The 306 Greatest Books #85 - The Return of the Native

The next up on my reading of the 306 greatest books is The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy. This book can be found on the Sybervision Book List. 

Thomas Hardy is able to paint a picture with his novels. When you read them you can be sure to smell the sweet fragrance of a passing flower or hear children playing on a distant hill. His ability to paint such a picture is almost unmatched. The Return of the Native flowed smoothly from the beginning picture he painted through much of the end. It was also a very easy read, once you got passed the little bit of the dated language, and I enjoyed it, for the most part. The ending however, left much to be desired. Not to spoil anything, but the deaths that were depicted were pretty pathetic. One I still don't understand if it was by accident or if it was suicide (which might have been the intent of the author). He even included a footnote to state that the ending he originally intended was changed due to critical review. His depiction of women was also pretty atrocious. I have never met such meek women in my life, and most of those I personally know would never allow to be placed in similar circumstances. Now it may be a cultural thing, but I have read many works by women of the same time period that do not portray women in similar ways, so I have to assume it is Hardy's inability to understand the female sex (not that I have any real understanding, but I do not pretend to). So all in all, an enjoyable read, but not one I would include in the 100 greatest of all time.