what's the master piece of Thomas Hardy?

Question

he's writer, by the way! :)

Answer 1

The Mayor of Casterbridge!
It portrays a sufferin' life!
it's just worth readin' I mean

Answer 2

Although Tess is Hardy's best-known, and perhaps most popular, she's a bit of a victorian kewpie doll, more the object in the novel than the subject. For structure and a powerful story(on which the terrific sleeper movie "the Claim" was based), I'd choose Mayor of Casterbridge. It attains tragic proportions at the same time that it feels "real." I'd also put Return of the Native in the running. Here, the landscape becomes a character of its own, and Hardy explores a kind of "fatal attraction," the heart's obsessions. I think in novels such as those two and in Jude the Obscure, Hardy lifts himself above his own time. But have to say, for fidelity to Hardy's vision, Polanski's Tess is incomparable, despite some weaknesses in the acting.

Answer 3

This depends who you talk to.

For simplicity of story while engaging the reader's emotions, I recommend "The Return of the Native".

For the feel of a Greek tragedy, definitely "Tess of the Durbervilles". Masterpiece by any definition, though Return is still my favorite.

For an unconventional novel (less so now than in 1895 when it was published) yet a seamless narrative, Hardy's last novel "Jude the Obscure" takes top honors.

I'm sorry to say they're the only three of his works other than some poetry that I've read completely. "Far From The Madding Crowd" I found awkward to get into, but I'll attempt it again when I make the time. Hope all this helps.

Answer 4

Although Hardy is best known for "Tess...", some of his finest writing appears in "The Well-Beloved." "Return of the Native" and "Far from the Maddening Crowd" are also fairly good reads. After 1900, however, Hardy stopped writing novels altogether and turned to poetry as his primary outlet.

Answer 5

Tess and none other as far as I'm concerned.

Answer 6

i think his best book ever is tess od the d'urbervilles