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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
Good Lord, I don't know when I'll stop crying. This book broke me in so many pieces. It was so awfully tragic yet enduringly sweet. Sue Bridehead has become my new favourite literary heroine even though I fear that I'll lead myself down the same path of suffering.
It was the the last half of the book that undid me
It was the the last half of the book that undid me
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Too melodramatic and Gothic. Very unlike his others.
A tough read for many reasons. I really loved the other Hardy novels I read, but this one is very tough to say that about. Poor, poor Jude.
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Did not enjoy. Read for college
Work has been especially stressful and overwhelming over the past several weeks and honestly Jude became the perfect tragic companion to see me through it. You think life is hard? Meet Jude! I thought I was reading too much romantic and fluffy things lately and this definitely got me right. Tragic and beautiful, and Hardy has such a realistic and moving way of portraying his characters struggles and emotions.
the middle dragged quite a bit but overall i enjoyed it way more than i thought i would.
it's a drama filled book.
the beginning and end are quite interesting but the middle part was a bit too boring to my taste with a lot of back anf forth and not advancing the plot
it's a drama filled book.
the beginning and end are quite interesting but the middle part was a bit too boring to my taste with a lot of back anf forth and not advancing the plot
4.25/5
This book has a reputation for being tragic, too tragic and I can see why. I agree with the common criticism that the very extreme thing that happens in the second half of the book (which I won't spoil) is just taking it too far. However there are also moments of hope and love that are so poignant and emotional and worth all the tragedy.
The relationship between Sue and Jude is exquisite, and when I read some of the interactions they have I felt like it was some of the best writing I have ever experienced. Characters are so real and also Arabella and Richard Phillotson were very interesting. Above all I was so impressed with how this book dealt with marriage and I can see exactly why the Victorians couldn't handle it. I think Hardy only wrote poetry after this, no more novels, much like Kate Chopin after the condemnation of her novella 'The Awakening' around this time in the US. A very different case but now that I think about it, similarly subversive around adultery and marriage.
Another interesting aspect of this book was Jude's ambition to become a scholar at Christminster (a sort of fictionalised Oxford) and how he is actually so much more intellectual and devoted than the people in positions of academic power, but the class system makes it impossible to get into that world.
I can't give this a full 5 stars because it didn't completely consume me, and I think it could have. Maybe if I had read this at the time it came out, or being not as desensitised to its themes as I am now. I read this on audiobook (free, Librivox) which was generally a great experience. Some narrators were better than others but I think it heightened my experience of my novel more than it limited it (there are always pros and cons with audio). Definitely plan to read more Hardy this year, and I think he works well on audiobook, but I would like to have physical copies to annotate so perhaps I could combine the two for my Hardy reading.
This book has a reputation for being tragic, too tragic and I can see why. I agree with the common criticism that the very extreme thing that happens in the second half of the book (which I won't spoil) is just taking it too far. However there are also moments of hope and love that are so poignant and emotional and worth all the tragedy.
The relationship between Sue and Jude is exquisite, and when I read some of the interactions they have I felt like it was some of the best writing I have ever experienced. Characters are so real and also Arabella and Richard Phillotson were very interesting. Above all I was so impressed with how this book dealt with marriage and I can see exactly why the Victorians couldn't handle it. I think Hardy only wrote poetry after this, no more novels, much like Kate Chopin after the condemnation of her novella 'The Awakening' around this time in the US. A very different case but now that I think about it, similarly subversive around adultery and marriage.
Another interesting aspect of this book was Jude's ambition to become a scholar at Christminster (a sort of fictionalised Oxford) and how he is actually so much more intellectual and devoted than the people in positions of academic power, but the class system makes it impossible to get into that world.
I can't give this a full 5 stars because it didn't completely consume me, and I think it could have. Maybe if I had read this at the time it came out, or being not as desensitised to its themes as I am now. I read this on audiobook (free, Librivox) which was generally a great experience. Some narrators were better than others but I think it heightened my experience of my novel more than it limited it (there are always pros and cons with audio). Definitely plan to read more Hardy this year, and I think he works well on audiobook, but I would like to have physical copies to annotate so perhaps I could combine the two for my Hardy reading.