Take a photo of a barcode or cover
Step 1) have a point.
Step 2) bash that point to death
Step 3) Victorian!
Step 4) ctrl+c ctrl+v
Read the first 30%. Then mark it finished. Nothing. Else. Happens.
Step 2) bash that point to death
Step 3) Victorian!
Step 4) ctrl+c ctrl+v
Read the first 30%. Then mark it finished. Nothing. Else. Happens.
Damn, so depressing. Young Jude aspires to break away from the working class and become a scholar. We're off to a good start. As a young man he's seduced by Arabella who tricks him into marriage, then leaves him. Jude meets his cousin Sue and falls in love with her. She likes him too but ew, they're cousins. She doesn't want to go there (I guess my great-grandparents didn't read this book - they were cousins). The rest of the book involves Jude giving up on being a scholar, and swinging between Arabella and Sue. No one is happy. And the ending is depressing. I was going to rate this 3 stars but now I've written my review I realise it should be 2. If you wanna read a Thomas Hardy, put this at the bottom of your list.
If you are willing to read what is probably the most disturbing chapter in Victorian literature, give it a try. The characters are a bit frustrating (or a lot, in Sue's case) and the story is depressing enough to make Tess of the d'Urbervilles look like a romcom, but I think this is the best novel by Thomas Hardy I have read so far.
And because writing this review has reminded me of that one horrible chapter that has made me decide not to watch any movie adaptation of Jude, I'll end with one the funny lines that Hardy throws into the novel every once in a while, probably to cheer up his readers (and himself):
"The landlord (...) had doubted if they were married at all, especially as he had seen Arabella kiss Jude one evening when she had taken a little cordial; and he was about to give them notice to quit, till by chance overhearing her haranguing Jude in rattling terms, and ultimately flinging a shoe at his head, he recognized the note of genuine wedlock"
And because writing this review has reminded me of that one horrible chapter that has made me decide not to watch any movie adaptation of Jude, I'll end with one the funny lines that Hardy throws into the novel every once in a while, probably to cheer up his readers (and himself):
"The landlord (...) had doubted if they were married at all, especially as he had seen Arabella kiss Jude one evening when she had taken a little cordial; and he was about to give them notice to quit, till by chance overhearing her haranguing Jude in rattling terms, and ultimately flinging a shoe at his head, he recognized the note of genuine wedlock"
a delightful novel written in memory of Jude Fawley: Monumental Mason, who was not to be one of
The soldier-saints who, row on row,
Burn upward each to his point of bliss
...if any such there be...
/ always enjoy hardy, can feel his poetic side always seeping thru. however this book, unlike tess of the d’urbervilles, had much less dialectal english, obviating the need for footnotes, which both sped up my reading and left me wanting because there are some true gems in his conversation writing
The soldier-saints who, row on row,
Burn upward each to his point of bliss
...if any such there be...
/ always enjoy hardy, can feel his poetic side always seeping thru. however this book, unlike tess of the d’urbervilles, had much less dialectal english, obviating the need for footnotes, which both sped up my reading and left me wanting because there are some true gems in his conversation writing
A compelling story of stone-mason Jude Fawley and Sue Bridehead, the love of his life, and the challenges that they face in trying to challenge social convention and the class system. In charting Jude’s efforts to become a scholar or a churchman despite his working-class roots, it maintains a powerful relevance in terms of the difficulties of social mobility.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Well-written enough to make me want to keep reading, but partially because it's similar to driving past a disastrous wreck and being morbidly curious. At least here it's merely fiction and you don't have to worry that someone died.
I mostly read it because I saw it listed as a book that had been used by the author to undermine the institution of marriage, which it certainly was. The main characters of Jude and Sue act as mouthpieces for Hardy throughout much of the book, except for when he is putting them through suffering as a means to say "society isn't ready for my ideas." They're as painfully subtle as Ayn Rand characters, and their ideas are far worse, usually sounding like gushing teenagers than people who of intelligence with real arguments. But Hardy portrays them always as lovers of truth and noble people when actually they are cowards running from their spouses, though each of their spouses are equally detestable. Hardy wants us to say they're doomed to tragedy, but mostly it all came to their own poor choices and more poor choices over and over again.
I mostly read it because I saw it listed as a book that had been used by the author to undermine the institution of marriage, which it certainly was. The main characters of Jude and Sue act as mouthpieces for Hardy throughout much of the book, except for when he is putting them through suffering as a means to say "society isn't ready for my ideas." They're as painfully subtle as Ayn Rand characters, and their ideas are far worse, usually sounding like gushing teenagers than people who of intelligence with real arguments. But Hardy portrays them always as lovers of truth and noble people when actually they are cowards running from their spouses, though each of their spouses are equally detestable. Hardy wants us to say they're doomed to tragedy, but mostly it all came to their own poor choices and more poor choices over and over again.
I don't think I can put a star rating on this one....I didn't exactly read the book, I listened to Michael Ian Black read it (and comment as he went), over his podcast Jude.
Love it that way. 4.5 stars.
Love it that way. 4.5 stars.
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes