Far From the Madding Crowd {Book and Film}

{Note: this post probably contains spoilers!}

I'm so excited to have finally read Far From the Madding Crowd and to have seen the newest film adaptation of the story. Of course I had to write about them. :)


I'm always wanting to read more classics, but I have to admit that I usually find them intimidating. And Thomas Hardy was especially intimidating, because of the things I'd heard about Tess of the d'Urbervilles and how depressing his books tend to be. Now I feel silly for waiting so long to read Far From the Madding Crowd, because I loved this book!

It took me a while to adjust to the wordiness of his writing style. Every once in a while I was tempted to skim, and sometimes I would reread a sentence over and over and still have no idea of what he was trying to say. :) But a lot of his descriptive passages were really beautiful, especially the nature ones. Two of my favorites were when Gabriel was out at night under the stars, and later on when the thunderstorm was coming.

I knew that the book revolved around one woman, Bathsheba Everdene, and the three men who fall for her. (Because that's entirely realistic, right?) But it turned out to be a lot different from what I expected. It started off rather sweet, though I was amazed by the stupid decisions that certain characters made. (Proposing to a girl you've just met simply because she's beautiful, sending a valentine to a farmer you have no interest in, etc.) But things definitely took a dramatic turn later on! Don't go into this book expecting Jane Austen...if anything, it's like Austen meets Lark Rise to Candleford meets Wuthering Heights. Basically: idyllic countryside setting (with lots of sheep) and people falling in love, combined with obsession and dead former fiancées and eventually murder. (I didn't see that one coming.)

{By the way, Thomas Hardy did an amazing job of capturing the daily life of farmers. Everything seems to be going fine, and then something crazy and unexpected happens. Once, several years ago, my parents and I were out in a thunderstorm, trying to save broilers (chickens) in the rain because the wind had picked up and moved their shelter. So when Gabriel Oak was trying to save the crops during the storm, I was like, yes, Mr. Hardy, you know what you're writing about. Also, because I'm into fiber, I really enjoyed all of the sheep stuff in the book, ha.}

Let's talk about the characters. First of all, best character names ever! I have very mixed feelings about Bathsheba Everdene. I disliked her for most of the book, for being so snobbish and flighty and for making really stupid decisions without ever considering other people's feelings. Her bad choices didn't just affect her...they affected a lot of people. But somehow Thomas Hardy managed to make me feel sympathetic towards her at certain times, even though she'd brought all of it on herself. I did feel like she'd grown and come to her senses by the end, though. I loved Gabriel Oak from the beginning. He was silly for proposing to Bathsheba so soon, and honestly, she did nothing to deserve his devotion throughout the entire book. But besides that, Gabriel proved himself to be the best sort of person: kind, dependable, selfless, loyal, and a darn good farmer/shepherd at that. :) I fully expected to dislike Farmer Boldwood (because he's not Gabriel!), but he was actually a pretty good guy to start off. He did get obsessive and stalkerish later on, but I blame Bathsheba for that. Sergeant Troy: I have nothing to say about that jerk. He was trouble from the beginning. But...Hardy even made me feel sorry for him. Apparently he really did love Fanny.

Far From the Madding Crowd was unlike anything I've ever read. I was drawn in from the beginning and though it took me almost two weeks to read, I didn't want to put it down. None of the characters were perfect, but they were so human. Even the worst of them still had tiny bits of goodness. I also really liked all of the Biblical references...it was interesting how they were incorporated into the writing. This book was slightly depressing and dramatic, but also beautiful and funny (the gang of farm workers cracked me up) and profound at times. I'm so glad I finally read it, and it's a new favorite.


The biggest thing that drove me to read the book was that I really wanted to watch the newest film adaptation, which came out last year, but I wanted to read the book first. (I ended up winning a copy of the DVD the week after I finished the book. Thanks, Rissi!)

To me, this film is like the Thomas Hardy version of the 2005 Pride and Prejudice (which happens to be my favorite movie). In other words, it's a really beautifully done, condensed version of the book. Emphasis on beautiful, because everything about this film is just that: the soundtrack, the cinematography, the settings where they filmed, the costumes, everything. It's such a pretty movie.

Overall, it's a decent adaptation of the book. Of course, they had to cut out a lot (it only lasts 2 hours), and they also rearranged certain things. Things happen very quickly in the film, and there were a few parts that I thought would be confusing or rushed if you hadn't read the book first. But sometimes I'd be surprised by little parts they left in, like Bathsheba lying backwards on her horse to go underneath the low branches, or the toad that Gabriel sees before the storm.


I love the cast...everyone was basically as I'd pictured them. I do feel like they made Bathsheba a little more likable in the film. And it seems that they tried to make Troy a more sympathetic character, because they left out the part where he's a jerk to Fanny after the church misunderstanding (and made him hurt then rather than angry), and implied he was trying to commit suicide when he went swimming. Oddly, though, they left out the scene when Troy is tending to the grave, which is the part of the book that made me feel sorry for him. (And that's all so dramatic that I would have thought they'd leave it in.)

I loved the book, and I really liked this adaptation. The book is much better, of course, but I still enjoyed the film and I'm sure it will grow on me even more.