Not Hardy's finest moment. A bit of a silly story and frankly a bit melodramatic.

I know that a lot of people have a problem with the way that Hardy enjoys just destroying his characters, that the endings of his books are difficult to read, but I really enjoy his writing. If you're looking for a classic to get into, this book is easy to read and isn't too long, as well as being engaging.

DNF. Such an ugly, hateful book lol. It's been 30 years since I've read a Hardy. In my 20s he was my fav. I guess my tastes have changed.

3.5 but a 4 feels too generous, although I enjoyed it a lot. This is about the (scandalous) romance - which they try to keep a secret from society -between widowed, wealthy 29-year-old, Lady Constantine, and poor young 20-year-old 'Adonis-astronomer', Swithin St. Cleeve (which is the most ridiculous name for a love interest, I love it, how am I supposed to take this boy seriously?). So anyway, it's very fun. At first I thought Swithin was kind of a brat, but by the time he

Spoiler

finds out someone has preempted his scientific discovery by six weeks and basically just throws himself down on the heather in the rain to die, AND THEN barely even notices when Lady Constantine gives him a passionate deathbed kiss, BUT ONLY DECIDES TO LIVE AGAIN when someone mentions there's a comet passing tomorrow,

I had to love him. He's a nerd but so dumb.

(Lady Constantine, very obviously in love:) "Your footsteps were audible to me from the very bottom, and I knew they were yours. You look almost restored."
(Swithin St. Cleeve, dumbass:) "I am almost restored. A reason for living arose, and I lived."
"What reason?" she inquired, with a rapid blush.
He pointed to the rocket-like object in the western sky.

On the other hand, it's shorter and smaller in scale than some Hardy stuff, and I felt like the characters drawn weren't as compelling as say, in Far From The Madding Crowd, and although I loved the series of inconvenient thorns in the side of their romance, the last page was just a little too far. I am all for miserable endings though, and you're in safe hands with Hardy there.

You. Have. Got. To. Be. Kidding. Me.


The plot (especially the end) warrants zero stars. But Of course Hardy can write, so I give it 4 stars for the language, especially a few exceedingly gorgeous passages of description. That makes an average of 2 stars total for this book… And how strange is this modern world, where I can give a star rating to a book by Thomas freaking Hardy, anyway? But seriously, the book is bad.

Not one of Hardy's best works, this one tends towards the over-melodramatic. I assume that this novel was originally serialised, as the constant twists and 'information dumps' don't flow at all well. Ultimately, the story drags and by the mid-point, most of the characters bored me to tears.

If you're in to astronomy and Hardy, you might like it. Otherwise, best avoided.

I am reading all of Thomas Hardy's novels and now have just one to go. Two on a Tower is a lesser accomplishment, one of my least favorites. I have really enjoyed several of the less popular Hardys, including The Laodicean, A Pair of Blue Eyes, and The Well-Beloved. I liked the setting and the astronomical symbolism in Two on a Tower but the characters never came alive for me.