Thomas Hardy - Search and Destroy

Who was headlining on the main stage I wonder.

High school English classes killed Hardy for me. One, I have no idea why anyone would think Hardy novels are suitable for 16-year-olds. But also I had to suffer through multiple rereads of Mayor of Casterbridge (once for GCSE, and then I had to do it all over again for A-Level when I changed school). That was punishing! I'm sure I'm missing something but he still feels like Yom-Kippur-service levels-of-boring to me.

idk Tess blew my 17-year-old mind. Try the poems.

Yeah, I was thinking about the poems. I already know the endings the famous ones so I'm tempted to give Woodlanders a go.

Unrelatedly, my high school English teacher knew Hardy's gardener! Weird Kevin Bacon-through-time stuff there.

Bertie Stephens? didn't like the dog apparently. (have just read that bit of the biog)

(that reinforces the surprising thing about the glastonbury attendence - he was alive a lot after people you might consider him alongside like, say, dickens)

and yes, we had Native in school and then Madding for exams, the only exam i failed. but reading them for 'fun' is different.

I remember an English class where we all mad that [spoiler?] Henchard's wife had effectively "died of shame". Life's Little Ironies? Tom's Shitty Plotting more like.

I think I enjoyed Casterbridge more the second time around, especially the soapy second half. It's basically an early Douglas Sirk movie.

https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Rx5HrI7E1uQ/UHdDo7LsqUI/AAAAAAAAAxY/Jlv5LD6sWUw/s1600/Thomas+Hardy+with+bicycle.jpg

Tess blew my 17-year-old mind.

same!