
terraplane — 11 years ago(September 23, 2014 02:21 PM)
Everything Hardy wrote is worth reading, especially his poetry.
You should read all his novels but start here if you like the movie.
My own personal list would be this:- Tess of the D'Urbevilles. It is a masterpiece of sensual writing and beautiful language.
- Jude the Obscure. Tragic, angry an heart-rendingly emotional.
- A Pair of Blue Eyes. An early work that is often overlooked but beautifully written. Hardy was finding his direction with this one.
- Far From the Madding Crowd. Beautiful evocation of Victorian England. Bathsheba Everdene is a classic Hardy Heroine.
- Under the Greenwood Tree. An elegiac farewell to the simple rustic ideals of a community, wrapped up in a love story.
- Complete Poems. Hardy was a great poet and considered himself a poet first.
Read them and you'll never forget them.
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merryapril — 11 years ago(October 07, 2014 11:08 PM)
I love anything by Thomas Hardy. One of his short stories,
On the Western Circuit
, was made into a BBC film in the 1980s entitled
Day After the Fair
and it's a must for any avid fan of films based on Hardy's works. Unfortunately, I don't think it's available on DVD! It's supposedly on youtube though, in several parts. It was shown on PBS' Masterpiece Theater way back when. Why PBS doesn't issue videos of some of their older presentations is such a disappointment. There's another one from those days called,
The Ginger Tree
, written by Oswald Wynd that's equally superb and isn't on DVD either. Oh well