Nandu Naveen Naveen itibaren Kingsclere itibaren Kingsclere

For someone who has such a loathing for chick flicks, I have such an unnatural attachment to marriage plots. I really, really liked this novel. This is my second foray into reading Hardy, and I have to admit that I think this novel much better than Tess of the D'Urbervilles. I think the two main characters were more carefully crafted and much better developed. And when you have a serious "wtf" moment at any point in a novel this dated, it's only a bonus. The story of Gabriel Oak, devoted, modest and meager farmer and his interactions with the headstrong Bathsheba Everdene (I mean, Bathsheba, c'mon - where do you even see names like that anymore?!) was realistically sculpted and I found myself hooked. Yes, the story of these two who meet early on in life and then keep meeting and keep meeting over the years was incredibly predictable, but I still found myself intrigued in spite of myself. The book was beautifully written. It makes me want to pick up other Hardy novels, and that's a sizable compliment for any author.