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Works of Thomas Hardy: Mayor of Casterbridge, Return of the Native
Book by Hardy, Thomas
- GenresClassics
846 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 1990
About the author
Thomas Hardy
2,896 books7,110 followersThomas Hardy, OM, was an English author of the naturalist movement, although in several poems he displays elements of the previous romantic and enlightenment periods of literature, such as his fascination with the supernatural. He regarded himself primarily as a poet and composed novels mainly for financial gain.
The bulk of his work, set mainly in the semi-fictional land of Wessex, delineates characters struggling against their passions and circumstances. Hardy's poetry, first published in his 50s, has come to be as well regarded as his novels, especially after The Movement of the 1950s and 1960s.
The term cliffhanger is considered to have originated with Thomas Hardy's serial novel A Pair of Blue Eyes in 1873. In the novel, Hardy chose to leave one of his protagonists, Knight, literally hanging off a cliff staring into the stony eyes of a trilobite embedded in the rock that has been dead for millions of years. This became the archetypal — and literal — cliff-hanger of Victorian prose.
Excerpted from Wikipedia.
The bulk of his work, set mainly in the semi-fictional land of Wessex, delineates characters struggling against their passions and circumstances. Hardy's poetry, first published in his 50s, has come to be as well regarded as his novels, especially after The Movement of the 1950s and 1960s.
The term cliffhanger is considered to have originated with Thomas Hardy's serial novel A Pair of Blue Eyes in 1873. In the novel, Hardy chose to leave one of his protagonists, Knight, literally hanging off a cliff staring into the stony eyes of a trilobite embedded in the rock that has been dead for millions of years. This became the archetypal — and literal — cliff-hanger of Victorian prose.
Excerpted from Wikipedia.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 10, 2024
Very sad.
January 24, 2012
There are 2 works in this collection. I gave this 3 stars overall. Individually, I would probably rate Mayor 3.5 and Native 2.5.
In both cases, the age of the stories made this a little less approachable than I would have liked and drove home the differences between paper books and e-books. When I was growing up, I kept a small dictionary next to my bed so that I could look up unfamiliar terms. I've gotten spoiled reading the classics on my e-reader, where I can almost instantly get a definition with a click. Paper books certainly have their charms and advantages, but this one would be better read on a screen.
I didn't have much trouble falling into Mayor. The characters were interesting, and I quickly got into the language and feel of the story. Some of the plot turns felt contrived and I think this could have benefited from some more aggressive edits (i.e. cuts), but by and large, I enjoyed the story and cared about most of the main characters. It ended a bit abruptly, and anti-climatically, for my tastes, but not so much as to ruin the overall experience.
I can't say the same for Native. I struggled throughout the reading to get wrapped up in the story and its denizens, but I couldn't seem to, and it was a struggle to finish.
***HERE THERE BE SPOILERS***
It was, frankly, dull, except for the bit there towards the end when Eustacia and Wildeve met their ends. I guess that's not much of a spoiler.
***END OF SPOILERS***
And the epilogue, while providing more closure than the ending of Mayor, seemed dreadfully depressing, and yet dull, so it fit in well. Maybe 2.5 stars was generous.
Overall, these wouldn't be stories I would read again. Still, I'm glad to have read the first; can't say the same about the second. There's better fare out there amongst the classics, so these would be far down on my list of recommendations.
In both cases, the age of the stories made this a little less approachable than I would have liked and drove home the differences between paper books and e-books. When I was growing up, I kept a small dictionary next to my bed so that I could look up unfamiliar terms. I've gotten spoiled reading the classics on my e-reader, where I can almost instantly get a definition with a click. Paper books certainly have their charms and advantages, but this one would be better read on a screen.
I didn't have much trouble falling into Mayor. The characters were interesting, and I quickly got into the language and feel of the story. Some of the plot turns felt contrived and I think this could have benefited from some more aggressive edits (i.e. cuts), but by and large, I enjoyed the story and cared about most of the main characters. It ended a bit abruptly, and anti-climatically, for my tastes, but not so much as to ruin the overall experience.
I can't say the same for Native. I struggled throughout the reading to get wrapped up in the story and its denizens, but I couldn't seem to, and it was a struggle to finish.
***HERE THERE BE SPOILERS***
It was, frankly, dull, except for the bit there towards the end when Eustacia and Wildeve met their ends. I guess that's not much of a spoiler.
***END OF SPOILERS***
And the epilogue, while providing more closure than the ending of Mayor, seemed dreadfully depressing, and yet dull, so it fit in well. Maybe 2.5 stars was generous.
Overall, these wouldn't be stories I would read again. Still, I'm glad to have read the first; can't say the same about the second. There's better fare out there amongst the classics, so these would be far down on my list of recommendations.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews