jenmcmaynes 's review for:

Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy

4.0

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I am shocked that I am giving this book 4 stars. I don't like Hardy (having read both Tess and Madding Crowd); I find him to be depressing, judge-y, and tedious. And in many ways, this book aligns with my previous opinion of Hardy- especially the depressing bit. And honestly, the plot often just serves as 'set pieces' for Hardy to move his characters from place to place, so they can react and expound on their philosophies and there are some pretty unrealistic events (i.e., the children's deaths). But. Those philosophies that Jude, Sue, and (to a lesser extent) Richard are expounding? Dang. Jude the Obscure is basically a book-long treatise demonstrating how marriage is a broken institution, and how many of the laws and attitudes of the time are downright inhumane. Published in 1895, this book is decades ahead of its time. Jude and Sue live according to their consciences, in both the religious and moral sense as well as by defying laws and norms (specifically in terms of marriage, divorce, and 'living in sin'). They find some happiness, but ultimately suffer gravely for questioning societal norms. As a novel, I found a lot of the storytelling a bit pat and some of the characters (Arabella - oy! She is a caricature at best) unrealistic, but I loved what Hardy was saying so much that I have massive respect for this book. A surprising thumbs up from me!