Jimmy
Updated a reading goal:
Read 20 books by December 30, 2026
Progress so far: 10 / 20 50%
Reading this as my classic of the year, and following on from a Brandon Sanderson work, it really strikes me just how much writing styles have changed over 150 years, and how people just do not write like this anymore.
Without a doubt, the loquacious, digression-laden yet aloof third person omniscient perspective is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. This is by no means a fast paced book, but it is the kind of book where a whole page is spent describing how an old miller eats his toast off the table and he is evocatively likened to a parabolic curve. While there is a heavy sprinkling of misogyny and dated declarative statements, these snippets and asides delivered in the author’s wry, sardonic voice gave me immense delight and elicited in physical chuckles. This may be my first Thomas Hardy book, but if this is reflective of his usual delivery, then I’m definitely up for more.
The story itself was a bit more middling for me. I had the questionable benefit of reading an edition of the book which came with an introduction and fulsome footnotes, and while these were helpful to contextualise the novel and explain some of the more obscure references, they did spoil some important plot points, and the result was that it was somewhat obvious quite early on where the characters were all going to end up (or maybe love triangles (or quadrilaterals) have become too predictable by this day and age). The character work was generally pretty convincing in my view with each of the suitors shaping into very distinct individuals in the course of the story, though I felt Bathsheba was the weakest - very rarely living up to the headstrong, independent woman she is repeatedly touted to be. The introduction also mentioned how a key theme of Hardy’s work is the power of human folly and coincidence in the course of people’s lives, and I felt this was quite deftly addressed, with moments of genuine frustration at what certain characters were doing or going through, balanced with a certain sympathy for their position.
All in all, I would certainly count Far From the Madding Crowd as a good read - not enough to fall into my favourites of classics, but indubitably a strong reminder as to why such classics deserve to continue appearing on my reading list.
Reading this as my classic of the year, and following on from a Brandon Sanderson work, it really strikes me just how much writing styles have changed over 150 years, and how people just do not write like this anymore.
Without a doubt, the loquacious, digression-laden yet aloof third person omniscient perspective is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. This is by no means a fast paced book, but it is the kind of book where a whole page is spent describing how an old miller eats his toast off the table and he is evocatively likened to a parabolic curve. While there is a heavy sprinkling of misogyny and dated declarative statements, these snippets and asides delivered in the author’s wry, sardonic voice gave me immense delight and elicited in physical chuckles. This may be my first Thomas Hardy book, but if this is reflective of his usual delivery, then I’m definitely up for more.
The story itself was a bit more middling for me. I had the questionable benefit of reading an edition of the book which came with an introduction and fulsome footnotes, and while these were helpful to contextualise the novel and explain some of the more obscure references, they did spoil some important plot points, and the result was that it was somewhat obvious quite early on where the characters were all going to end up (or maybe love triangles (or quadrilaterals) have become too predictable by this day and age). The character work was generally pretty convincing in my view with each of the suitors shaping into very distinct individuals in the course of the story, though I felt Bathsheba was the weakest - very rarely living up to the headstrong, independent woman she is repeatedly touted to be. The introduction also mentioned how a key theme of Hardy’s work is the power of human folly and coincidence in the course of people’s lives, and I felt this was quite deftly addressed, with moments of genuine frustration at what certain characters were doing or going through, balanced with a certain sympathy for their position.
All in all, I would certainly count Far From the Madding Crowd as a good read - not enough to fall into my favourites of classics, but indubitably a strong reminder as to why such classics deserve to continue appearing on my reading list.
