Reader discussion: Far from the Madding Crowd

Public reader discussion about Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy.

Far From The Madding Crowd - 2015 - What the actual f***

By paperbackmarket2003

Okay but seriously, what the hell was this movie? I did genuinely love the scenery, the outfits, and the whole vibe—like it actually felt right for a period drama and the big singing moments were on point. But then… what was up with the woman and the guys she chose? Also, spoilers ahead, I guess. I felt really bad for the neighbor guy. I honestly couldn’t figure out what he even saw in her. And the more he tried to convince her to marry him, the worse everything got. By the time he was basically begging her to marry him, even with all that pity, I was like nah—bro should’ve tried harder, like for real. And I have no idea how she ended up marrying that soldier guy. He was such a dumbass. Plus I didn’t buy the “love” for the farm hand at all. They just seemed like decent friends to me—there wasn’t any real romance happening in my eyes. I also hated that she basically shut down his whole plan to go to the US. And the rich guy who shot her first husband—he was right to do it, but it still made me feel awful for him too, since he got stuck with that whole mess. The ending was just… the worst. I’m sitting there thinking, what the actual f*** was this movie?

"Far From the Madding Crowd" by Thomas Hardy. The highest praise he can give a woman.

By Porch

Am I the only one who thinks that sentence is kinda bad? It feels really jarring and the wording is awkward, like it doesn’t flow right. I could also just be reading it wrong though lol.

In the vernacular: what are some novels written in 'the people's tongue'?

By WildBowl8

The first ones that popped into my head are Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, and then Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh. Also maybe A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess. What else fits that kind of vibe? Edit: Another one I thought of is Forrest Gump & Gump & Co. by Winston Groom.

Thoughts on: "It is difficult for a woman to define her feelings in a language chiefly made by men to express theirs." - Bathsheba Everdene

By moon-kind37

I just read Thomas Hardy’s *Far from the Madding Crowd* for the first time, and wow—I really loved it. There was this line from Bathsheba that kept popping back into my head (along with a couple other moments), and I’m curious what everyone else thought about it.