Tremendous

Just finished reading the series of books by James F Cooper incl Deerslayer,<br>Last of the Mohicans, and Pathfinder. I was sorry to finish them and was looking for something equally spellbinding. Stumbled across Far From the.... and remember seeing the book in my parents library, so checked it out. Of course T Hardy and JF Cooper have different styles and backgrounds but after<br>struggling through some of Hardy's wordiness I became engrossed in his characters and plot. I loved Gabriel Oaks devotion to Bathsheba, Bathsheba's independence, Boldwoods neurosis/obsession, Sgt Troy's manipulation, and Fanny's martydom. It seemed to me that the book was about lessons, making your bed and then sleeping in it, poor decisions and paying the price. But in the end everything works out (for the 2 main characters, anyway.) Towards the end I wanted to race through the chapters to see how everything would work out, especially when Sgt Troy came back in the picture. And my heart was touched by Bathsheba when she went to Gabriel Oak's cottage to find out if she had offended him. He was ready to walk away until she realized that she didn't want to live without him. I loved the book, really, and was sorry to finish it as well!