Scheherazade
11-17-2007, 08:29 PM
The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy
I have read a few of Hardy's books as one cannot avoid them while studying English Literature, especially at university. Apart from Far from the Madding Crowd, my favorite Hardy book, I find Hardy's books too melodramatic, too tragic, too... not my cup of tea! ;)
The Return of the Native is the story of beautiful Eustacia Vye, rich Clym Yeobright and ambitious Damon Wildeve, who all get involved in a doomed love affair. Clym, the native of the title, returns home from Paris to fall in love with captivating Eustacia, who desperately longs to get away from Egdon Heath - at any cost. Shortly after their marriage, however, Eustacia realises that she will not be able to persuade Clym to get away, which makes her resume her love affair with Damon.
The story line is very weak; slightly better than a soap opera taking place in heaths; characters lack depth and one feels unable to sympathize with them because they are no better than parodies of 'wanna-be-tragic-heroes'. As always, Hardy gets carried away with lengthy descriptions in this book as well; his ambitous, wordy desrciptions do not make it easier for the reader.
Over all, it is a tragic story about tragic characters who live under tragic circumstances and it is tragic that an author of Hardy's calibre would produce such a novel. The dramatic developments following one another makes the story a rather unrealistic one and finding a character to like or, at least, to sympathise with becomes an impossible task.
Over all, a very poor reading:
4/10 KitKats!
I have read a few of Hardy's books as one cannot avoid them while studying English Literature, especially at university. Apart from Far from the Madding Crowd, my favorite Hardy book, I find Hardy's books too melodramatic, too tragic, too... not my cup of tea! ;)
The Return of the Native is the story of beautiful Eustacia Vye, rich Clym Yeobright and ambitious Damon Wildeve, who all get involved in a doomed love affair. Clym, the native of the title, returns home from Paris to fall in love with captivating Eustacia, who desperately longs to get away from Egdon Heath - at any cost. Shortly after their marriage, however, Eustacia realises that she will not be able to persuade Clym to get away, which makes her resume her love affair with Damon.
The story line is very weak; slightly better than a soap opera taking place in heaths; characters lack depth and one feels unable to sympathize with them because they are no better than parodies of 'wanna-be-tragic-heroes'. As always, Hardy gets carried away with lengthy descriptions in this book as well; his ambitous, wordy desrciptions do not make it easier for the reader.
Over all, it is a tragic story about tragic characters who live under tragic circumstances and it is tragic that an author of Hardy's calibre would produce such a novel. The dramatic developments following one another makes the story a rather unrealistic one and finding a character to like or, at least, to sympathise with becomes an impossible task.
Over all, a very poor reading:
4/10 KitKats!