Rating: 
Summary: Egdon Heath & Its Quirky Inhabitants...
Review: I recently finished "Return of the Native," and am deeply saddened that the novel is no longer part of my life. Like all Hardy's characters and settings, Egdon Heath and its quirky inhabitants became so familiar to me I felt as though I, too, had been to Bloom's-End or Mistover and had admired the bewitching Eustacia Vye and devious Damon Wildeve.Hardy's books are frequently those of people tossed about by the cruel whims of fate, and though the reader can clearly see a "way out," the characters almost never can. Such is the case with wild Eustacia, deceptive but smitten Wildeve, calm and sweet Clym, and innocent Thomasin. As the reader plods across Egdon Heath and enters their lives, it is both frustrating and exciting to witness their missteps and the consequences they all pay, and to realize that there must indeed be casualties by the novel's end. But what a wonderful trip it is, regardless of its sometimes depressing nature. Hardy was a master; I regret that I have only two more of his novels to read before there are no more!
Rating:
Summary: Thomas Hardy's Best Novel
Review: I'm fully convinced that "Return of the Native" is technically Hardy's best work. The other novel of his that I love is "Jude the Obscure." His beautiful heroine, Eustacia, is an enthralling character, free-spirited, seductive, and sensuous, with several men in love (or lust) with her--like Wildeve. Wildeve pretends to marry a girl named Thomasin, but it didn't happen. And he takes off on a tryst with Eustacia. However, even though they're fond of each other, neither of them are willing to get really serious about each other. She eventually disses Wildeve and as revenge he threatens to marry Thomasin after all, which is what Eustacia wants anyway, since she's become interested in a new guy in town, Clym. How does that end up? I guess you'll have to read the book :) David Rehak
author of "Love and Madness"
Rating: 
Summary: Enter the otherworld of Egdon Heath
Review: The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy. Recommended.
In Egdon Heath, Thomas Hardy creates an otherworld consisting of the elements earth, wind, fire, and water, populated by a witch condemned by a pious woman's spell, a Christian ruled by pagan beliefs, an assortment of other odd characters, and the native of the title whose return precipitates a series of tragic events.
The Return of the Native is centered around Eustacia Vye, a beautiful outsider wrenched from the society she craves by orphanhood and exiled to live on Egdon Heath with her maternal grandfather. Spoiled, vain, fickle, and selfish, Eustacia is not a sympathetic heroine. Although she claims to belong to Damon Wildeve ("body and soul" in one uncensored version), she really belongs to whomever can grant her what she desires and, in her mind, deserves. While Wildeve is a step above the local rabble, Eustacia can never fully commit herself to him. Each time she considers it, she is held back by the thought that even he lacks something and that surely she can do better. "He's not great enough for me to give myself to-he does not suffice for my desire! . . . If he had been a Saul or a Bonaparte-ah! But to break my marriage vow for him-it is too poor a luxury!"
In another place, like the Paris Eustacia longs for, she would have become a mistress or a courtesan-the consort of a powerful man or men. On Egdon Heath, however, there are neither powerful men nor courtesans. There is only Damon, an equally fickle young man who hotly desires that which he cannot have-sometimes Eustacia, sometimes the naïve Thomasin Yeobright. To complicate matters, Thomasin's cousin Clym returns from Paris, where he has a financially rewarding and spiritually stifling career. In Eustacia's eyes (blinded to what she doesn't want to see, just as Clym's sight becomes literally blurred to that which he does want to see), Clym appears to be the ideal replacement for Wildeve.
In his introduction to the "standard edition," John Paterson, talks about the censorship of The Return of the Native and its anti-Christianity elements. The novel, at least in this form, appears to be more anti-Christian than anti-Christianity. Eustacia, with her beauty; aloof and lonely snobbishness; hold over men such as Wildeve and Clym and boys such as "the little slave" Johnny Nunsuch and the adolescent Charley; and habit of haunting Rainbarrow at all hours of the night, can easily appear to fit the role of the Egdon Heath witch. Yet it is the churchgoing Susan Nunsuch who falls prey to superstition, believing that Eustacia has afflicted her son with illness. She stabs Eustacia with a needle during one of the young lady's rare church appearances. Ironically, in the end Susan is the witch, fashioning a likeness of Eustacia and practicing a homegrown form of obeah upon it.
Susan's male counterpart, the ironically named Christian, is no better. Simple-minded, naïve, and condemned to perpetual bachelorhood, Christian is pious not for love of God but for fear of life. He is ruled by superstition, and it requires little effort for Wildeve to convince him he is lucky and that he should gamble (as it turns out, with money that isn't his, adding theft to his sins).
Like Egdon Heath itself ("oozing lumps of fleshy fungi . . . like the rotten liver and lungs of some colossal animal"), the remainder of its inhabitants-the ones from whom Eustacia wishes to escape-are unflinchingly, unchangingly pagan, with Christian's own reprobate father, Granfer Cantle, setting the example. They avoid inconveniences like church; they gleefully celebrate Guy Fawkes Day with fire and dance; they gossip without undue concern for good or bad. These are the folks from whom Mrs. Yeobright and the stoic pagan Diggory Venn (the reddleman) wish to save Thomasin's reputation-as though it matters to them.
These are also the people among whom Eustacia is a queen. When she says, "How I have tried and tried to be a splendid woman and how destiny has been against me!" the reader is hard pressed to find Eustacia's efforts to better herself, other than trying to determine which man will best launch her into society. With his Paris connections, Clym is the obvious choice, yet it is Wildeve who turns out to have better prospects-and the will to take advantage of them.
