Return of the Native Paperback – 5 February 1995

One of the best unabridged edition at a reasonable price. Don't trust the cover though. You might end up with a one different than the image put up.

I brought that as a gift for someone. She loved it.

good

Initially this book was rejected by the publishers for its frank treatment of sexuality! I can quite see that for buttoned up Victorians this would have got a few readers hot under their very starched collars. There are love triangles, heartbreak and tragedy as you would expect and beautiful descriptions of nature and the solid brooding presence of the heath, the constant star around which the characters revolve.‘Overhead the hollow stretch of whitish cloud shutting out the sky was as a tent which had the whole heath for its floor.’Eustacia Vye is a bit of a dreamer, lonely and ‘longing to be loved to madness’, she is compared to Sappho and Sarah Kemble Siddons and so we know her path will lead to tragedy. She idolizes Damon Wildeve, her former lover but realises herself that only a greater man will dislodge him. He comes in the form of Clym Yeobright, the titular native, returned from Paris and a kind and gentle man.Wildeve still carries a torch for Eustacia, despite a marriage to Thomasin, Clym’s cousin and all are watched by the reddleman, Diggory Venn, who loves Thomasin. Clym and Eustacia marry and so we are set for a hugely dramatic outcome!‘Look at his eye - for all the world like a villainous sort of blackcurrant.’They all tramp the heath which is a backdrop to Shakespearean plot, swirling passions, jealousy and tragedy.At one point I felt like a bomb had gone off in this book, with death stalking the heath, the consequences are far reaching and tragic. No matter what tragedies occur, the trials of life and the traumas, the presence of the heath is constant. It gives solace to the cast but also hurts with its beauty.My heart was squeezed by the drama, pure soap opera in parts, with Clym accusatory in his rage and Eustacia defiant. The guilt and then the loss is palpable, the suffering these characters experience is gasp-inducing.There is an afterword which was added and leaves us with some resolution rather than an unendingly tragic end, I’m not sure how I feel about it. In some ways I would have preferred to have left it as it was, rather than tying up loose ends and been left shocked and bereft as those remaining on the heath did.

I am still reading this book, this one being my second, the first was The Woodlanders, which I loved and thought that I may be disappointed, but not at all. I am new to reading his books. I visited the house where he live as a child and was spellbound, so beautiful there, and I can understand where he found the inspiration to write about the old ways and the wonderful characters,I almost felt like I was in the woodland overhearing the gossip in Dorset dialect. The Return of the Native is equally endearing, and the reader gets caught up in the complex human relationships and the well described life of Egdon Heath.

i got this book for my english literature coursework. the pages are a good thickness for writing notes in the margins without causing tearing or imprints on other pages. the cover and spine are also holding up well against the battering it takes in my school bag. i didn't expect to enjoy the book based on what my friends said, but I've loved every word. i guess its more for some people then others. some of the language is a bit archaic and the description is dense so i don't know if anyone but those who really love sinking their teeth into a book would like it, but personally, as a die hard reader, i would recommend it.

Found the Dorset accent difficult to begin with. Very irritating to have to keep looking up so many references.

Didn't really grip me, w I will try and have another go ag reading it ond day