Perfect book to get to know Hardy

This is the only book I’ve read by Hardy up to now, so I can’t compare it to any of his later, more famous works. However, I can say that I have loved “A Pair of Blue Eyes”. It was remarkable to me how strong was the softening influence of Hardy’s poetical language on the story, which in its essence was intense, stormy and scandalous. The omniscient narrator draws the characters very accurately – and I may also say, passionately - apart from including some beautiful comments about life and love in general, like: “Love is faith, and faith, like a gathered flower, will rootlessly live on”. This book was a great encourager for me to read more by Hardy and see what other things he wrote, so I’d recommend it to anyone who doesn’t know him yet.