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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
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 ❤️
Beautifully written, though I had a good deal of trouble with the conversations between the characters. For characters that weren't supposed to be all that educated, they did quite well spouting out Bible quotes and Homer lyrics. Of course, I expected it from poor misunderstood Jude, who spends the first 100 pages or so preparing himself to go on to college, but not from Arabella or some of the other minor characters. There were believability issues for me in that regard, though I understand that novels written in this time period had a great deal of what we today would consider superfluous conversations, but if you love the English language, there are many reasons to love this book.
What I like about the Barnes and Noble Classic editions is they devote a section near the back of the book where critical reception of the book at the time it was first published is printed. In 1895-96, many critics wrote that they found the content disturbing, one critic calling it "Jude the Obscene." By our standards today, it is a tame book. There are only allusions to what may be sexual acts occuring just off to the side of the page. Obviously you know what was going on, because in the next chapter, some young lady ends up pregnant. The idea of a young couple living together out of wedlock is not a scandalous idea to put down in writing. But by Victorian England standards, this was unheard of. One of the critics from 1895 writes that he expects a tale like this from a penny novelist who lives in a London slum, not from one of the "Masters," as he repeatedly calls Thomas Hardy.
I was angry as I read it. I felt like Jude kept putting himself in positions with easy ways out, but he always took the hard way. What he found as an honorable solution to an issue usually came back to bite him. The two main female characters are opposites of each other -- young, buxom, and conniving Arabella competing with slender, pure, and sad Sue over the affections of Jude, an obscure stonemason who's only dream is to go to University.
And the climax -- wow. Without giving anything away, it worth slogging through the long diatribes of unrequited love and wrestling with their feelings to get to what is, as described in the blurb, one of the most unforgettable climaxes in literature. It is an intense, heartbreaking book -- what some might refer to as a "wrist-slitter." It's depressing, but if you don't mind being depressed as you read it, you will like it.
This was Hardy's last novel, though he lived on for another 32 years after it was published. It was believed that the harsh criticism he received after its publication from a scandalized press was the reason he stopped written fiction. Through Jude and Sue, he criticizes religion, the fixed boundaries of class, and most notably the values of Victorians towards marriage. But there are other reasons that Hardy may have set aside his pen -- the similarities between himself and Jude are striking, as are the similarities between his wife Emma and Sue. Without going into to much of their lives together, and without giving away too much of the story, Tom Hardy, much like Jude, wanted to attend Oxford but was shut out because of financial reasons. Emma, much like Sue, was a free spirited young girl who was non committal in her religious beliefs when she first met Thomas Hardy, but as she grew older, she became more and more a religious person. It was said that Emma, after reading Jude the Obscure, was miffed that her husband would publish something so personal, and that may have been the reason he set down his pen.
Knowing this history (some of it is there in the Introduction of this edition, the rest is out there on the interweb or in biographies) made the book all the more interesting to me, as I dug through line by line, trying to read between the lines where I could and enjoying a good yarn where I couldn't.
Enjoy, and let me know what you think!
What I like about the Barnes and Noble Classic editions is they devote a section near the back of the book where critical reception of the book at the time it was first published is printed. In 1895-96, many critics wrote that they found the content disturbing, one critic calling it "Jude the Obscene." By our standards today, it is a tame book. There are only allusions to what may be sexual acts occuring just off to the side of the page. Obviously you know what was going on, because in the next chapter, some young lady ends up pregnant. The idea of a young couple living together out of wedlock is not a scandalous idea to put down in writing. But by Victorian England standards, this was unheard of. One of the critics from 1895 writes that he expects a tale like this from a penny novelist who lives in a London slum, not from one of the "Masters," as he repeatedly calls Thomas Hardy.
I was angry as I read it. I felt like Jude kept putting himself in positions with easy ways out, but he always took the hard way. What he found as an honorable solution to an issue usually came back to bite him. The two main female characters are opposites of each other -- young, buxom, and conniving Arabella competing with slender, pure, and sad Sue over the affections of Jude, an obscure stonemason who's only dream is to go to University.
