Far from the Madding Crowd

[Amanda]

The main reason I picked this book for this category was because of the film adaptation coming out this year. I wasn't sure how it would go because I tried to read another novel of his in high school and never finished it. I don't know it this book is just different or if it was maturity, but this book had me hooked from the start. It was full of twists and turns and was romantic without being sappy. It definitely qualifies for the "tragedy" genre, but has a positive ending. I bumped it down to three stars in my review only because of the sometimes overly long descriptions of scenery, settings or farming methods. I know it was the writing style of the 1800's, but I found myself skimming several paragraphs to get back to dialogue or plot movement. Overall, a great read and a good storyline.

[Larissa]

I also picked this one because of the movie and also I had heard Thomas Hardy was a must read sort of author. unlike you however I was thoroughly disappointed. I was expecting the natural scenery to be described in detail and have as many rural details as possible because that was Hardy's premise: to worship the everlasting peace of rural against the innovations of modernity. but it was the shallowness of characters and the absolute clichés that ruined this for me. I hope Mr. Hardy's other novels are more interesting.

[Amanda]

When I was in high school, I tried to read another novel of his called "The Return of the Native." I don't think I made it more than 20 pages in. I may give it another try since I'm older now. I do think that writers back then didn't go to as much effort to get their audience to identify with their characters as they do today. I did find some of the interactions between characters to be over the top. People seem to have been ruled by extreme emotions more back then.