Return of the Native, by Thomas Hardy

I read this book years ago, then decided to re-read it after seeing the 1990's movie with Catherine Zeta Jones as Eustacia Vye.  I don't know why it didn't make a stronger impression on me the first time I read it.

There is something very modern about how Hardy uses the landscape of Egdon Heath.  He creates visions of large, primitive hills, with silhouettes of figures emerging from and disappearing into them as if they were growths produced from of the heath itself and were fated to merge back into it (ashes to ashes, dust to dust).  It made me think of a huge lava lamp (I know that's weird, but read the book and you'll see what I mean). The imagery reinforces the idea that human beings are futile, short-lived creatures.  The events that seem all important to us make no lasting impression on the world.  The vibrant character and beauty of Eustacia and her strong desire to escape from the heath make little impression in the long term and she never does escape.  Clym, who already did escape to Paris in the past, feels himself pulled back and decides to move back to the heath for good.  The heath seems to have an irresistible gravitational pull on all those who live there.

The reddleman Diggory Venn is the character most closely associated with the heath, and his redness and propensity to just appear and disappear at will into the landscape makes him an almost spectral figure, as if he were the spirit of the heath itself.  He is the wisest and best informed of the characters, and is the only one who doesn't have anything tragic happen to him.

Throughout the novel appears the theme of ancient, rural traditions coming up against new, urban ideas that in the end make little progress against the old ways.

Far From The Madding Crowd, by Thomas Hardy

I first read this story years ago in high school. We had just read <i>Tess</i> in English class and I liked it so much I went on a Thomas Hardy reading binge that summer. I reread <i>Far from the Madding Crowd</i> in preparation for seeing the new movie coming out this weekend. I'm glad I did as I am reminded again of why I like Hardy's novels so much. He is so skilful at depicting realistic characters and his descriptions of country landscapes and country life are such that you feel you are there. I also like how he peppers the narrative with shrewd observations about life and human nature.  I decided to reread it because I just saw the new film adaptation, with Carey Mulligan and Matthias Schoenarts.

<i>Far from the Madding Crowd</i> is about a woman who gains financial independence when she inherits a farm from a rich uncle. She is courted by three very different men, who love her in three different ways, and she must choose among them. Bathsheba is supposed to be an intelligent, strong and independent woman, or at least Hardy keeps giving the reader that impression... but does she have some abysmal decision making skills!  Of her three suitors, she picks the worst one first, the next worst one second, and the best, most decent one is last.

There are some plot twists that seem a bit too contrived to me, like the part where Fanny Robin comes within a hair's breadth of marrying Sergeant Troy (which would have prevented a whole lot of trouble) but goes to the wrong church and the embarrassed sergeant is angry enough so he won't marry her anymore. Other than that this is a book that I just got engrossed in.

Come to think about it, maybe it's time for another Hardy reading binge!

Defying Hitler, by Sebastian Haffner

If you ever wondered about how a highly educated, highly civilized country like Germany could fall under the power of a barbarian regime such as that of the Nazis, this is a very interesting book to read.  It is the memoir of a man who lived through World War I as a child and then through the transition from the Weimar Republic to the Third Reich as a young lawyer and aspiring judge. He

He draws connections between his childhood experiences during World War I and how they instilled a peculiar outlook towards war in him and in others of his generation.  He writes of the surreal atmosphere and loosened morality that prevailed during the runaway inflation of the early 1920's and how the military training/political indoctrination camps young judicial candidates were required to attend before they could get their credentials helped make them more receptive to regimentation under the Nazis.

The book is well written and I couldn't put it down.  I finished it in one weekend and will probably be rereading it in the near future.

Under the Greenwood Tree, by Thomas Hardy

I read this book after <i>Far from the Madding Crowd</i> and in some ways it is a simpler, more lighthearted version of the later novel. Like <i>Far from the Madding Crowd</i>, the heroine, a young schoolmistress and organist named Fancy Day has three suitors, very different from one another, and she must choose among them.  The passions depicted and the events surrounding her choice are much more down to earth and not nearly so dramatic as those of Bathsheba Everdene, so the story has a more serene and relaxing atmosphere. Interwoven with the marriage is that of the pastor's decision to replace the unreliable crew of church musicians with Fancy, who can play the organ, and their unhappiness and speculations about the reasons behind this, the pastor being one of Fancy's suitors.

I have to say I enjoyed <i>Far from the Madding Crowd</i> more than this book, but it was a pleasant and quick read.