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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Didn’t realise I was reading the audiobook Victorian era’s ’A Little Life’, at the same time as the modern one itself. No wonder it’s been a heavy January. Bloody hell Hardy.
I loved the prose, and images from this book stayed with me long after I read it. I know a fair number of people who hate Hardy, hate his depressing themes, find him a hard read, but I loved his writing from the first page.
Oh man y’all, this book is super depressing! If you like books where no one gets a happy ending and everyone ends up miserable or dead, this is the perfect book for you.
I can see why this was never required reading for me in high school. It is just so depressing that I don’t think many people would have enjoyed the reading of it. Emo, super depressed and moody teenage me would have probably loved it though. Jude is such a sad sack, pathetic character and yet I kept finding myself hoping his life would get better. And it does for a little bit and then it gets worse. The poor guy just can’t catch a break.
Hardy is a good writer. I really enjoyed his previous work, Far from the Madding Crowd. I didn’t enjoy this one as much but I think it did have some really great themes and ideas in it. The hypocrisy of the church; society’s unwillingness to ignore past sins; the influence that past mistakes can have on our present happiness. Yeah; there’s a lot here. And while there are long stretches of this book that are a bit boring or not interesting, for the most part, I found myself engaged and caring about the book and all I wanted was for Jude to end up happy. But he doesn’t. And well, I guess that made sense but man, don’t read this if you are in any way depressed or feeling sad.
I can see why this was never required reading for me in high school. It is just so depressing that I don’t think many people would have enjoyed the reading of it. Emo, super depressed and moody teenage me would have probably loved it though. Jude is such a sad sack, pathetic character and yet I kept finding myself hoping his life would get better. And it does for a little bit and then it gets worse. The poor guy just can’t catch a break.
Hardy is a good writer. I really enjoyed his previous work, Far from the Madding Crowd. I didn’t enjoy this one as much but I think it did have some really great themes and ideas in it. The hypocrisy of the church; society’s unwillingness to ignore past sins; the influence that past mistakes can have on our present happiness. Yeah; there’s a lot here. And while there are long stretches of this book that are a bit boring or not interesting, for the most part, I found myself engaged and caring about the book and all I wanted was for Jude to end up happy. But he doesn’t. And well, I guess that made sense but man, don’t read this if you are in any way depressed or feeling sad.
Do not hurry through this book, there are very few wasted words. One plug for this particular edition--I thought both the introduction and "afterward" were very helpful.
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I would definitely recommend subscribing to the Obscure podcast with Michael Ian Black. That is the way I enjoyed this book, and I can't imagine a better experience! Come for the funny banter and stay for the surprisingly insightful classics.
Third time's the charm....finally got through this terribly bleak story.
I vacillated between enjoying this and being somewhat irritated by it, I think largely because it is very Victorian. I had always heard of this book’s reputation for being depressing/bleak, and I didn’t understand why until very late into reading it (the only other Hardy I’ve read is Far From the Madding Crowd and perhaps he just loves a random startling tragic event). Hardy is critiquing ridiculous social strictures that distract people from their natural, true selves - specifically, religion and marriage (although these are naturally intertwined). I can understand that this was a controversial book when it was published, and these are needed critiques! The modern (and atheistic, lol) experience of reading it is just not as novel. For that reason, I was much more interested in the interpersonal relationships, especially the central Sue-Jude dynamic (what a mess).
Anyways, despite my occasional annoyance, I have been thinking a lot about it since I read it! Really I’ve been thinking about Jude in his loneliness, his lofty aspirations of enlightenment and dignity for himself, aspirations that fail utterly, his failed relationship with Sue, the tragedy of Father Time. I’m glad I read this, even if I already knew that marriage and religion are ridiculous ❤️
Anyways, despite my occasional annoyance, I have been thinking a lot about it since I read it! Really I’ve been thinking about Jude in his loneliness, his lofty aspirations of enlightenment and dignity for himself, aspirations that fail utterly, his failed relationship with Sue, the tragedy of Father Time. I’m glad I read this, even if I already knew that marriage and religion are ridiculous ❤️