thestoryprofessor 's review for:

Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

5.0

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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: Complicated

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This book has had a reputation in my life for being the most depressing book in classic literature. What is interesting is that I was listening to an audiobook of another book while I was reading this one; the other book was also incredibly depressing and ladled copious amount of nihilism upon its characters. Comparing this book and that book to each other, they are both equally heavy with intense subject matter, themes, and deplorable characters. Both, also, have bleak endings that leave you stunned.

So why did the other book get a 2.5 and this one got a 5? Hardy's writing is far superior to modern, "award winning" writing because of the major difference between these two novels: one is a beautiful, haunting rendering of a woman fighting for hope and love, and the other is a grey playground for the author to torture his characters with a magnifying glass. Tess is a story with nuance, beauty, and delicate storytelling choices that renders a silent, thoughtful tragedy of a woman wronged in a world that would have otherwise likely forgotten her. Hardy's writing shows us the social issues of the time, whereas the other book hammers it into your head over and over again, using pretty prose to cover up the weak storytelling choices being used.

Tess is a really special book and character to me, and I am deeply affected by the evil that Tess had to fight through and the hope she fought (and sometimes failed) to hold onto. I recommend this book over any contemporary tragedies any day.