Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy (Group Classic Aug/Sept 2015)

[Leslie]

The winner of the poll was Thomas Hardy's Far from the Madding Crowd.

This book is in the public domain so ebook editions should be available for free from various sources. For those who want an audiobook, the recommended Librivox recording is version 2:

https://librivox.org/far-from-the-mad...

[[deleted user]]

I am had a mixed response to Hardy so far. Will try join in this one

[LauraT]

Read it years ago; don't know if I'd like to pick it up again; I'llsee going on ....

[Shirley]

I might give it a try - I have read only one of Hardy's and that was Tess of the D'Urbervilles - which I thought was very good.

[Chris]

I've wanted to re-read this for years - I'll give it a go on audio.

[Greg]

I will definitely join - I have only read a couple by Hardy and haven't read this one yet; so it'll be a fresh read for me. :)

[Pink]

I haven't read any Hardy, but I'll be joining in for this one.

[Evelyn]

I checked it out from my library yesterday so I'm ready to go.

[Free]

I will be joining as well. This book is actually on my to read list.

[Angela]

I'm in. Excited to read this one. I'm four chapters in and I almost changed my mind in the first chapter because of the writing style but I am glad I pushed on. I hope others will as well.

[Leslie]

Heather wrote: "I am had a mixed response to Hardy so far. Will try join in this one"

That has been my experience with Hardy too. I have read this before back in my school days and have a positive memory of it so I look forward to rereading it.

[Susie]

I finished this not too long ago but missed out on a lot of the discusion (in another group) since my book came up late from the library. I really enjoyed it so will look forward to following the discusion here...

[Greg]

Great Susie!

[LauraT]

About to start it!

[Summerdale]

This will be my first Hardy book AND first book read on an ereader. I've already read the first few chapters and am really enjoying it.

[LauraT]

Started a couple of days ago. I like his style - and generally speacking Victorian books. He's a bit "tougher" generally, definitly harder to get along with that Dickens or Trollope. I'm interested in this story; we'll see how the two of them will get along now that "economical situations" have changed

[David]

I'm in. At least for awhile. I am halfway through "Black Lamb, Grey Falcon": a beautifully written book but more contemporary than this book. The switch to Thomas Hardy is a bit daunting. I think I will stay the course, but those first two chapters were tough sledding.

[Evelyn]

I watched the movie last night, and started reading this morning. Normally I don't ever do that, but in this case, so far, I'm glad I did. It seems to be helping my comprehension of the story.

[LauraT]

Evelyn wrote: "I watched the movie last night, and started reading this morning. Normally I don't ever do that, but in this case, so far, I'm glad I did. It seems to be helping my comprehension of the story."

Me too Evelyn: I always read the book firts. But you never know. I'm half way through, and have to admite it is not one of my favourite by him. Too many words for almost nothing happening so far ...

[Leslie]

David wrote: "I'm in. At least for awhile. I am halfway through "Black Lamb, Grey Falcon": a beautifully written book but more contemporary than this book. The switch to Thomas Hardy is a bit daunting. I thi..."

I recently got my parents' copy of Black Lamb and Grey Falcon - glad to hear that you think it is beautifully written! Maybe this should be suggested for our group nonfiction sometime...

I have never seen the film of Far from the Madding Crowd. Who is the star?

[Evelyn]

Laura I am also about halfway completed, and I do believe I preferred Tess, but I read it so long ago

Leslie, sorry, I am bad with actors names, no one looked familiar to me in it though.

[David]

Leslie, "Black Lamb And Grey Falcon" is one of the most interesting books that I have ever read. It is a journal of the travels of Rebecca West and her husband in Yugoslavia after The Great War. I am learning much I had not known about that part of the world but through the eyes of an English woman with all of her predilections and prejudices. She talks of the horrors of The Great War without knowledge of the horrors to come. A thoroughly enchanting experience.

But I have put that book aside to have a go at "Far From The Madding Crowd." As I said, the abrupt change of writing styles was jarring at first, but I am 15% in now and am starting to get into the story a bit, so I expect I will be all right.

It is a hoot, reading a book about a "simple shepherd" whose thoughts are rendered in the vocabulary of a man of considerably more education, a novelist and a poet.

[Evelyn]

What I have been pondering for the last few days is - did women of this time really act/speak like Bathsheba in this book? I have also read other books written in the same period and the heroines have similar characteristics. Specifically I am referring to saying the opposite of what they mean, treating everyone around them horribly, stooping to emotional blackmail - in plain terms, acting like drama queens. Why would anyone put up with this type of behaviour? Or, were women less flighty than written, and are these just caricatures, where a point is exagerated for the purpose of entertainment?

