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给你一篇·
Let me just start by saying that I had been put off reading Thomas Hardye by Dickens. Having really struggled with Dickens and resorted to audio I had wrongly assumed that all 19C liturature was the same. How wrong I could be. From the first paragraph where the opening character farmer Gabriel Oak is desribed smiling, 'the corners of his mouth spread till they were an unimportant distance from his ears' I fell in love with Hardy's narrative. His ability to use words that lift the description off the page and into the reader's imagination are not just outstanding but incredibly enjoyable.
I went into this book blindly, knowing little about the plot that lay ahead or even the genre. It has been described by some as romantic fiction. But I think this is too simplistic a title and and maybe slightly off-putting to some. Hardye steps into Greek Tragedy when the unwitting and churlish actions of our young protagonist, Bathsheba Everdene, result in a love tryst between three suitors with tragic consequenses.

The book is essentially a journey for Bathsheba into womanhood not unlike the journey that Scarlett O'Hara makes in Gone with the Wind who also has to overcome great tragedy in order to realise her own strength. Unlike this heroin, however, Bathsheba is more the instrument of chaos and indecion and part of her journey is that she accepts what she has caused and tries to make it right.
Hardye avoids making this into moral stricture but deviates from the Greek Tragedy model by giving us a happy ending not atypical of 19C serialised fiction.

Quite often an author's voice creeps into their writing and the reader becomes aware that they are not in fact walking the hills and dales of fictional Wessex but are at the pen nib of a writer. This is apparent through Hardye's occasional derogatory comments towards women where he clearly feels that women are something of a fickle inigma. This, in spite of the fact that the main charachter is a woman and she is far from portrayed unsimpathetically.
The remaining characters, of which there are the three suitors and then various country folk whose characters serve to flesh out the scenery and have been compared to the chorus in Greek Tragedy providing reflection and comment to the audince or reader that the main charachters do not see and are not aware of. It has been said that Hardye's charachters are obviously good or bad, a statement I would certainly disagree with in this book. The four main characters are remarkably rounded with good and bad in varying degrees in each. One character, particular ( I won't give away which one) is maddeningly frustrating.

The plot roles along at an ambling pace for the first half of the book, not at an unsatisfying pace, then picks up pace. It is easy to see how this was serialised with Hardye skillfully leaving the end of each chapter on more tenderhooks and a Christmas edition of Eastenders. This is a thoroughly good read with a plausible plot, beleivable characters and as relevant to today as Shakespeare. I have deliberately not given away the plot (if you want that, read some of the other reviews here) but I hope I have whetted your apetite.

