Helpful Score: 1
I had added this book to my paperbackswap.com wish list after an online review that recommended this book. The book is a novel about author Thomas Hardy late in life (he was in his 80s) in the 1920s. The book is 269 pages. I can read a 500 page book in a week if it engages me; the fact that "Winter" took me 3-4 MONTHS to read is an indication of how boring I found this story. The three main characters are Hardy, his wife Florence, and Gertrude, a local young (20s) aspiring actress. The narration is in the first person when Florence or Gertrude are the focus but, interestingly, in the third person when Hardy is.
I've never read any of Hardy's works although I had heard of some of them. As portrayed in this novel, Hardy was an unpleasant, self-centered man. Although (according to Wikipedia) the marriage of Hardy and his first wife was very long, it was not happy in its later years. Yet, Hardy seemed to carry a torch for his first wife, even during his marriage to second wife Florence. As presented in the novel, Hardy wasn't particularly kind to Florence. Granted, Florence (at least as portrayed in this novel) had her issues, but Hardy was usually dismissive about her concerns which only added to Florence's insecurities.
There was little happening in this book which might not have been so bad if the characters were interesting, but they weren't. Frankly, I'm surprised this book was deemed worthy of publishing because of the unlikeable Hardys and the plodding pace.
I've never read any of Hardy's works although I had heard of some of them. As portrayed in this novel, Hardy was an unpleasant, self-centered man. Although (according to Wikipedia) the marriage of Hardy and his first wife was very long, it was not happy in its later years. Yet, Hardy seemed to carry a torch for his first wife, even during his marriage to second wife Florence. As presented in the novel, Hardy wasn't particularly kind to Florence. Granted, Florence (at least as portrayed in this novel) had her issues, but Hardy was usually dismissive about her concerns which only added to Florence's insecurities.
There was little happening in this book which might not have been so bad if the characters were interesting, but they weren't. Frankly, I'm surprised this book was deemed worthy of publishing because of the unlikeable Hardys and the plodding pace.
