Far from the Madding Crowd is one of the three Thomas Hardy novels Id read by the time I turned twenty. The others were Tess of the Durbervilles and Jude the Obscure. My twenty-year-old self was irritated by Tess passivity and found Judes life too depressing to contemplate. However, this novel had a few laughs and a conventionally happy ending, so even though it also has its fair share of madness, depression, despair and death, I was content to say that I liked it. I didnt like it enough to make me want to read it again, though. Many, many years later Ive come to a new appreciation of Hardys work, which started with listening to and loving audiobook versions of The Return of the Native, The Mayor of Casterbridge and Under the Greenwood Tree. With such positive experiences under my belt, I tackled Jude the Obscure and Tess of the dUrbervilles in the same format and found, much to my surprise, that Tess no longer annoyed me as she had before and that Jude filled me with compassion rather than made me feel depressed. My current reaction to Hardys novels may just be a factor of age and life experience. But for whatever reason, I now respond emotionally and not just intellectually to their elements of Greek and Shakespearean tragedy. Hardys characters move me deeply and Im equally moved by his intensely poetic prose. I particularly love the painterly way in which Hardy describes the location of his novels: the geography, the nature, the architecture all are rendered in colour, light and shade.And so to Far from the Madding Crowd. It has the reputation of being the sunniest of Hardys novels. That reputation is, I think, undeserved. Tragedy its not, but its still a more serious and weighty offering than Under the Greenwood Tree. The narrative is straightforward enough. The heroine, Bathsheba Everdene, is courted by three very different men: the steady, reliable and aptly named Gabriel Oak, the repressed and stalkerish William Boldwood and the dashing Bad Boy, Frank Troy. In dealing with these three relationships, Hardy explores themes including the relationship between chance and moral responsibility and the inherent danger of romantic love. The three central characters are supplemented by a chorus of farmworkers and the tragic Fanny Robin, whose fate is central to the plot.As much as I appreciate Hardys writing, I tend to have issues with his female characters. Bathsheba Everdene is no exception. Early on this time around, my reaction to her was similar to my reaction to the character played by Andie MacDowell in Four Weddings and a Funeral. Yes, I understand that shes beautiful, but given her personality I dont really understand why she would inspire anyone to undying devotion. However, Bathsheba won me over, up to a point anyway. Shes flawed, but not completely lacking insight into her flaws and she develops over the course of the novel. I listened to an audiobook edition narrated by English actor Jamie Parker. He does an excellent job, including with the female voices. This is no mean feat for a male narrator. All in all, this was a worthwhile literary experience. My 20-year-old self feels validated.

Ah Far from the Madding Crowd, even saying the book title aloud summons images of an overcrowded class room, sweaty adolescents and a fraught English teacher. I was forced to read this book when I was about thirteen. Other books I was forced to read, learn and regurgitate in vast, ungainly and probably largely misunderstood swathes include Macbeth, Hamlet, Rosencratz and Guildenstern are Dead, Pride and Prejudice, A Winters Tale, The Colour Purple and Wuthering Heights. A diverse selection you might think. Yes indeed, diverse but with one key element in common. They all possess the correctly ordered group of elements required to send a class of teenagers into a coma. What? OK yes maybe that was a bit unfair. Not all teenagers, but certainly the clump of hormonally driven monsters that I shared my school years with anyway. A Winters Tale by Bill the Bard was my least favourite of all of these - frankly I thought it was a badly cobbled together parody, a poor imitation of his previous work. Yes that was what I thought at thirteen. Far from the Madding Crowd was second least favourite because it was set in a time where a man was judged on the number of sheep he owned which basically just spelled D-U-L-L to my uncomprehending eyes. However, looking at it now with the perception and clarity of an adult mind (hahahaha) I can see the merits of this text particularly some of its themes which are quite modern if you squint a bit and overlook the references to sheep and horse and carts. Bathsheba Everdene (great name!) arrives in a rural idyll and accidentally steals the heart of lonely shepherd Gabriel Oak (even better name). While she thinks Gabriel is alright, he's not exactly romantic dynamite and his offer of marriage is rebuffed in the hope of better things. Nowadays she could have married him, serialised the wedding as part of a reality TV show and then divorced straight after while still up to her arse in the detritus of plundered wrapping and opened gift boxes. But, this was days of yore so Bathsheba didn't have those kind of opportunities. Luckily for her in lieu of reality TV, a wealthy relative dies and she inherits a fortune. Gabriels fortunes on the other hand go rapidly down hill, or more to the point, over the edge of the hill. He unleashes a sheep dog with ADHD and it drives his flock over a cliff (swap Dodos "doom on you scene" in Iceage the Movie for sheep to obtain correct comedy effect). While luckless Gabriel ponders what to do with his sheep puree, Bathsheba acquires a few new admirers; the prosperous Boldwood and the dashing Troy. Boldwood is not really her cup of tea and the erroneous valentine was a big mistake - the 19th century equivalent of a drunken text message. Troy on the other hand has got the sort of allure possessed by Sean Bean in his Sharpe uniform and Bathsheba's head is turned by a spot of private sword play (dirty girl!). From here on in it is a comedy of errors, spurned lovers, missing persons and during this time Bathsheba racks up a rapid turnover of husbands which would have earned a round of applause from Liz Taylor. In the end, patient sheep-doctor Gabriel wins out and gets the girl. Not baaaa-d Gabriel!