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　　你分多啊·····nbsp;---------------jjq927···给你一篇·letnbsp;menbsp;justnbsp;startnbsp;bynbsp;sayingnbsp;thatnbsp;inbsp;hadnbsp;beennbsp;putnbsp;offnbsp;readingnbsp;thomasnbsp;hardyenbsp;bynbsp;dickens.nbsp;havingnbsp;reallynbsp;strugglednbsp;withnbsp;dickensnbsp;andnbsp;resortednbsp;tonbsp;audionbsp;inbsp;hadnbsp;wronglynbsp;assumednbsp;thatnbsp;allnbsp;19cnbsp;lituraturenbsp;wasnbsp;thenbsp;same.nbsp;hownbsp;wrongnbsp;inbsp;couldnbsp;be.nbsp;fromnbsp;thenbsp;firstnbsp;paragraphnbsp;wherenbsp;thenbsp;openingnbsp;characternbsp;farmernbsp;gabrielnbsp;oaknbsp;isnbsp;desribednbsp;smiling,nbsp;‘thenbsp;cornersnbsp;ofnbsp;hisnbsp;mouthnbsp;spreadnbsp;tillnbsp;theynbsp;werenbsp;annbsp;unimportantnbsp;distancenbsp;fromnbsp;hisnbsp;ears‘nbsp;inbsp;fellnbsp;innbsp;lovenbsp;withnbsp;hardy‘snbsp;narrative.nbsp;hisnbsp;abilitynbsp;tonbsp;usenbsp;wordsnbsp;thatnbsp;liftnbsp;thenbsp;descriptionnbsp;offnbsp;thenbsp;pagenbsp;andnbsp;intonbsp;thenbsp;reader‘snbsp;imaginationnbsp;arenbsp;notnbsp;justnbsp;outstandingnbsp;butnbsp;incrediblynbsp;enjoyable.inbsp;wentnbsp;intonbsp;thisnbsp;booknbsp;blindly,nbsp;knowingnbsp;littlenbsp;aboutnbsp;thenbsp;plotnbsp;thatnbsp;laynbsp;aheadnbsp;ornbsp;evennbsp;thenbsp;genre.nbsp;itnbsp;hasnbsp;beennbsp;describednbsp;bynbsp;somenbsp;asnbsp;romanticnbsp;fiction.nbsp;butnbsp;inbsp;thinknbsp;thisnbsp;isnbsp;toonbsp;simplisticnbsp;anbsp;titlenbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;maybenbsp;slightlynbsp;off-puttingnbsp;tonbsp;some.nbsp;hardyenbsp;stepsnbsp;intonbsp;greeknbsp;tragedynbsp;whennbsp;thenbsp;unwittingnbsp;andnbsp;churlishnbsp;actionsnbsp;ofnbsp;ournbsp;youngnbsp;protagonist,nbsp;bathshebanbsp;everdene,nbsp;resultnbsp;innbsp;anbsp;lovenbsp;trystnbsp;betweennbsp;threenbsp;suitorsnbsp;withnbsp;tragicnbsp;consequenses.nbsp;thenbsp;booknbsp;isnbsp;essentiallynbsp;anbsp;journeynbsp;fornbsp;bathshebanbsp;intonbsp;womanhoodnbsp;notnbsp;unlikenbsp;thenbsp;journeynbsp;thatnbsp;scarlettnbsp;o‘haranbsp;makesnbsp;innbsp;gonenbsp;withnbsp;thenbsp;windnbsp;whonbsp;alsonbsp;hasnbsp;tonbsp;overcomenbsp;greatnbsp;tragedynbsp;innbsp;ordernbsp;tonbsp;realisenbsp;hernbsp;ownnbsp;strength.nbsp;unlikenbsp;thisnbsp;heroin,nbsp;however,nbsp;bathshebanbsp;isnbsp;morenbsp;thenbsp;instrumentnbsp;ofnbsp;chaosnbsp;andnbsp;indecionnbsp;andnbsp;partnbsp;ofnbsp;hernbsp;journeynbsp;isnbsp;thatnbsp;shenbsp;acceptsnbsp;whatnbsp;shenbsp;hasnbsp;causednbsp;andnbsp;triesnbsp;tonbsp;makenbsp;itnbsp;right.nbsp;hardyenbsp;avoidsnbsp;makingnbsp;thisnbsp;intonbsp;moralnbsp;stricturenbsp;butnbsp;deviatesnbsp;fromnbsp;thenbsp;greeknbsp;tragedynbsp;modelnbsp;bynbsp;givingnbsp;usnbsp;anbsp;happynbsp;endingnbsp;notnbsp;atypicalnbsp;ofnbsp;19cnbsp;serialisednbsp;fiction.nbsp;quitenbsp;oftennbsp;annbsp;author‘snbsp;voicenbsp;creepsnbsp;intonbsp;theirnbsp;writingnbsp;andnbsp;thenbsp;readernbsp;becomesnbsp;awarenbsp;thatnbsp;theynbsp;arenbsp;notnbsp;innbsp;factnbsp;walkingnbsp;thenbsp;hillsnbsp;andnbsp;dalesnbsp;ofnbsp;fictionalnbsp;wessexnbsp;butnbsp;arenbsp;atnbsp;thenbsp;pennbsp;nibnbsp;ofnbsp;anbsp;writ

