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rieviolet's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I had some preconceived notions about how the story was going to unravel (based on comments heard over the years), especially in regard to the romantic relationships, but the actual narrative turned out to be quite different from my expectations. I was particularly surprised by Bathsheba and Gabriel's relationship, I thought that it would have been more prominent in terms of space dedicated to its development and exploration.
The unfolding of the story is a bit on the slow side but there are some twists and turns to keep the readers engaged, and I have to admit that I gasped at some of the more shocking events and revelations. However, I struggled a bit with the characters and their portrayals. Sometimes it was difficult to reconcile how these charaters had been built up in the narrative with their subsequent emotions and actions.
The author's portrayal of women was also a bit of a mixed bag for me personally. On the one hand, I really appreciated how Bathsheba was established as a farmer in her own right, in spite of all backlash and prejuidice. On the other, some of the comments about women (especially related to their emotional side) left a really bad taste in my mouth. Just an example from the very last chapter:
Bathsheba's feeling was always to some extent dependent upon her whim, as in the case with many other women.
Hardy is well-known for his descriptions of the landscape; certainly, there were some beautiful passages but there were also times when I felt like the focus on the natural elements was a bit excessive and
I'm still glad I finally got around to reading a novel by Hardy, but I didn't enjoy it as much as expected.
Graphic: Animal death
Moderate: Death, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
Minor: Ableism, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
edwardian_girl_next_door's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I loved Bathsheba as a main character. Her independence and intemperate nature in the beginning of the story wasn't like the "strong, independent, not-like-other-girls" trope, which tends to be tacky and overboard. (Sometimes the author seems like they're trying reallllly hard for an inclusivity point, if you know what I mean.) Some people don't like the way her character changes over the course of the novel, but I think it is perfectly reasonable.
The one part of this novel that kept it from being five stars was Troy. Oh, Troy. A rakish, cajoling, manipulative man, the epitome of the folk song "The Rambling Soldier".
If anyone's interested in watching the 2015 movie adaptation, I'd recommend it! It's a pretty faithful adaptation -- it necessarily cuts out a lot of the side character happenings for the sake of time, and I don't quite like the way they represented Boldwood, but I'll forgive it all for the talented Carey Mulligan :)
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Stalking, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
Minor: Child death
iwishihadmoretimetoread's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
extraaardvark's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Grief, and Death of parent
aloy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment
priya_can_read's review against another edition
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism
I mean, it's a Thomas Hardy novel. It is sad and weepy, but the language is such a treat, and it's a fascinating look into the time period, and the tensions between the trend of rapid industrial development in Britain and its agrarian heritage.jedore's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Bathsheba loved Troy in the way that only self-reliant women love when they abandon their self-reliance. When a strong woman recklessly throws away her strength, she is worse than a weak woman who has never had any strength to throw away.
This is one of the rare occasions when seeing the movie prompted me to read the book. I loved the movie! It pretty much nailed the lives of my adult life…my ex-husband, my ex-lover, and the ultimate love of my life. So I ran and bought the book, but held off reading it until the memory of the book faded.
I so wanted to love this book as much as I loved the movie…but, I didn’t.
The theme and character development were excellent, but they weren’t enough to make up for the shortcomings for me.
First, this is a hardcore classic. The language and many references, including lots of biblical ones, were very dated making footnotes a regular occurrence and a lot of nuances missed (unless you wanted to conduct research (which I did not).
Second, oftentimes descriptions of the environs would drag on for multiple paragraphs. Zzzzzz…
And, finally, the most important part of the whole story felt like an afterthought. I don’t want to spoil it, but let’s just say that Mr. Hardy should have spent way less time describing the countryside and way more time on the last chapter!
If not for my love of the movie, I don’t think I would have finished this book. I read mostly at night and it acted like a Benadryl stretching my total read time to over a month.
I’m really glad the filmmakers brought this story to the current generation because the theme and message really are fantastic.
Graphic: Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Classism
Moderate: Child death, Death, and Stalking
nerdkitten's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
Minor: Pregnancy and War