The Mayor of Casterbridge

Good paper quality of book

A must read classic

I read Tess by Thomas Hardy during 1969 and after fifty years I read his book - the mayor of caster-bridge.The story always shocked me thinking how could a man sell his own wife ?Henchard 's character comes out clearly in the book and how he atones for his sins committed in his youth .Introducing another man Fanfare who takes away his business and his position and finally the woman he loved and his step daughter .What he wrote during early 1900's is still read by people in 2019 which is a mark of respect for him .What a fine scholar and author !!Thank you

Original text❣️💗💗💞

Got it for 99. Always a fan of Maple classics. They offer classics in best price. Print and page quality is good. Font is also ok.

Very good fiction...but language is tuff to understand

Such a beautiful story.. Whenever problem seems to be gone ,a new snag inflicted more pain...tragedy made me fell vry sorry for charters..

Dos romances de Thomas Hardy que eu havia lido, lembro muito bem da pobreza e do caráter trágico de suas personagens, mas não lembrava de tantas reviravoltas como tem em The Mayor of Casterbridge. O ponto de partida já é intrigante: um jovem sem qualquer dinheiro vende a mulher e a filha bebê, e, anos mais tarde, quando se tornou bem sucedido e prefeito, elas reaparecem. Isso não é nenhum spoiler, pois é a sinopse básica e cobre os dois primeiros capítulos do livro. As 300 páginas seguintes são uma montanha russa de emoções e surpresas.Há duas questões bastante claras na narrativa: o peso da liberdade, e o duplo. Michael Henchard pode escolher o que quiser, mas deverá lidar com as consequências desse direito de escolher (inclusive a errar), e é isso que assombra o seu presente e, eventualmente, o destruirá. Terry Eagleton compara o livro a uma tragédia grega, e aponta que “o prefeito se torna vítima de suas próprias ações”. A narrativa organiza em torno da duplicidade: são duas partes (praticamente com o mesmo número de páginas) dois personagens parecidos: Henchard e Farfrae (que é um empregado seu no começo, mas entram em choque), as outras figuras centrais também terão duplos, mas é muito spoiler dizer o que é.Mas o tema que ronda o tempo todo o romance tem a ver com a mercantilização da vida: tudo está a um passo de se tornar uma mercadoria – tanto que a mulher e a filha do protagonista são vendidas nas primeiras páginas. É o dinheiro – ganhar e perder – que organiza a dinâmica entre as personagens, e determina suas ações. É um mundo no qual o preço da colheita determinará o destino de diversas pessoas, não apenas do proprietário. Hardy constrói um universo duro, muitas vezes cruel, mas nada diferente da realidade.

I have always loved this book, but to read it now is an even greater pleasure than in years past...Hardy's characters brim with real life....his town life is colourful bustle, and his coincidences a great lesson....a lovely book

I loved the first chapter of this book, which sees a husband, in a rummy haze, sell his wife at a village fair to a sailor. Immediately, this chapter raises the concern with which Hardy was undoubtedly occupied throughout his writing: women's lot in the world. Many of Hardy's female characters' lives are shaped by their relationships with men: from the eponymous Tess of the D'Urbervilles to Sue Bridehead (a telling name) in Jude the Obscure, it is clear that Hardy was sympathetic towards women's socially-dictated limitations. I am only a few chapters into the book so far, but I have found it quite engaging -- more so than Hardy's extremely rural The Woodlanders, anyway (which I recently attempted to re-read). I am very interested to see where this novel goes.As for the novel's physical copy: it's gorgeous. The colours are bold, the cover is canvas, rather than leather, and the pages are thick. There is a long introduction which provides interesting context and analysis of Hardy's writing, and also a helpful appendix. I was surprised to see that the novel has the odd drawing, which was a welcome surprise.

大学院の授業で娘が必要になり購入しました。娘は以下の様に感想を述べていました。「教授の推薦図書で期待していなかったのですが、読んでいくうちに引き込まれて行きました。」

I really appreciated this beautiful and intemporal classic with striking characters and deep insight into human nature. The book absorbs your attention instantly and Hardy's powerful and rich style is a real change from contemporary literature. The book is also more positive than Hardy's other work.