Finally I finished another book. You'd think being home on maternity leave that I could slip in a nice bit of reading, but the truth is far from it. Between a very needy son and a periodic binge-addict of series my husband doesn't want to see, I read maybe 200 to 300 pages a week. That might seem like a lot, but it's not. I could do a lot better, with being home most of the time.
I wonder if I'll get any reading done as soon as I working again, which is in less than 5 weeks..
The main characters are
* Eustacia Vye, a woman stuck in the countryside, dreaming of a jetset life.
* Clym Yeobright, a non-married gentleman returning from Paris for the holidays, or so it seems.
* Venn Diggory, a reddle man stuck in the middle, turning fate's wheel.
* Damon Wildeve, a past love interest of Eustacia and an inlaw of Clym Yeobright, married to his cousin Thomasin.
So, that's pretty much the main cast. The gist of the story is that Clym returns from Paris, pretty fed up with the happy-go-lucky way people live there, intent on giving more meaning to his existence. Eustacia, pretty desperate to escape the country side, hears of his arrival and tries to lure him into getting to know her. She sees in him the escape to a more interesting life, preferably in Paris. When she gets to know him and his plans, she thinks she might be able to persuade him otherwise.
Venn Diggory, in love with Thomasin, but not deemed good enough to marry her, does everything in his power to grant her a happy life, since she feel in love with Damon Wildeve, who in his turn is in love with Eustacia Vye. Wildeve marries Thomasin out of spite since Eustacia has suddenly set her sights on Clym.
Venn does everything to keep these two former lovers apart.
From the beginning it is clear that nothing good can come of this love 'triangle' and in its splendid slow-moving way most characters show their flawed and vulnerable sides.
If you love stories set in 19th century England, this one is a must read. The title might not be inviting, but the story is quite good.
