From the Bookshelf of Constant Reader…

The Mayor of Casterbridge

Thomas Hardy

Start date: March 1, 2013

Discussion: Classics Corner

Discussion leader: Barb

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What Members Thought

Feb 13, 2009 Kevin rated it it was amazing

Shelves: classics, favorites, england, re-read

“The Mayor of Casterbridge”has become one of my all time favorite books! Thomas Hardy tells the story of a man who gets drunk at a fair and sells his wife to the highest bidder...5 pounds, 5 schillings. His story after his horrific mistake is fantastic! I was hoping for a Les Miserable', "man changes" story, but reading this is like watching a train wreck. You. Simply. Won't. Be. Able. To. Look. Away.

I couldn't recommend it more. Wonderful! ...more

12 likes · Like · see review

Jan 15, 2008 Marius van Blerck rated it it was amazing

I recently re-read this book, for the third or fourth time, this time as an audiobook. Damn, but this book is good! It is nothing short of a masterpiece. A more tangled web of good and evil, of deceit, misunderstandings, miscommunication and bad judgment, would be hard to conceive. Michael Henchard is a tragic figure, who evokes a whole range of emotions in the reader, from repulsion and exasperation to deep sympathy. His act at the outset of the tale, and his recurring temper and jealousy contr ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Jun 27, 2010 Laura rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, audio-books, 1001-books-you-must-read-before-you, read-2011

After 19 years apart, mayor Michael Henchard is reunited with his wife. Thomas Hardy drama starring David Calder and Janet Dale.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00bfnkl ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Apr 09, 2011 Laura rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 1001-books-you-must-read-before-you, read-2011, bookmooch

After listened to the BBC dramatization, I decided to read this book.

1 like · Like · see review

Feb 02, 2009 Kathy rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: x-feb-09-thru-jan-10, read-non-mystery-fiction

Hardy, it seems to me, couldn't quite decide who these people were or what moved them into their actions and decisions. Or perhaps he wanted them to be complex, ambiguous characters, which they are but rather thin. Whatever, it wasn't the best Hardy I've read. "Not the best Hardy" still sails above many others' works. ...more

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