Book review: Far From the Madding Crowd

I'm a sucker for 19th century British literature, and this was no exception. It was, simply, charming. Set in a dreamlike rural Wessex, where the characters treat a trip to Bath as if going abroad to learn of the strange customs of the natives, I naturally found myself picturing all of them as hobbits. Since Hardy never explicitly stated their species, to the best of my recollection, I feel safe in this interpretation.

The ending did get a bit more melodramatic than I was expecting. I would have been fine with the narrative staying more consistently mellow. I also suspect that Boldwood's obsession wasn't intended to come across as quite so creepy and manipulative as it did, but we're all defenseless against the critical eye of the future.

Overall, a very enjoyable listen. I did have to drop down to 2x playback speed, as the narrator was doing some very good -- but very thick -- accent work for some of the characters.