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　　Impression of a book of 'Great Expectation'
Went to the bookstore during the holiday, I chose a book from a lot of world masterpieces, named Great Expectation, when I pick up this book, I have not expected that such an English book will have a so great impact on me, making my thoughts and feelings very deep, I think that the form and content of this book are all very outstanding.
It is written by Charles Dickens,a famous writter from England,and it is not important.Now I will turn to the topic on how it can attract me.
The character in this masterpiece left me the deep impression is Pip.He falls in love with Estella.He studied as hard as he could.Educating himself for her.Why did he love Estella so much? Just for her beautiful face? because she is pretty? She is rich? She is proud? In fact, I think Pip pay out so much for the love.She didn't treat him well and even that she didn't respect him at all! She put the food for him as a dog,but he didn't hate her. On the contrary, he left from his home and his friends. He just want to be a gentleman.He abandoned a lot than he got. I can't understand why he do it in this way. I think it's not worth at all. If one person don't like you or not respect you,you needn't do everything for her. So it made me quite sad.I feel sorry for Pip. He had a very difficult life...
Miss Havisham is aslo a character who left me a deep impression.She was a pitiful lady.Her mother died young.Her farther was very rich and very proud.with only one child,Miss Havisham,by his first wife.In fact, she should have a nice life,but her wedding was destroied by her fiance.He broke her heart and she was angry.She want to retaliate all men.She was really a abject woman.But she chose a wrong way to continue her life..She wanted to hurt other persons.And she had done.This is no good for her.Only made her feel a little comfortable.and there was more victims in the world.there are so many persons in the world.when they were hurt they want to hurt other innocent persons.Athough this is no good for them,but they did so.I do not know why they did so.Revenge?Made the world full of hateness.It is difficult to understand.
That's my thought.

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　　Far from the Madding Crowd - A Maddening Classic

This is the only work by Hardy I have read, so maybe I picked the one which didn't happen to suit my own tastes in novels. Although I sound critical, this book is still worthwhile reading and I recommend it for the enjoyment it brings in depicting rural English life and society in the mid 1800s.

Based on overwhelming positive reviews of this classic work I had high expectations and hoped to get more in terms of plot, characterization, and writing style. In spite of my disappointment, I did find enough intrigue to satisfy my curiosity and encourage me to read the book to its end.

I enjoyed the country folk and the descriptions of their bucolic and simple lives in the English countryside in the 1800s. The peasants obediently accepted their places in society and performed their duties by plowing fields, sheering sheep, and picking apples, while eking out the tiniest morsels of fun and enjoyment they could under their circumstances. Their honest excitement in the simple pleasures of ale and cider, meals and markets, and gossip and rumors were the essence of the story to me, offering a fascinating glimpse of pre-industrial-revolution English country-life and society.

As to the criticisms I have, I felt Hardy took longer than necessary to express what he was doing with this story. It's not that I don't like long books. I have read some over 1,000 pages and never wanted them to end. With this novel, however, I just didn't get that "reading high" to where I couldn't let the book get out of my hands.

The self-sacrificing Gabriel Oak, as his namesake says, portrayed a man as strong as an oak, with a rock-solid and virtuous character. He was so dependable and upright that he came across as self-righteous, in my opinion. On the other hand, he was so love-struck by Bathsheba that he often turned into mush, mirroring the love-sick, whining, pining John Ridd who exasperated me in Blackmore's Lorna Doone.

Bathsheba was as tough as nails with the men who loved her most, but turned into jelly when dealing with the one man whom she adored but who did not requite her love in kind.

Farmer Boldwood was a very mild-mannered, stoic, and proper layman farmer, exhibiting a latent, mentally disturbed personality. I am not sure if I was supposed to dislike the guy, feel sorry for him, or root for him in his obsessive pursuit of Bathsheba's hand in marriage.

And when it came to Troy's behavior and personality, you couldn't figure him out. He came across as either a very commendable but misguided individual or an absolute evil louse. You didn't know until the end, but I guess that is what holds our interest in novels.

When I finished the book I noticed on the back cover a commentary stating that FFTMC was not well received after it was published. In fact, it said that Hardy's peers were quite critical of the work. I too agree with them to some extent. One author quoted as expressing his dislike of this book was Henry James, who in my opinion is a much better writer.

Although I am inclined to leave Hardy alone and read books written by authors I prefer more, I plan to read another of his books to satisfy my curiosity to know whether this story was an anomaly or whether I personally cannot find enjoyment in reading Hardy. The result, I hope, will be the latter.