Thomas Hardy's The Well Beloved: "A man's silence is wonderful to listen to."

Set on the picturesque Isle of Slingers, the narrative follows sculptor Jocelyn Pierston's lifelong pursuit of his ideal woman, the titular Well Beloved. Despite his artistic ability to capture beauty in stone, he struggles to find it in a single person, ultimately falling for three generations of women from the same family. The story explores themes of romantic love, obsession, and the passage of time, enriched by Hardy's evocative prose that vividly portrays the landscape and its inhabitants, revealing the complexities of love and desire.