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Almost two weeks ago now I started reading Thomas Hardy’s Far from the Madding Crowd. I’ve not ever read Hardy before. I know! I have seen a movie version of Tess a very long time ago, does that count? Anyway, whenever I’ve mentioned Hardy on this blog over the years I’ve gotten two reactions:
- He’s sooo good, you have to read him!
- He’s really depressing so be prepared
The so good and the really depressing even come from the same people, implying that depressing does not mean a bad book. So when I began Far from the Madding Crowd I was expecting a really good book that is also a downer. Maybe it’s me, or maybe this is Hardy’s only non-depressing book, but I’ve been laughing while reading it. Laughing a lot. This I did not expect and was confused at first, worried perhaps I was misreading or something. But no, Hardy is funny. How can this not make you laugh?
Oak sighed a deep honest sigh—none the less so in that, being like the sigh of a pine plantation, it was rather noticeable as a disturbance of the atmosphere.
Or this:
‘Come, Mark Clark—come. Ther’s plenty more in the barrel,’ said Jan. ‘Ay—that I will, ’tis my only doctor,’ replied Mr. Clark, who, twenty years younger than Jan Coggan, revolved in the same orbit. He secreted mirth on all occasions for special discharge at popular parties.
Or that one man in the neighborhood is known only as “Susan Tall’s husband” because he has no distinguishing characteristics of his own. I find myself giggling every time Susan Tall’s husband shows up, which isn’t often enough if you ask me, but I suppose you have to play lightly with that joke or it will wear itself out too quickly.
It’s not like Hardy’s humor slaps you in the face, it is pretty subtle most of the time. It doesn’t make me laugh out loud but it does make me grin. I’m far enough along to know there is trouble ahead for Bathsheba, but I’m not sure that it will be enough to turn everything depressing. Am I safe to put my hanky away or should I keep it in reserve?
I think you’re right in saying that this is about as lght-hearted as Hardy gets. I recall this one as being WAY less depressing than the others and even quite fun to read. There’s still lots ahead though…
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Melwyk, so basically next time I read Hardy I’ll be in for a depressing awakening? I’ll enjoy the humor while it lasts then! 🙂
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I was so sure your #2 would be more like this:
“2. He occasionally produces a sentence so tin-eared, awkward, and all around badly written that it is almost physically painful.”
That has been my experience with him. Jude the Obscure is so grim that I find it less depressing than hilarious.
But you are right, he is funny in the usual ways, too. I have not read this one, but I especially love the “secreted mirth” line. An author has to be ready to risk some bad sentences to create one so strangely yet perfectly phrased.
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Tom, heh, there have been a couple of those clunker passages but I failed to mark them because I took the opportunity to briefly drift away somewhere more pleasant. Thanks for the warning regarding Jude the Obscure. I really liked that secreted mirth line too. He has another in a longer passage too long to quote in which someone is hermetically sealed.
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I’ve only seen the movie, but Far From The Madding Crowd is definitely one of Hardy’s lighter works–the ending is bittersweet, which for Hardy is downright cheerful. That said, I’ve read a lot of Hardy (6 novels, I think?), and I actually prefer him at his gloomiest (well, maybe not gloomiest–Jude The Obscure is definitely not my favorite). I’d be hard-pressed to think of another author who writes tragedy in quite the same understated, moving way.
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Reading in the Growlery, yes, there are intimations currently that things are not going to work out so very well for Bathsheba now that her head has been turned by Sergeant Troy. Next time I read Hardy I will expect the gloom then, but perhaps I will not jump right to Jude the Obscure, though the contrast could be interesting.
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Jude the Obscure is just so unrelentingly depressing. Maybe Tess of the d’Urbervilles or The Mayor of Casterbridge–those are both major works, and sad, but (to me at least) not quite so overwhelmingly bleak.
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You make me want to read Jude to find out just how depressing it is!
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Haha! Well, it’s definitely not a bad novel–just very grim. It’s actually something I’ve been meaning to reread in the hopes that I’ll appreciate it more the second time around, but it’s always so hard to make time to revisit books when there are books out there you haven’t even read once…
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I hear you about the rereading! I always intend to do it more often but I generally only manage to reread one or two books a year.
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I think most of Hardy’s novels will have a little of his rather slant humour. I haven’t read enough Hardy because I did struggle with Jude the Obscure – but I loved The Mayor Of Casterbridge, I guess it might be one of the best of all English novels.
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Ian, “slant humour,” I like that, a very good description! I am glad more of his novels have it, but I suppose they being gloomier the humor might tend to be lost? I will make a note about Mayor of Casterbridge, perhaps it will be my next venture into to Hardy.
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I can’t remember ever laughing (or smiling) at Tess or Jude, but this one seems not as tragic as usual (just watched the BBC movie, after all). I might have missed the subtlety of this humor altogether, so I’m grateful you pointed it out, I’d never have guessed.
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Smithereens, is the BBC movie all done? Perhaps I will have to get my hands on it and watch it when I am done with the book. And you are right, I don’t remember thinking the movie of Tess was very funny but that was a long time ago and my memory is very fuzzy.
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Yes, Hardy can be funny, even in his gloomier novels. It’s just that the tragedy is sometimes so overpowering that the comic bits get lost. Far from the Madding Crowd is one of his more cheerful books, so the humor stands out more.
And your other commenters are right about Jude being incredibly dark. I adore it–it may, in fact, be my favorite Hardy, but it has the advantage of being one I’ve read more recently than the others I like. Tess is a contender for my favorite, and Mayor of Casterbridge and Return of the Native are up there. I need to reread Far from the Madding Crowd. An acquaintance kind of spoiled it for me before I read it by linking it to his own life, and I couldn’t pry that lens off as I was reading. It may be forever ruined for that reason, but I hope not. It’s a good book!
