Thomas Hardy weaves a rich pastoral tale that examines the foibles of humanity: pride, vanity, greed, passion...and gives us a touching love story with a realistic ending. Set in Hardy's Wessex country, the setting is as much a character as his cornucopia of delightful human characters. What I love best about Hardy is how his setting evokes (like a Greek god) story. Through beautiful description, imagery and evokative language, this is not the sort of book you want to race through to see what happens. But to read slowly and savored like sipping a dark, rich coffee. Let it linger.