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To say that FFTMC is Hardy's "best" novel is a personal opinion at best. Sure, it leaves you with a "feel good" sensation at the finish, but unfortunately, a senario where the "guy gets the girl in the end" does not reflect real life (for the most part). That's why I prefer Jude the Obscure to FFTMC. It better portrays the real world; where most dreams are never fulfilled and disappointment is king.
I am preparing a Bachelor of Arts degree and I was required to read FFTMC, as a normal reader I thought it was very difficult to read but as soon as I got the plot I learnt more and more about british ideas of what happened in the countryside of England during the 19th century. This novel is really comic and could be a good scenario for CBS's soap operas the story depicted in this novel reminds me of The Young and The Restless but differs from it since it has an end. Boldwood and Troy and Oak challenge to conquer the poor Bathsheba brings so much burst of laughter among my friends ! I think that Thomas Hardy had really launched the idea of endless story depicted everyday life of the contemporary men and women. Though it is really hard to read it once I think the novel must be read in several times! It is Hardy's best novel since he well knew how to describe the people of his time and astounished us with big description of nature and the countryside which make a whole with the plot of the novel but the end of it can surprise the readers since it is not very original Bathsheba married Oak and they lived in Happiness such as Snow White and the Prince