Reviews

Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

klaky15_94's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

shes_reading_ya's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

A lot of people enjoy Thomas Hardy but I can not seem to get onboard with Tess of the D’Urbervilles.  The novel is endlessly on “books you must read before you die” lists and I can’t seem to understand why.  It’s a book of it’s time with clear insights into English Farming life in the 19th century, similar to that of Hardy’s other works including ‘Far From the Madding Crowd’ but it just wasn’t for me.  I pushed through and finished the novel in the end but it took months to get through.  

leahhhtaylor's review against another edition

adventurous tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

anastasia steele WAS NOT reading this 

alicetagg's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

3.0

emilynadalin's review against another edition

dark emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

clairedeuxlunes's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

somewhat_kat's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring relaxing slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

nightisareader's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

kellyrenea's review

3.0

Hardy is definitely a classic author. I love his ability to create such 3 dimensional characters that feel real and that you can care about and understand their desire to better themselves.

But I have a hard time with all the horrid characters who come in and commit atrocities on the main character which ultimately leads to his downfall.

I had a lot of the same feelings with Tess of D’Ubervilles but at least in that novel I feel the heroine was able to fight back somewhat against her horrible situations, although it did ultimately lead to her end. Jude was awarded no such opportunity.

happylilkt's review against another edition

2.0

I couldn't abide this read in my high school AP lit course. Maybe it's because I liked pretty much everything else we read? Or maybe because I had read [b:Adam Bede|20563|Adam Bede|George Eliot|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1167298252l/20563._SY75_.jpg|21503633] the summer previous and they seemed so similar...and long... and depressing. Honestly, sometimes I wonder why we throw some of these authors at high schoolers. I wonder if some authors need a more maturity to be appreciated. Regardless, almost 20 years later and I absolutely adored [b:Under the Greenwood Tree|825901|Under the Greenwood Tree|Thomas Hardy|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1178724039l/825901._SY75_.jpg|2728346] (Hardy like you've never read him before or since) and reveled in the tragedy that is [b:The Return of the Native|32650|The Return of the Native|Thomas Hardy|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1403182613l/32650._SY75_.jpg|3140534]; so now I'm wondering if I should revisit Tess... I'm going to try another novel first (probably [b:Far From the Madding Crowd|31463|Far From the Madding Crowd|Thomas Hardy|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388279695l/31463._SY75_.jpg|914540]) and then decide.