I have just recently read "Far from the Madding Crowd" this summer and I must say that more than a fascinating book it is now my favorite book. If I could I probably would read it over and over again until I could quote Oak and Bathsheba and the rest verbatim. The main cause for my attraction lies exactly in something most people will find bothersome in Hardy's style: the intricate descriptions of persons, places, and things. Many critics regard this as a weakness. In my case, I find it to be a great strength. It made everything and everybody roundabout Weatherbury seem so real that in my heart of hearts I cannot help but conceive that there once was a woman named Bathsheba Everdene, who owned a farm not far from Casterbridge and who was pursued by three different men of quite different personality types: Gabriel Oak, William Boldwood, and Francis Troy. True, it is not the most strictly organized novel or the most highly developed one compared to works of Dickens or even Hardy's other books such as "The Return of the Native" or "The Mayor of Casterbridge". However, the vivid realness of everything concerned and the great insights in the development of many engaging characters far outweighs any weak point contained within the story.<br>