Far from the Madding Crowd (HarperCollinsAudioBooks)

A great story with a heavy dose of morals. I actually read this book for a class and i don't regret it. The book inspired me to keep strong and always do whats right. Because... the way i see it if you keep moving forward you will run into somebody. That may be the way the book influenced my personal life, but the book is still a work of art among other titles of Thomas Hardy. His use of imagery...more

A great story with a heavy dose of morals. I actually read this book for a class and i don't regret it. The book inspired me to keep strong and always do whats right. Because... the way i see it if you keep moving forward you will run into somebody. That may be the way the book influenced my personal life, but the book is still a work of art among other titles of Thomas Hardy. His use of imagery is superb but the development of the psyche of characters is too "wooden"(Where with the Victorian Era the characters would have matched the times.) and not as dynamic, as compared to "Tess of the D'urbervilles" (also set in the victorian era).    hide

This is my favourite Hardy novel. I especially like the 'rounded' female protagonist, Bathsheba Everdene. She is unlike other female characters usually found in classical literature. She has very 'human' faults, desires and an overall personality that can be related to, can be understood even in today's contemporary times. Thoroughly enjoyable!

This text was assigned reading for Jim McGovern's 1985-1986 Junior English class at Trinity High School in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania . Was this supposed to be an allegorical story where the competing visions for Britain's future were represented by the various suitors: preservation of the country's...more

This text was assigned reading for Jim McGovern's 1985-1986 Junior English class at Trinity High School in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania . Was this supposed to be an allegorical story where the competing visions for Britain's future were represented by the various suitors: preservation of the country's agricultural heritage; pursuit of mass urbanization & industrialization; or support of military imperialism...or have I still completely missed the point of this book?   hide

If you want to read a Thomas Hardy novel that demonstrates all the qualities of his writing without being left with the feeling that suicide might be a good option for all of us this is the one for you. The frustrations of the way society worked are still there and so are the wonderfully evocative descriptions of the countyside, villages and characters.