And the climax -- wow. Without giving anything away, it worth slogging through the long diatribes of unrequited love and wrestling with their feelings to get to what is, as described in the blurb, one of the most unforgettable climaxes in literature. It is an intense, heartbreaking book -- what some might refer to as a "wrist-slitter." It's depressing, but if you don't mind being depressed as you read it, you will like it.
This was Hardy's last novel, though he lived on for another 32 years after it was published. It was believed that the harsh criticism he received after its publication from a scandalized press was the reason he stopped written fiction. Through Jude and Sue, he criticizes religion, the fixed boundaries of class, and most notably the values of Victorians towards marriage. But there are other reasons that Hardy may have set aside his pen -- the similarities between himself and Jude are striking, as are the similarities between his wife Emma and Sue. Without going into to much of their lives together, and without giving away too much of the story, Tom Hardy, much like Jude, wanted to attend Oxford but was shut out because of financial reasons. Emma, much like Sue, was a free spirited young girl who was non committal in her religious beliefs when she first met Thomas Hardy, but as she grew older, she became more and more a religious person. It was said that Emma, after reading Jude the Obscure, was miffed that her husband would publish something so personal, and that may have been the reason he set down his pen.
Knowing this history (some of it is there in the Introduction of this edition, the rest is out there on the interweb or in biographies) made the book all the more interesting to me, as I dug through line by line, trying to read between the lines where I could and enjoying a good yarn where I couldn't.
Enjoy, and let me know what you think!
'what i learned from this book': you will not win at life
Jude, Jude, Jude, Jude... Sigh. What a sad ride for this guy. Although at some times interesting to see how Hardy portrayed gender roles and marriage at that time, the story was ultimately unbearably slow for me.
This book - the second I've read by Hardy - is another example of just how incredibly grim his novels can be. Jude is passionate and caring and persistent and idealistic. But everywhere he goes, he causes unhappiness and only makes himself more unhappy. I did enjoy it, though it was a struggle to finish. I felt Sue, the woman he loves, was annoying, precious and naive, and as such struggled to identify with his boundless love for her. But it was a good book; Hardy is indeed a fantastic author.
3 1/2 stars
Oy vey. I don't know what to think about this book. Kinda liked it, kinda hated it. Sheesh, can it get any more depressing? Talk about a guy who thinks with his d!@#. I hated the character of Sue, what a kook. I hated Arabella too, though. She reminded me of my ex sister-in-law. yeah, that bad.
I have to think about this one for a while.
Oy vey. I don't know what to think about this book. Kinda liked it, kinda hated it. Sheesh, can it get any more depressing? Talk about a guy who thinks with his d!@#. I hated the character of Sue, what a kook. I hated Arabella too, though. She reminded me of my ex sister-in-law. yeah, that bad.
I have to think about this one for a while.
Absolutely amazing. There is so much to unpack and this is such a great critique on marriage, religion, class, and the expectations of women. This is one of the 4 books I’ve read that made me cry.
dark
sad
wait until thomas hardy realizes his misogyny accidentally made his character a lesbian baddie.
challenging
dark
slow-paced
If Marvin The Paranoid Android were ever to put his sizeable brain to writing a late 19th Century novel, it would probably be this. Be in no doubt - it is a masterpiece which anticipates the novels of D. H. Lawrence some 30 years later - but it is pretty unremittingly grim.
Jude is a young man with ideas above his station, harbouring a desire to attend the University at Christminister (Oxford). He makes a couple of poor choices in his life, but the fates definitely have him in their sights.
There is much social commentary here, and in particular we see the tensions between Victorian Christianity and women’s’ rights, which were beginning to appear at the time.
Essential reading, but no laughs.
Jude is a young man with ideas above his station, harbouring a desire to attend the University at Christminister (Oxford). He makes a couple of poor choices in his life, but the fates definitely have him in their sights.
There is much social commentary here, and in particular we see the tensions between Victorian Christianity and women’s’ rights, which were beginning to appear at the time.
Essential reading, but no laughs.