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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
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
challenging
reflective
sad
slow-paced
I do love Hardy’s works, and while this was not one of his finest , it was still a decent read.
The beginning very much reminded me of Great Expectations, with Jude as a child in the countryside dreaming of making it in the big city. While the main portion of the book felt quite repetitive - marriage, divorce, marriage, divorce, people are talking shit about us, now we can’t get jobs, let’s move to another town - but what took me by surprise was just randomlyBOOM, 4 children die in one chapter…? Lord. I must say I wasn’t expecting that.
Arabella and Sue were equally infuriating in their owns rights, Jude too at times, however, I did have more sympathy for him becauseArabella’s ploy to get Jude to marry her at the beginning was pretty much THE starting point for it all going downhill.
The ending wasa little anti climatic in my opinion, however, it is probably quite fitting for a sad and unfortunate man like Jude. I didn’t think it was majorly depressing like I’ve seen a lot of people say, I’d say it was just sad. Just… very sad.
The beginning very much reminded me of Great Expectations, with Jude as a child in the countryside dreaming of making it in the big city. While the main portion of the book felt quite repetitive - marriage, divorce, marriage, divorce, people are talking shit about us, now we can’t get jobs, let’s move to another town - but what took me by surprise was just randomly
Arabella and Sue were equally infuriating in their owns rights, Jude too at times, however, I did have more sympathy for him because
The ending was
“As you got older, and felt yourself to be at the centre of your time, and not at a point in its circumference, as you had felt when you were little, you were seized with a sort of shuddering, he perceived. All around you there seemed to be something glaring, garish, rattling, and the noises and glares hit upon the little cell called your life, and shook it, warped it.”
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I've been thinking more about this book lately especially the part where not to spoil but the phrase is because we were so many -- the tragic consequences of government interfering in people's private lives and making laws about what should be private choices. Strange that a book written so long ago should feel so hauntingly relevant today.
This was the first Thomas Hardy book that I read, quickly solidifying him as my favorite author in high school. Upon later reflections I found the evident tragedy of its protagonist a bit to strong for my tastes, preferring instead the quiet devastation of The Mayor of Casterbridge, and the resigned ambivalence of the reddle-man in The Return of the Native. Still, a favorite book of mine.
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced