Far from the Madding Crowd (Penguin Classics)

This book is a fast read because the story keeps the tension and mystery going. At times, Hardy's disruption is so beautifully poetic, I had to stop and defeat parts. I would like to reread this book soon.

'Far from the Madding Crowd' is the earliest of Thomas Hardy's novels that I have read (published in 1874) and it is the most optimistic as well. Some have said that Hardy's own engagement to his first wife and ensuing wedding at the time that he completed its composition may have influenced his happy ending. This is often the arc of many authors' works—beginning idealism in the early phase, tempered by more experience and depth in the middle phase and often disillusion based on more observed experience that confirms pessimistic suspicions reflected in the final phase. Not that it doesn't contain tragedy, but the tragedy can largely be limited to individuals rather than extrapolated to the society as a whole.One of the first things people often cite about Hardy's work is the beautiful pastoral setting of his fictional county of Wessex. Hardy does have a predilection for rural settings populated by farming communities. It is a well-worn cliché, nevertheless true, that the people in these settings are more connected to the land and the seasons than most urban dwellers. Their lives depend on a knowledge of its needs and the fluctuations of the weather. A spreading wildfire and a severe thunderstorm both play a role at key points in the story.Bathsheba Everdene is as beautiful, vain and proud as one might expect a character possessing that name. Her one constant is Gabriel Oak, a shepherd that oversees her flocks and stays in her employment even after he has proposed marriage and been refused. William Boldwood is a middle-aged prosperous farmer in the area. A thoughtless prank of Bathsheba's, sending him a valentine asking him to marry her, inflames his passion and he becomes as monomaniacal as Ahab in a relentless campaign to make her his wife. She doesn't love Boldwood at all and is not in the least interested but she gives weak lip service to consent to considering a marriage to him. Meanwhile, she meets Sergeant Frank Troy, who has returned to his home village. Troy is a handsome, flirtatious charmer who woos her with somewhat more finesse than Boldwood until she is infatuated with him against her better judgment. Common sense flies out the window and she marries him secretly.The primary difference between Boldwood and Troy on one hand, and Gabriel Oak on the other, is that she is merely a possession in both of their minds. Boldwood wants to crush her independence, put her on a pedestal and worship her as a prized possession, pampered and without any independent will. Troy woos her as a lark. He claims that he really loves a farm worker named Fanny, even though he has abandoned her and left her pregnant and fending for herself. He grows tired of married life with Bathsheba and merely wants to live off of her and drain her financial reserves to feed his gambling appetite.Oak, on the other hand, is the only one who cares about Bathsheba but also cares about what she cares about—her farm. While Troy is drinking at his wedding party and forcing the farm hands to join his revels, Oak is frantically trying to protect the harvested crop from an approaching thunderstorm. For Gabriel, love is not expressed through words but by action. His focus and discipline result in advancement to the point where Boldwood wants him to oversee both Bathsheba's and his farms. Gabriel's common sense reliability enables him to prevail while Boldwood and Troy speed toward disaster.Hardy is not the only 19th century novelist to depict women making bad decisions and learning from them. George Eliot and Henry James are both masters at depicting women making unwise choices and living with the consequences. Where 'Far from the Madding Crowd' falls short slightly is in the depth of characterization of Bathsheba. Granted, she's beautiful and headstrong but we've seen similar characters elsewhere whose depths and motives are explored much more thoroughly. She is ultimately not as interesting as Isabel Archer or Dorothea Brooke and I cared far more about the fate of Gabriel Oak than I did about hers. She is not necessarily shallow but she comes to realize the magnitude of her personal dilemma at a point when there is no graceful exit strategy possible. To her credit she does face up to living with the consequences of her actions and fulfilling her moral obligation.I do not intend for these quibbles to discourage anyone from reading this very engaging early novel. After a few slow starts, Hardy builds up the momentum of his narrative. Only the fact that I remembered enough of the 1967 film version that I saw quite few years ago tipped me off about certain plot developments. Looking backwards from the conclusion of the novel one can see that, while there may have been certain contrivances of plot, the paths individual characters took were natural and inevitable.Hardy's depiction of this remote farming life feels utterly authentic. These characters cannot be separated from the landscape they occupy. Hardy's knowledge of this life and his affection for the inhabitants of this world are undeniable. The abandoned young pregnant mother and the man whose talents are not recognized beyond what his class requires are character types he would explore more thoroughly and tragically in his later masterpieces. As an early work promising more fulfilling work to come, 'Far from the Madding Crowd' is certainly worthy and as good a place to start with Hardy as any for those who want to get a lay of the land and soak up the local color first before learning all the deep dark secrets of its residents.

