|
| Far from the Madding Crowd (Oxford World's Classics) | 
 enlarge | Author: Thomas Hardy
Creators: Linda M. Shires, Suzanne B. Falck-yi
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Category: Book
List Price: £5.99
Buy Used: £1.49
You Save: £4.50 (75%)
New (12) from £1.50
Avg. Customer Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 58485
Media: Paperback
Edition: Revised edition
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 496
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5 x 1.1
ISBN: 019280149X
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.8
EAN: 9780192801494
ASIN: 019280149X
Publication Date: November 14, 2002
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: Dispatched from UK. Very good clean copy, spine unbroken. Some light wear to cover. Sent same / next day.
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Customer Reviews:
Very good read. April 8, 2008
I loved this book from start to finish.
It's written very well and each word is chosen perfectly.
I love the way everything is described, it really brings the sights and sounds to life.
The storyline itself is as modern as any you would find but set in a bygone countryside age.
I was interested in all of the characters they were well rounded and very realistic.
There is enough action, tragedy and romance for anyone in this at one point I had to catch my breath at an unexpected event. I am only surprised that I have never seen it televised.
Very good book. would reccomend it.
And if this book tought me anything it's that hearts are not to be played with....and that sheep are very hard to look after lol.
Delightful victorian novel June 19, 2007
1 out of 5 found this review helpful
Thomas Hardy is one of the XIX century's greatest novels, and this is one of his best novels. Morover, it is one of his most atypical novels. Hardy's novels are sad, gloomy, doomed... the main characters have all the tickets for a bad ending! I wouldn't want to be any of those chaps.
This novel depicts the life of Bathseba, a bit of a startup girl who comes into money when she inherits a large state, with a prosperous farm and lots of working hands. She doesnt marry, but decides to follow her own mind and live by her own standards (dont worry, she is not Lady Chaterley). She gets help from farmer Oak, a good, sincere peasant, who falls in love with her, but she doesnt mind him. A rich farmer becomes obsessed with her, but in the end she marrys a poor soldier who actually marries her money, and doesnt care a damm about her, because he is already in love with a servant girl. In the end, tragedy explodes. Only farmer Oak's love survives to save Bathsheba.
The novel is full of acurate descriptions of people, landscape, buildings (we must remember that Hardy worked as an architect), in the true decimononic tradition. Nature is there to be touched and loved. Country life, still at the verge of the turmoil of industrial revolution, is shown in all its glory. Unlike other Hardy's novels, there's room for joy, peace, friendship and love, together with sombre feelings and drama. Characters have to fight against social conventions, and social roles. Bathsheba is a symbol of all women struggling for an independent, sincere life. But somehow love has the last hand.
If you like XIX century's novel, this can be yours. And a good introduction to Hardy, before the Major of Casterbridge or Tess or Jude the Obscure.
Surprising... August 19, 2006
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
When I was at school I was forced to read several Thomas Hardy novels and was bored to tears by them but now that I'm older and, hopefully, wiser I've embarked on a Hardy revival and am loving every second of it.
The description of people and places and the intricate ways in which the characters interact with each other in 'Far From the Madding Crowd' all fit together to produce a piece of fiction which builds to a dramatic climax that will shock. This novel will leave you frustrated, annoyed, shocked and pleased all at the same time!
Victorian values have a lot to answer for!
Womens lib in the Victorian countryside. November 3, 2003
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
No-one can fail to be moved by this novel which contains all the ingredients to keep you enthralled from page one. It can be seen primarily as a romance avoiding the usual unremitting gloom associated with many of Hardy's novels. But it also contains its fair share of death, tragedy and deception. Despite this it is beautifully written and a heartwarming tale, vividly evoking Hardy's familiar countryside.
The main protagonist is a heroine who despite her flaws comes across as a powerful woman surviving in a mans world by running a farm single handed. This makes her an impressive role model. Her trio of romances are sensitively drawn so that we never lose sympathy for any of the characters.
A novel to read again and again. I would highly recommend it.
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |
