To persevere or give up?

[Lucoid]

After reading a couple of books that I got quite absorbed in (Sons and Lovers and The Prisoner of Zenda) I'm now a good few chapters into Hardy's Far From the Madding Crowd. I think that normally I'd be quite happy to trawl through it, but I'm feeling a bit bored by it - can't quite connect with the style and the characters, though I got on fine with Jude the Obscure and Tess of the D'Urbervilles. This leaves me with a bit of a dilemma - do I carry on reading (I'm on page 164 of a total of 472) and ignore all those other books I want to read, even though it's doing nothing for me, or do I put it down and probably lose any interest I might have in it for all eternity, thus admitting failure, but pick up something that I'm more likely to enjoy?

What do other Palimpsesters do when they can't quite gel with a book?

[Colyngbourne]

Persevere if you can. Especially with something like Hardy. If it's a load of rubbish like this Shadowmancer book I'm 'reading' (bad story, bad writing, bad characterisations, bad all over) , then anyone's within their rights to give up. But even finishing a book you didn't really get into is worth it, to have a fuller appreciation of what you hated/disliked about it.

[John Self]

Part of me agrees with Col, and all of me used to - but now I think life is too short - or is it too long? - to persevere with a book you don't like. Give it 50 to 100 pages - if it's well-written you'll be drumming your heels in delight at the sparkly writing, or at least gripped by the plot or characters - if not then what's to persist with? I still feel bad when I do give up though...

[bakunin_the_cat]

Personally I just leave it by my bed, for a couple of days, intending to give it another go, but then in the meantime, start something else. The days pass and I finish the second book. I have a quick debate with myself and try and force myself to continue the first book. This invariably fails and I pick something else up, promising myself that it's just a little break, a change of mood whatever and that I'll definitely go back to the original book after that. By the time I finish that book, the realisation hits me that I really can't be bothered with it any more, at which point it moves from near my bed to my bookshelf which is where it will remain for the rest of its days unless I get round to bookcrossing it or giving it to someone else.

On the other hand I'd be the first to admit that sometimes it is worth sticking with a book. Some books just take more time to get into, and the authors need more pages to get into their stride.

[amner]

I always feel bad giving up on a book, I must say (must restart The English Passengers one day). I struggled after 150-odd pages of The Trumpet-Major though, Lucoid, then forced a one-sitting 100-odd page blast and ended up thoroughly enjoying it. And Far From the Madding Crowd is very good, I promise.
.

[Lucoid]

Right, I'm going to keep on trying. I think it would be much easier if I had time to sit and read huge chunks in one go, rather than having to break off every couple of chapters to either get back to work after lunch or settle down to sleep. However, I will make a concerted effort this weekend to sit down and enjoy the bloody thing!

[pandop]

I had to read Far From the Madding Crowd for GCSE, and I hated every word of it.

I have since been advised that it is the worst Hardy to start with - and it is no wonder it put me off

Hazel

[Lucoid]

The thing that's annoying me the most is that I've read a couple of Hardy books before and not had problems with them - it's not as if I'm coming to his style with no concept of what it's all about.

[pandop]

OK - that reconfirms what I have been told about it (ie - it was the worst thing he has ever written)

Hazel

[amner]

the worst thing he has ever written

And one of the earliest, which might - without wanting to sound like the simpering Hardy apologist I am clearly becoming - be worth considering. The Return of the Native, The Mayor of Casterbridge, Tess and Jude all came much later.
.

[Lucoid]

I'm pleased to hear that - it may make The Mayor of Casterbridge easier to approach. That's also in my bookcase and I was considering not bothering with it if I still feel the same at the end of this one as I do now. I think it shows that it's an early work - it seems to me as though Hardy is trying to show off his extensive vocabulary, which, alongside the over-complicated sentences and poorly worked-in attempts at humour, is quite offputting. I thought I was a pretty expert reader but I'm struggling over the meanings of several words that I haven't come across before and am having to read some sentences two or three times to understand them. Still, I'm determined to persevere now - I won't let the bugger beat me (though I may have to find a small dictionary to keep alongside it at all times).

I must admit that I did try to read The Return of the Native once a couple of years ago and had to give up as I really couldn't be bothered.

[albertangelo]

Why bother reading something you don't like? Life is far too short, as has been said. And really, it's only Hardy - it's not like it's anything good....

[Lucoid]

Ah, but I enjoyed Tess and Jude so I feel he deserves the benefit of the doubt, though you're right, I do feel a little as if I'm wasting my time.

[bakunin_the_cat]

I know it's good that we read literature at school, but few books survive the school treatment and remain fondly in your memory. Having said that,
I think The Mayor of Casterbridge is one that I could never have liked, even under better circumstances. It starts off with the hero having a nice job and a wife and a really nice life, and then gradually spirals downward into an increasingly bleak tragedy which only gets worse as the novel progresses, with nothing to lighten the mood even for an instant. It's kind of like watching a month's worth of Eastenders back-to-back, without the sunshine and optimism which occasionally breaks through the towering black clouds on the series.

Have fun!

[amner]

Although I'd disagree with you regarding whether or not it's an enjoyable read (I envy anyone reading it for the first time, in fact) I fear it is probably only fair to warn Lucoid that the very last words of The Mayor of Casterbridge are:

...happiness was but the occasional episode in a general drama of pain.

The miserable old scrote!
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[lancs vegas]

Just watch the film. phwoar Julie Christie. don't make 'em like that anymore and the film's a classic too.

maybe you could buy a Wordsworth Classic copy instead? the print's so fuckin tiny, i reckon you'd only be looking at 200 pages tops.

If all proves too much, try Retun of the Native.

And anyone who says he was "ill suited to the novel form and only found his true voice through poetry" is nothing but a contrarian, or english lecturer, or both.

we are too many

[Lucoid]

I didn't even know he wrote poetry!

[lancs vegas]

most of it deals with him coming to terms with how much he misses his first wife - pretty galling for his second wife, i'd imagine.

here's a link to some of it.......

http://plagiarist.com/poetry/?wid=2793

[youjustmightlikeit]

Whoah whoah whaoh.

Lay off my mate Thomas. Yes, he can be a miserable bleeder; but he's like the tiny white mouth ulcers that you keep on biting because they give you that exquisite stab of pain that cuts you off from the outside world for a while and lets you wallow. But it's not all doom and gloom (apart from Jude).
Read Hardy for the hills, marshes, haystacks, life of buildings (an early career as an architect or somesuch if i remember correctly), storms, fires, and beautifully pitched human emotion. Read him if you want to know what it's like to live in the country and really understand it while you're there. When he lays it out in front of you it creeps off the page and you can feel the light drizzle on your face.

And what's all this about Far from the Madding Crowd not being a good starter? It was my first, from a recommendation of a Hardy lover, and i couldn't get enough of him after that. I defy any man not to want Gabriel to beat the shit out of Troy - of course that's not how Hardy would have put it.

Tess herself - deeply annoying.

Mayor of Casterbridge - a right laugh, deus ex machina not reserved for the end - its all over the shop, coincidence after coincidence. It's worth reading to see when the next one in a million chance will pop up.

Jude - even i draw the line at Jude, i struggled badly, admittedly i was on holiday at the time. Perhaps not the best choice for a holiday read. If i ever go on a wet weekend in Cleethorpes i'll know what to take.

Lucoid - "I didn't even know that he wrote poetry!"
- come on love. Never mind, you were probably having one of those 'couldn't see for looking' moments, copies of his poetry collections should carry a health warning, they can put your back out.[/quote]

[Lucoid]

Just goes to show how much background reading I bothered with at uni, I suppose.

[lancs vegas]

I Look Into My Glass

I look into my glass,
And view my wasting skin,
And say, "Would God it came to pass
My heart had shrunk as thin!"

For then, I, undistrest
By hearts grown cold to me,
Could lonely wait my endless rest
With equanimity.

But Time, to make me grieve,
Part steals, lets part abide;
And shakes this fragile frame at eve
With throbbings of noontide

Eat your heart out Larkin

[Lucoid]

Bloomin' 'eck!

I bet many a sixth form poet would love to write like that. It's all angst angst angst.

[pandop]

I did watch the film at school - and realised it was nothing like the book! Kind of finished me off did that :roll:

Hazel

[Lucoid]

I'm really getting into it now, but it didn't happen until I was just over half way through. In fact, I'm off to read another few chapters now...

[lancs vegas]

let me know how it goes. I found his novels become a bit addictive. Once you've lived in his Wessex for a bit, you masochistically crave a bit more.

[Lucoid]

I am actually wondering if I should go straight onto The Mayor of Casterbridge once I've finished FFTMC, but I'll see how I feel when I'm done.

[joy]

I've read Tess, Madding Crowd and Mayor, but for me its Jude that's sitting on the floor half read - and its been there so long if I want to finish it I will have to start from page 1 again. Something tells me it will end up in a charity shop.

[youjustmightlikeit]

How are you getting on with Hardy Lucoid?

[Lucoid]

Done and dusted. I loved it in the end, and am actually looking forward to reading more in future. Having a break from his little world at the mo, though - just finished Anne of Green Gables and I'm now onto Kazuo Ishiguro's When We Were Orphans.