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Teresa, good to know there is humor even in his gloomier novels even if it does get lost in the tragedy. Too bad about Far from the Madding Crowd being spoiled by a friend. I hope it isn’t forever ruined. You and the others mentioning Jude are making me want to read it very much! I think it is a book for spring or summer though so it will have to wait until next year.
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I’ve always wanted to read more Hardy- the only one I’ve read yet is Tess, and I thought that was great.
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Jeane, Im not done with FftMC yet, but even so, I can recommend it!
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Love your title!! Yes, you’re absolutely right on this one. I’m having a very slow read … just about 100 pages now and yes, have chuckled out loud several times. FFTMC is definitely a lighter and funnier novel than Tess, which I found utterly fatalistic. Bathsheba is a very modern character I think, maybe even a feminist. I hope the upcoming film captures the humour rather than just the drama or tries to make it into an epic romance. Have you seen the 1967 film adaptation with Julie Christie? That’s too serious.
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Arti, glad you like it, it was a last minute inspiration from one that was rather dull 🙂 Bathsheba is modern in many respects but Hardy manages to annoy me frequently by undercutting her independence with her “womanly feelings” and all that. Gak! I have to keep reminding myself of when it was written. I have not seen any version of the book on film. I do hope the new version let’s Bathsheba be sassy and isn’t all romance.
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As you read this, think of any comparisons between Bathsheba and Katniss Evergreen in The Hunger Games (if you’ve read that). I’ve read that Katniss is meant to be an homage to Bathsheba…
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ravingreader, I’ve not read the Hunger Games books but I’ve seen the movies. Besides similar last names and both being independent, I don’t see much connection between the two. But maybe the books would make it more obvious?
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It’s a long time since I’ve read any Hardy but my recollection of those I’ve read – about 5 – is that this is the least depressing. The thing is that Tess and Jude are so devastating that once you’ve read them they become the over-riding memory. I haven’t read The mayor of Casterbridge, but it’s one of my mum’s favourites.
Love your quotes, btw.
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whisperinggums, someone else commented Mayor of Casterbridge is really good. But you all have me so curious about Jude! Glad you enjoyed the quotes.
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Oh, and if you haven’t read it, you might like to read some of his poetry. Prose was his forte but I have enjoyed quite a lot of his poetry.
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oh yes, and his poetry. I haven’t read it but I did pick up a secondhand collection of it not so very long ago.
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I will be watching and waiting – this year, next year, whenever, because I think you’ll like his poetry. (Says she, presumptuously).
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I like Hardy’s poetry a lot, more than the two novels I have read. Hardy the poet does not seem any grimmer or depressing than any number of other poets writing at the same time. Take that as you like.
I’ll also mention that there are Hardy novels that are supposed to be good that are not thought to be depressing at all, like The Woodlanders, which would be a pastoral except it set is a forest (a sylvanal?), and The Well-Beloved, where the title is not meant entirely ironically.
But I haven’t read them, so I could be wrong.
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The Woodlanders was, either the first or the second – maybe the second – of Hardy’s that I read. I think I read Tess (well I know I read Tess) at High School, but I think The Woodlanders was at university. First year, and then I did Jude in third year. I don’t recollect a lot about The Woodlanders which probably suggests that it wasn’t as gut wrenching so I recon Tom you are right!
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Tom, didn’t he start writing poetry after his novels? Or was the poetry first and then he turned to novels? At any rate, I have a collection of his poetry. I’ll have to pull it from the shelf and sample it along with the novel.
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Hardy wrote poetry all along, but he did not publish until he had given up on writing novels. After which he wrote lots of poetry. He lived for 30 years after he abandoned fiction, writing poetry the whole time.
His career is really unusual, actually.
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Very unusual. Makes him all the more interesting 🙂
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I haven’t read Far From the Madding Crowd, but The Mayor of Casterbridge is excellent!
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jenclair, good to know! Aside from Jude, Mayor of Casterbridge seems to be a favorite of many.
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I loved Hardy as a teenager but now I would have to very desperate to pick him up. So perhaps you should add a third category along the lines of an author I have definitely grown out of.
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Alex, interesting! What is it do you think you have grown out of with Hardy? The gloominess? Or something else?
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I think this is one of the less dark and depressing Hardy stories which is why it has been closer to the top of my reading pile than his others! 🙂 I like Bathsheba but she’s sort of curious, isn’t she? I had a chuckle that she was so quick to pull Gabriel back and let him know she was indeed single–but not single enough to say yes to her marriage proposal–keeping all avenues open I guess! This is on my ipad and will be coming with me this week, though I am not sure how far I will get in it–will try not to fall too far behind!
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Danielle, Bathsheba is very interesting. She wants all the men to admire her but not too much! Gabriel did peg her as being vain right at the start. Enjoy your vacation reading!
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I’ve only ever tried to read one Hardy novel (and so long ago I can’t recall which) but it was the phonetically rendered dialect that finished me off. I guess I didn’t last long enough to reach a depressing bit! I am completely delighted to know he is funny, though. I am a sucker for an author who can make me smile.
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Litlove, this one isn’t bad on the dialect at all so my guess is you have not read Far from the Madding Crowd! I was surprised to discover the humor, but many of the commenters have warned that this is Hardy’s lightest novel so I’m not sure it is the best example. Still, if you ever decide to try Hardy again, this might be the one.
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