Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Book Review: Far from the Madding Crowd (Thomas Hardy, 1874)

Wonderful book.  The language isn't too tough, and the message still rings today.  Sure, it's a romance at heart, and a nice one.  But there's also a story of personal struggle; of failure, floundering, seeking to gain a foothold in life, and finally succeeding by the sweat of one's own labor.

This was Thomas Hardy's second book, and first big success.  After Charles Dickens died in 1870, the public wanted a new Dickens.  They thought they found it in Hardy.  And for a few very well written books he did provide.