tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-457887712196948410.post5595247694397984920..comments2022-10-04T13:58:52.082-05:00Comments on Joy Lies Slain : Reading Thomas Hardy: Two Novels about Thomas HardyRob Vollmarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02272437772356782457noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-457887712196948410.post-32887751807219203042017-01-18T12:39:35.717-06:002017-01-18T12:39:35.717-06:00Thank you so much for visiting and reading. I real...Thank you so much for visiting and reading. I really loved Winter as well. It really humanized all the players in unexpected ways. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on Under the Greenwood Tree as well. I found it to be a novel of curious construction that seemed to capture some of Jemima Hardy's distrust of marriage in a nutshell. Best, RobRob Vollmarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02272437772356782457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-457887712196948410.post-86764003599037855192017-01-18T01:09:33.318-06:002017-01-18T01:09:33.318-06:00I thought Winter one of the best books I read in 2...I thought Winter one of the best books I read in 2016, part of background research I was doing for a seminar I'm leading right now on Under the Greenwood Tree and Tess (I'm re-reading the Skloot book right now--he's a fellow Portlandian, although I have not met him yet). I felt as if I got a very clear sense of the elderly Hardy and Florence, less of Gertrude, but then she is less interesting to me, and it's perhaps the characterization of her ordinariness that makes her so compelling, when contrasted with the energy that Hardy and Florence each engage in on Gertrude's behalf. Gertrude's picture in the Pite biography came as quite a surprise to me--Pite calls her an extraordinarily good-looking woman; I don't see that at all, nor do I see in her large overbite the eroticized mouth that Hardy practically trips over in his fetishistic description of it (along with Tess's amplitude). I have recommended Winter to several of my friends as an outstanding limited characters study; it feels so true to the man, so intimate, so petty, yet so real.<br /><br />I just found your blog because of your review of Skloot's book (I haven't posted my review yet) so I'm going to enjoy spending some time getting to know you, particularly your thoughts about Under the Greenwood Tree.<br /><br />I have written several Dickens-themed mystery novels under my pen name, Christopher Lord. You can learn more about me at www.dickensjunction.comcwilson284https://www.blogger.com/profile/01095943424268993611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-457887712196948410.post-90915978433164301452016-06-01T20:53:22.696-05:002016-06-01T20:53:22.696-05:00Winter was definitely the more charming of the two...Winter was definitely the more charming of the two as Nicholson captures the "voice" of a Hardy novel but I almost respect Wilkins more for taking some chances and finding his own voice on Max Gate.Rob Vollmarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02272437772356782457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-457887712196948410.post-48679029253918486462016-06-01T15:40:44.079-05:002016-06-01T15:40:44.079-05:00Thanks for these!Thanks for these!Joseph N. Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00491709468195701056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-457887712196948410.post-69176664791992749862016-05-07T14:22:13.522-05:002016-05-07T14:22:13.522-05:00Thanks for your review of Winter. I have it on my...Thanks for your review of Winter. I have it on my TBR pile and maybe I will get to it this summer. Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00561320676355168336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-457887712196948410.post-65518318813547271922016-04-06T00:15:41.392-05:002016-04-06T00:15:41.392-05:00Thanks, Rob.
Even more to add to the reading pile...Thanks, Rob.<br /><br />Even more to add to the reading pile!<br /><br />DavidHarmonica Redflaghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12962268573778842943noreply@blogger.com