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A review by juliacoburn
Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
3.0
Gahh…this book gives me such conflicting feelings.
It makes me frustrated and angry because nothing truly good EVER happens to this poor girl! Think about it- nothing! I nothing less than despise Alec D’Urberville. The double standards and hypocrisy shown by Angel and Alec are absolutely MADDENING (I do apologize for the all caps, not usual for me). So is all the sexism (some of the descriptions of Tess!), which heavily irritates me even though I know it’s typical to the period.
But then again…there are parts that I really appreciate. I realize that Hardy angers the reader because he wants them reader to sympathize & side with Tess, which is pretty progressive & unusual for his time. Continuing in that vein, the novel is also basically a giant piece of social commentary, which is very interesting to me. There is also some fantastic writing- Hardy knows how to use descriptive language, figurative language, allusions, and more. Tess is all-around a very powerful book, with compelling, complex passages in nearly every chapter that will probably never be fully explored by all the literature scholars in the world.
I did read this book for my AP Literature class, which both improved & made worse my reading experience. I think Tess is a classic for a reason, a book that most people should probably read.
Ultimately…I give it 3 out of 5 stars, though really more 2.5 stars because I feel so split in my opinions.
It makes me frustrated and angry because nothing truly good EVER happens to this poor girl! Think about it- nothing! I nothing less than despise Alec D’Urberville. The double standards and hypocrisy shown by Angel and Alec are absolutely MADDENING (I do apologize for the all caps, not usual for me). So is all the sexism (some of the descriptions of Tess!), which heavily irritates me even though I know it’s typical to the period.
But then again…there are parts that I really appreciate. I realize that Hardy angers the reader because he wants them reader to sympathize & side with Tess, which is pretty progressive & unusual for his time. Continuing in that vein, the novel is also basically a giant piece of social commentary, which is very interesting to me. There is also some fantastic writing- Hardy knows how to use descriptive language, figurative language, allusions, and more. Tess is all-around a very powerful book, with compelling, complex passages in nearly every chapter that will probably never be fully explored by all the literature scholars in the world.
I did read this book for my AP Literature class, which both improved & made worse my reading experience. I think Tess is a classic for a reason, a book that most people should probably read.
Ultimately…I give it 3 out of 5 stars, though really more 2.5 stars because I feel so split in my opinions.