This is a classic I had put off reading for way to long and now I am so glad I read it. This definitely ranks up there with Jane Eyre and Pride and Prejudice as a wonderful romantic novel, set in the gorgeous English countryside, with a strong female character, who is flawed at times by her youthful impetuousness and pride, but she is someone you really admire, full of conviction and fearless in going into a stuffy world of British men and not being bound by the rules. Bathsheba Everdene inherits the large estate of Weatherby from his Uncle. Right before that she had been living with her aunt, where she meets a strong and up and coming sheep farming named Gabriel Oak who is utterly enchanted by Bathsheba. As she leaves to accept her inheritance poor Gabriel loses everything, almost his whole flock, and what we see, is how in his honorable way, he sells off the remaining flock to pay off his debts and set off to look for work. He is a wonderfully stalwart, honest and hardworking man. But he still dreams of Bathsheba. It turns out he ends up getting employed by Bathsheba to be the shepherd. And although Gabriel stays forever in love with her, he accepts his fate to never be romantic with her, but looks after her farm as a faithful servant. While Bathsheba, learns about running a farm, clearly something women are not known to do, she boldly takes on this task and becomes the talk of the town, as well the woman he most men in the town are smitten by.There is a lot of wonderful writing in this story of Bathsheba at times showing her youth as she playfully but insensitively sends a valentine to her neighbor, who is madly in love with her. And I love this part of the story, because when she realizes what she's done, she actually grows up some and tries hard to let him down. Then she herself gets swept off her feet when meets the Sergeant Troy, the handsome, bad boy if you will, who charms ladies off their feet, but he is shallow and reckless. All the while Gabriel stays steadfast and there is a constant sweet tension between them that the author builds. Gabriel himself grows, letting go of her, which actually only begins to fuel Bathsheba's feelings for him, after all, she is used to every man being in love with her.The book is written in an older English style, which is charming, but at times you may have to read some passages twice to make sure you understand it clearly, but all of that adds a charm that sweeps you away. This is a classic and a really great story.

When I first discovered the cinema of UK actor Alan Bates, I found out that he had done with John Schlesinger —an important UK director — a movie called Far From the Madding Crowd. Based on the first success of novelist Thomas Hardy, that novel presented an amazing naturalist drama set in the county of Wessex; a location known only in the writer’s novels. Through this countryside, it allows his stories to be connected in the same area; making them jigsaw pieces presenting a giant community’s painting.In this novel, we discover how a poor farmer named Bathsheba inherits her late uncle’s farm properties after he passed away. As he was rich and powerful in the area, she experiences an incredible Cinderella story as she now manages many employees, lives in luxurious conditions, and becomes the centre of attention of individuals who’d never be interested in her before her success.Indeed, soon after her arrival, three men of different origins court her. First, by Sergeant Troy; a dashing officer whose passion and rebellious attitude hides a troubling history. Then, by Mr. Boldwood, an misanthropic farmer who believes she loves him after she sent him a prank love card. And finally, by Gabriel Oak, a sheep herder that she knew years before she inherited her uncle’s wealth. A devoted young man who has always been devoted to her, never afraid to tell her when she is going too far, or when she is treading on dangerous grounds.Indeed, as her joke toward Mr. Boldwood was meant as a childish trick with no ill intention, it nevertheless generates in this man an obsession and feelings for her that builds up to a tragic drama. A drama between her, Boldwood, and Troy; with the other employees and Gabriel as witnesses.With this first success, Thomas Hardy became known in the literary business. First published monthly in Cornhill Magazine, then presented in a final Wessex version in 1912, Far from the Madding Crowd presents a naturalistic view of farmers lifestyle and culture. With detailed descriptions of the farming business, of the landscape, and of the protagonists. Colorful images that set us right into this area. Right into the routines and habits of the protagonists, into the locations that they live in or explore. And the content is quite descriptive. So readers who are used to reading books with spare descriptions or not much extensive details will have to prepare themselves for the incredible prose in here. A beautiful painting of a memorable community that you do not want to leave.In its plotline, the novel has many religious undertones through God, the Bible, and its parables; beautiful references to the name of Bathsheba, who’s the wife of Uriag the Hittite, while with Gabriel Oak, his profession reminds us of David the shepherd. Of that latter protagonist, he really is the voice of common sense for that woman as her success and wealth does go to her head a little bit and it makes her do foolish acts that cause more problems.Furthermore, this story reminds us how the beauty of humanity and of love can be found in people that we never expected to have them. Also, it shows the impact of reckless acts upon others, even when the intents behind them were not ill-intended. And for readers who want to have a good look of life back in the nineteenth century, they can obtain it with Far From the Madding Crowd.A novel that I enjoyed listening to with Rick Wakeman’s piano compositions set around the English countryside. Music whose ambience and tones correspond so well with Thomas Hardy’s drama.In sum, Far from the Madding Crowd is an excellent introduction to that novelist’s literature and to the English naturalist current, a wave that promoted the depiction of reality as it was. With rigorous descriptions of the world and the protagonists/antagonists.

O livro vem conforme informado, edição simples em papel jornal padrão das edições estrangeiras e com letras pequenas( não é problema pra mim). Pelo preço que paguei achei ótimo! Jamais acharia em livrarias físicas um livro em inglês tão barato quanto os que a Amazon oferece.

Floppy paperback. Got it in a very good condition.

Uygun diye Amazon’dan satın alıyorum 2 güne de ulaşıyor çok hızlı ama kitap o kadar kirli ki ikinci el alsam daha temiz çıkardı..

Sapevo essere un bel libro! Tutto confermato!