[Angela]

Evelyn wrote: "...Or, were women less flighty than written, and are these just caricatures, where a point is exagerated for the purpose of entertainment? "

Women were so repressed that I do believe most did not act in this way at all. In England, Women were completely controlled by the men in their lives. Their role in life was to find a husband, have children and then spend the rest of their lives serving. If a woman were to decide to remain single, she would be ridiculed and pitied by the community. In America, it was quite the same though religion played a larger part imparting piety as a required virtue.

[David]

True, Angela, but we nonetheless have several examples in 19 th century English literature of strong women who were not afraid to swim against the tide. Middlemarch is one example and, by the way, the author would be a real life example. Why could this be another of these books? And, as we saw in Middlemarch, if a woman is going to reject the role that society dictates, why not go all the way and reject some of society's other norms and expectations as well?

[David]

True, Angela, but we nonetheless have several examples in 19 th century English literature of strong women who were not afraid to swim against the tide. Middlemarch is one example and, by the way, the author would be a real life example. Why could this be another of these books? And, as we saw in Middlemarch, if a woman is going to reject the role that society dictates, why not go all the way and reject some of society's other norms and expectations as well?

[Leslie]

Angela wrote: "In England, Women were completely controlled by the men in their lives. Their role in life was to find a husband, have children and then spend the rest of their lives serving. If a woman were to decide to remain single, she would be ridiculed and pitied by the community. ..."

This stereotype really only applies to certain sections of the society -- lower class women worked whether in factories, shops, farms, as servants or as something less savory. Many so-called 'upper servants' remained single all their lives and the females would in fact often lose their job if they married. In the upper classes, a few women did maintain control over their money even after marriage & others managed to keep some independence through the strength of their family connections.

Elizabeth Garrett Anderson became a licensed physician in 1865 and Florence Nightingale was superintendent of a hospital by 1853. Just to add another perspective...

[Leslie]

Evelyn wrote: "What I have been pondering for the last few days is - did women of this time really act/speak like Bathsheba in this book? I have also read other books written in the same period and the heroines have similar characteristics. Specifically I am referring to saying the opposite of what they mean, treating everyone around them horribly, stooping to emotional blackmail - in plain terms, acting like drama queens. Why would anyone put up with this type of behaviour? Or, were women less flighty than written, and are these just caricatures, where a point is exagerated for the purpose of entertainment? ..."

Have you never met a woman who acts this way? I think of Bathsheba as an individual (rather unpleasant imo) rather than a representative of the period. I think that some women have behaved this way in all ages...

[Evelyn]

I thankfully haven't met anyone with all of these characteristics to this degree!
But I seem to be reading about them more and more, I am thinking of several of Jane Austen's ladies, Scarlett O'Hara, and more, leaving me with this impression of an earlier time filled with women I would steer clear of by miles, but the men seem to fall all over themselves in their haste to get close to them. Yet the men in these stories seem for the most part quite "normal", other than their attraction to these women.

[LauraT]

Leslie wrote: "Angela wrote: "In England, Women were completely controlled by the men in their lives. Their role in life was to find a husband, have children and then spend the rest of their lives serving. If a w..."

David wrote: "True, Angela, but we nonetheless have several examples in 19 th century English literature of strong women who were not afraid to swim against the tide. Middlemarch is one example and, by the way, ..."

I do agree; it was hard to be a woman in England in the XIX Century - as probably almost everywhere else - but not for the same reason: lower classes women neede to work the double, and decided often more than men, at least in family matters.
Batsheba looks as a strong character with some weak points; I think they'll turn her down in the end ...

[Karen]

Just really enjoyed the film (although it would be a lot shorter if Bathsheba had half a brain!) so looking forward to this although my feelings about Hardy are mixed!

[Brooklyn]

I'll join in :) I have this on iBooks :)

[Leslie]

Brooklyn wrote: "I'll join in :) I have this on iBooks :)"

Yay!

[Brooklyn]

I'm only a chapter in, but finding it really interesting so far. It's so beautifully descriptive :)

[David]

I am half way through now and I am confused about the comments about Bathsheba. My immediate thought is that the problem is that Hardy is trying to tell us what is in a woman's head. The presentation is flawed, not the character, because men of that era concerned themselves with what women think or feel even less than men do today. I think that Jane Austin or George Eliot would have written a much more love able and understandable Bathsheba.

What is really bothering me is that Hardy somehow seems to have stopped developing the character of Gabriel Oak. In the beginning of the novel, Gabriel Oak seemed to be a central character but now he only shows up to worry about Bathsheba or upbraid her for one of her many missteps.