Definitely one of my favourite classics of the year so far! This novel centres around a female character name Bathsheba Everdene and the events that befall her as she tries to make her way in the world. When she takes ownership of a family farm she is quickly picked out by many men in the village and soon has a fair few marriage proposals. She must make up her mind as to who she is and what she plans on doing. Once she has made her choice she must make her bed and lie in it!I found this to be such an enjoyable read - I really love books set in this time period, I find the characters and the decisions they make to be rather amusing! My favourite character by far was Gabriel Oak - what a top bloke! This was my first novel by Hardy and I have since picked up Tess of the D'Urbevilles. I would highly recommend this one to all!

There are several books titled Far From The Madding Crowd on GR. I was inspired to read Thomas Hardy's Victorian novel after reading Roger Brunyate's excellent review.Published in 1874 for the first time as a novel, it depicted the social upheaval resulting from the changes in rural life in the industrial era. Customs and traditions disintegrated, and with that the security, stability and dignity it brought for the inhabitants. It was a period in which religious, political, scientific, and social values entered the age of modernism.Thomas Hardy used the weather as character in the plot, and added Fate as the driving force behind the events. Man was not in control of his own destiny, and women acted as Fate's power over men. But Fate was also nestled in the weather.Well, that's how I saw it. Three men's fate changed when they met the beautiful, unconventional, independent and spirited Bathsheba Everdene. She became a farmer on the largest estate in Weatherbury (note the name) and drew three very different suitors into her parlor - like the spider and the flies. :-)There was the bachelor gentleman-farmer Boldwood; soldier-seducer Sergeant Troy -who could not leave women alone; as well as the devoted shepherd Gabriel Oak. The mating rituals disrupted the community and lead to tragedy. Ms. Everdene made inroads upon the emotional constitution of all three men, and that's mildly stated :-) The story line is as strong as the plot, and above all, the author's philosophical view points is shared with the reader about the devastating effect of the industrial revolution on agriculture and the lives of everyone involved. The fundamental beliefs were shaken to their core. The novel raises the moral question of what is a good life and what is the reward.The story was so atmospheric, like most Victorian novels, but had the surprising (for me) addition of sexuality as an condiment to a social salad. Done tastefully and very dignified, I must add. It is perhaps the reason why I so enjoyed it.One cannot be unaware of Hardy's sense of the unity of man with nature: the eternal hills of his Wessex, the sounds of wind and weather, the ever-circling constellations, the light at different times of day and different seasons, the growth of vegetation, and the behavior of living creatures. His characters convey a general feeling of being a part of the universe; his narrative captures its rhythms. Far from the madding crowd, he seems to say, man comes into his own. I derived the same enjoyment from this tale as The Mill On The Floss by George Eliot, Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh, and a few others. Thomas Hardy though, had a unique way of blending a social and historical background with his personal philosophy, without being fanatical or overpowering, and created characters that would forever stand out from the crowd.A brilliant novel which withstood the test of time. A FANTASTIC READ!RECOMMENDED.

Having just finished reading Infinite Jest I was looking for something that had absolutely nothing to do with tennis, drugs, or terrorists in wheelchairs. I thought Hardy would be a safe bet. Instead, what I got was sheep. A lot of sheep. By the end I was almost hoping that the sheep would get up to play tennis, while on drugs, riding around in wheelchairs.There were a lot of sheep in this book.Believe it or not, though, this is not a story about sheep. This 1874 novel is about Bathsheba Everdene and the men who love her - Gabriel Oak (pictured above), Farmer Boldwood, and Sergeant Frank Troy. It's a complicated love story, and the reader finds it hard to really cheer for any one person more than another. Or, maybe more appropriately, they each take turns in the readers' hearts. Bathsheba is quite the little lady, so it's not hard to see why exactly these dudes are falling all over themselves to win her over. The problem with any object of affection is that they are an object - eventually she's not even a real person any longer to these people, and that's where the real tragedy and drama comes into play.This was a relatively fast read for me, probably because of how much time it took me to read Infinite Jest. This was like reading Dean Koontz in comparison. Still, Hardy never manages to disappoint me. Some people are turned off by the pastoral setting. I find it soothing.Except the sheep were somewhat unnerving this time. I like sheep, but at times during reading this I felt a little claustrophobic.