Queen among the heathens of the heath, Eustacia is blissfully unaware of the probability that, in the Parisian society she aspires to, she would be one among many and might find herself unable to compete with the elite courtesans, mistresses, and wives of Paris. "I was capable of much," she claims. Hardy, however, never makes clear what this "much" might be exactly, as Eustacia's intelligence, learning, and wit are incompletely and imperfectly portrayed, and one does not make a splash in society based on looks and pride alone. Eustacia hasn't "tried and tried"; and her youthful, ambitious impatience has led her to miss the clues that Clym is not going to "try and try," either. Perhaps she, like Sue in Jude the Obscure, represents the dilemma of the intelligent woman in the 1800s, who can shape her own destiny only through attachment to the right man in a socially acceptable way. When that fails (Eustacia), or if an alternative means is attempted (Sue), tragedy is inevitable.
While not Hardy's best, The Return of the Native is a must read for his readers, incorporating a grim yet objective setting, memorable characters, and a tragic plot driven by human failings more so than the destiny at which Eustacia rails. Ignore the awkward, unconvincing happy ending, as Hardy's censors forced him to tack it on.
Diane L. Schirf, 31 October 2004.
Based on the standard edition, Harper & Row, 1966.
Rating: 
Summary: They Call This a "Critical Edition"?
Review: I can't believe they have the nerve to call this a "critical edition" with an "authoritative text". There are typos and errata on almost every page. I knew Norton could be sloppy, but this is downright embarrassing.
The problem, though, is that most editions of The Return of the Native are reprints of the first and do not include Hardy's final revisions. Why I don't know. Almost all of Hardy's corrections are superior to earlier versions. I guess modern editors think they know better than one of the world's greatest writers.
Rating:
Summary: Thomas Hardy's Best Novel
Review: I'm fully convinced that "Return of the Native" is technically Hardy's best work. The other novel of his that I love is "Jude the Obscure." His beautiful heroine, Eustacia, is an enthralling character, free-spirited, seductive, and sensuous, with several men in love (or lust) with her--like Wildeve. Wildeve pretends to marry a girl named Thomasin, but it didn't happen. And he takes off on a tryst with Eustacia. However, even though they're fond of each other, neither of them are willing to get really serious about each other. She eventually disses Wildeve and as revenge he threatens to marry Thomasin after all, which is what Eustacia wants anyway, since she's become interested in a new guy in town, Clym. How does that end up? I guess you'll have to read the book :) David Rehak
author of "Love and Madness"
Rating:
Summary: What a Delight
Review: First, I must confess to being an avid Alan Rickman admirer. The man could read the local phone book and I'd gladly pay to hear it. Thusly, when I found he had done an unabridged set of audio tapes of one of my favorite books -- "The Return of the Native" -- I was thrilled. "The Return of the Native" is a compelling and beautifully written story. I especially like the way Hardy makes Egdon Heath itself as much a character in the story as the human denizens of the area, breathing life into it through his wonderful word pictures and his special talent for creating moods. Hardy's vivid descriptions and excellent character development make this an enchanting adventure. Add to this the velvet-smooth voice of Rickman, and you have a treat for the imagination and the ears. Rickman gives each of the characters his (or her) own separate voice, and manages to do so without forgetting how each should sound. How he kept it straight, I'll never know (I, myself, record books on tape for an educational company and know how complicated that can be!)...what with the many inhabitants of Egdon Heath he had to work with...but, he did. Rickman also actually sang the songs from the book (and not badly, either), adding another dimension. "The Return of the Native" (unabridged) is a must for anyone who loves good literature on tape, and for anyone who is a fan of Alan Rickman. This is a stunning production and well worth the investment!
Rating:
Summary: a classic that lives up to its rep
Review: Eustacia Vye is a witchy woman- she has an aura about her that is all consuming for some. This was a dramatic novel, one I saved for years to read on cold, solitary nights with the wind blowing outside. It is a bleak tale of intermingled love stories. Eustacia isn't easy to love but she is far more determined and interesting than other characters in the classic lit canon. Clym is compelling in a different way. This is a novel, for me, of the human capacity to misunderstand and blame rather than try to communicate the heart's true desires. Very, very moving.
Rating:
Summary: When English was a beautiful, evocative language
Review: This is one of the great ones. Give yourself time and space to enjoy sentences of poetic beauty, read by one of the greatest voices of our time. Other reviewers have covered the plot, which is engaging enough, but my chief enjoyment was in the style of writing. Hardy's words paint landscapes of the soul as well as the countryside, and intertwine them within unforgetable characters of depth and spirit. The book is long, yet there is great economy of style. Hardy arranges his phrases with the care of a classical composer, and evokes richer feelings with more grace and fewer words than most of our glib and pithy authors today. I found myself wanting to buy a thesaurus for most modern authors, and wishing that Alan Rickman would record another Thomas Hardy novel.
Rating:
Summary: I wish I could write like this dude
Review: Set on the dull but beautiful English heath, this 1830s story of love and loss is not for those who like quick reads. This relatively slow-moving novel is saturated with loving descriptions of the indelicate terrain, the weather, and character's moods. Those characters include the colorfully named Eustacia Vye and Clym Yeobright, a tragically linked couple that graces most of the 482 pages. Not nearly as dismal as some of Hardy's other works, this detailed epic offers a bittersweet quality that will haunt the reader long after the last emotional chapter. I criiiiiiiied...
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