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A review by louiza_read2live
Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
5.0
Beautiful; Disturbing; thought-provoking; deeply heartfelt; deeply heartbreaking. This is an emotionally heavy book to get through, but worth it all the way. A caustic social commentary that rips your heart out. Hardy calls out the social and religious hypocrisy of his time as he pours a world of suffering upon his heroine, Tess. I think another theme we can infer through Tess' character development is that the effects of abuse do not end when the victim is out of that abusive environment. We see the effects of the original trauma in the character's learned helplessness as Tess continues unconsciously to allow herself in situations where she gets retraumatized again and again by the abusive men she encounters. It would be easy to judge Tess unless we see the whole picture of her life and early home experiences.
Tess of the D'Urbervilles is exceptionally well written, albeit emotionally too difficult to handle at once. It is an important book that says truths that need to be said, but it is heavy and needs time to be absorbed without affecting one's mood, or at least my mood. I consider it a must-read classic.
There is something about Hardy's writing that makes the reader feel every emotion and every physical movement--So connected with the characters one becomes, as if the reader is right there watching the injustices unfold and feels helpless to help. I wanted to cry (I did!) I wanted to scream (I couldn't). What an amazing book!!! This was my first book by Hardy, and it will certainly won't be the last after I take some time to piece my heart back together.
Tess of the D'Urbervilles is exceptionally well written, albeit emotionally too difficult to handle at once. It is an important book that says truths that need to be said, but it is heavy and needs time to be absorbed without affecting one's mood, or at least my mood. I consider it a must-read classic.
There is something about Hardy's writing that makes the reader feel every emotion and every physical movement--So connected with the characters one becomes, as if the reader is right there watching the injustices unfold and feels helpless to help. I wanted to cry (I did!) I wanted to scream (I couldn't). What an amazing book!!! This was my first book by Hardy, and it will certainly won't be the last after I take some time to piece my heart back together.