The Wandering Jews (Joseph Roth, 1926-27)

Knew nothing of Roth other than the marvelous The Radetzsky March until recently reading this one, which suggested more Roth would be worthwhile.

This work is quite short; non-fiction - an account of the plight of displaced Jews - primarily leaving eastern Europe in the aftermath of WWI.  Roth was from Galicia and understood the challenges and mistreatments of the unassimilated Eastern Jews (not that it was that great for other Jews).  Poverty; odd jobs to scratch out a living; the challenges of being the "other".  Just comes up again and again, century after century.

Very interesting that Roth is writing this in the 1920s - that element is rather unique - he seems to have a realistic view of the problems ahead (even if he couldn't have predicted the awful turn events actually took).

A bit of an apologist for Russia, as so many were in those days (I think understandably); seems to get a little fuller viewpoint as time passes.

Far From the Madding Crowd (Thomas Hardy, 1874)

I had overlooked Thomas Hardy until encountering this gem; it left me ready for more.  So I turned next to this novel, which was Hardy's first major success.

Bathsheba inherits a farm; interacts with three suitors.  Fanny and the sergeant.

I read that "Far From the Madding Crowd" was Hardy's first novel set in the somewhat fictional "Wessex" area that he somewhat created in southwest England - complete with a detailed map - a conceit that contributes.

Plot, characters, pace, etc. all are just fine.

Two things I like perhaps best of all in Hardy's work:

--He clearly loves and appreciates the look and feel of the countryside in this part of England - descriptions are vivid - terrain, wildflowers, weather - compelling.  (Seems to understand, or at least has done his homework, on areas like sheep-raising and farming in general.)

--He also sees and appreciates the "common man" characters in about as effective a fashion as I've ever encountered.  Seems to capture behaviors, speech patterns, etc. - never condescending, always respectful - so often these characters are overlooked or caricatured; this is the opposite.

I think Hardy revels in the wonders and the absurdities of human nature - and nature itself - as it is displayed in various types - that's a great way to approach things.  I'll read more of his work.

The Man in the High Castle (Philip K. Dick, 1963)

Clever:  author constructs a story premised on World War II ending in German/Japanese victory.  Mostly set in San Francisco, some in Rocky Mountains.  The year is 1962 - Germany took the lead.  So that part is interesting throughout.

What I didn't like as much:  hard to connect to any character.  Everyone seemed rather unhappy (which I suppose was the point).  And the story just sort of ended without tying up various plot lines that had been developed.