[Summerdale]

I gave it 3 stars because I did enjoy but fell just short of recommending it. The main thing I took away from this on finishing was that (view spoiler)[ the man I'd been rooting for since the beginning, Oak, basically got sloppy seconds. After all her impetuousness she finally came to her senses which was as good an ending as I could have hoped but for poor Oak. It's a shame he took the back burner while the control freak (Boldwood) and prince Not-so-charming (Troy) grappled. (hide spoiler)]

[Brooklyn]

I'll pick this up at a later date. Sorry I won't be participating in the discussion but I'm so behind with books :(

[Margaret]

Leslie wrote: "David wrote: "I'm in. At least for awhile. I am halfway through "Black Lamb, Grey Falcon": a beautifully written book but more contemporary than this book. The switch to Thomas Hardy is a bit da..."

I've watched the movie and I liked, now I'm waiting my book arrive. I hope it gets here in time so that I can make part of the discussion.
Good reading to all.

The actors are: Carey Mulligan, Matthias Schoenaerts, Michael Sheen. You can see in:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2935476/

[[deleted user]]

Summerdale wrote: "I gave it 3 stars because I did enjoy but fell just short of recommending it. The main thing I took away from this on finishing was that (I didn't see anything about how to hide SPOILERS in the bas..."

Summerdale to hide spoilers you write (spoiler) in front of your message and then when you've finished the spoiler you write (/spoiler). However, instead of the curved brackets you use < > around the world spoiler. Maybe you want to go back and edit your post so the spoilers are hidden. Contact me if you get stuck!

[Summerdale]

Edited! :) And thanks Heather. I looked & looked & didn't see the instructions anywhere. Maybe they should be posted on that how-to thread. Now that I know there's a movie based on the book I'll be checking that out as well.

[Leslie]

Wessex as Hardy portrays it is an imaginary county in England (Wessex was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom from ~500-950 A.D.). I think most of his novels are set there. You can read more about it here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_H...

[Leslie]

Summerdale wrote: "I gave it 3 stars because I did enjoy but fell just short of recommending it. The main thing I took away from this on finishing was that [spoilers removed]"

I know what you mean about (view spoiler)[Gabriel getting 'second-hand goods' so to speak. However, I think that the fact that his devotion gets rewarded in the end is one reason I like this novel as much as I do. It isn't very realistic but I like a happy ending... (hide spoiler)]

[Summerdale]

It almost makes me wish there was a sequel so that we could find out (view spoiler)[ whether she comes out of her funk enough to make Oak glad he took her for a wife after all. And how they come together to run the farm (hide spoiler)] I'd definitely read that book.

[Leslie]

Minnie, as far as I know there is no preferred order. I think that either Tess of the D'Urbervilles or The Return of the Native would be a good follow-up to this book.

[Pink]

I started this today and I'm about quarter of the way through. I'm wondering what's going to happen, as we've only really had two main characters so far, Bathsheba and Gabriel, so I'm imagining a happy ending for them getting married. Though on the other hand Hardy is notorious for giving us sad and depressing books, in which case it might be more likely that one of them dies! I'm at least expecting some more characters to be introduced.

It seems this is one of Hardy's first novels, so I'm quite glad to be starting near the beginning. I'd like to read more of his later books, whether or not I enjoy this one. I'm 50/50 with my feelings about it at the moment.

[Leslie]

Pink, I am only slightly behind you. One thing I had not remembered is that the Everdene farm is located near the city of Casterbridge. I probably didn't pay that any attention when I read this before (back in my high school days) but I really liked The Mayor of Casterbridge when I read it a few years ago so now I have an association to go with that place name :)

I will say that while I have mostly liked the plots of the Hardy novels I have read, I don't always like his writing style. Passages such as this one at the beginning of Chapter 2: "Norcombe Hill--not far from lonely Toller-Down--was one of the spots which suggest to a passer-by that he is in the presence of a shape approaching the indestructible as nearly as any to be found on earth. It was a featureless convexity of chalk and soil--an ordinary specimen of those smoothly-outlined protuberances of the glove which may remain undisturbed on some great day of confusion, when far grander heights and dizzy granite precipices topple down. ...". It goes on for 3 more paragraphs!

I guess that is one reason why I enjoyed the parody of his writing in Stella Gibbons' satire Cold Comfort Farm so much. *grin*

[LauraT]

Leslie wrote: "Pink, I am only slightly behind you. One thing I had not remembered is that the Everdean farm is located near the city of Casterbridge. I probably didn't pay that any attention when I read this b..."

It is one of my favourite victorian novel

[Pink]

Leslie, I noticed the mention of Casterbridge and I'm already wanting to read that one!

I kind of agree with you about the writing. When something is happening it's okay, but then it waffles on about nothing for a few paragraphs.

[Free]

I'm on page 75. So far it's an ok read kind of hard to get thru. Slow start.

[Free]

I'm on page 75. So far it's an ok read kind of hard to get thru. Slow start.