Tess of the d'Urbervilles (1891)

Possibly my favorite book by my favorite writer.

Hardy's ability to bring the people, the time and the place together is unparalleled. His sense of the countryside, the natural world and it's inhabitants is a kind of spiritual vison. His sympathy and understanding for the lives and characters of everyday people and especially those who suffer the manifest social injustices of the time is really unequalled (well, maybe not unequalled but you get the idea).

I just think he is a genius and one of the greatest english language writers we have.

I feel like an idiot trying to write about him.
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Bad things happening to a pristine waif. She was a true symbol of feminine modesty and virtue. This is why it was especially sad that so many bad things happened. It was a long time ago. Life was bad back then. Men were especially wicked, evil man-demons who existed only to exploit delicate women.

It's a classic, but not a good one. ( )

  This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.leafmarks.com by express permission of this reviewer   I hated this book.   From the beginning where Hardy mocks, needles and jabs Christianity at every turn, to the middle where the "humanist" husband shows his utter hypocrisy, to the end where Alec Durberville  shows his change of heart for the sham it is. And through it all, poor Tess. Alone, unprotected by those who should have protected her, abandoned by her husband, used and at the end, forced to pay for her crime of murder that was brought about by her complete and utter abandonment by any and all.   While some take the view that Hardy was showing up Victorian life [and don't get me wrong, this is a perfect example of what was wrong in the era], it was simply too vicious, cutting and plain antagonistic for me to cool-headedly read it and analyze it.   Hardy had an axe to grind and he gave it all he could in this book. I certainly won't be reading any more by this ass.   Rating: 1 of 5 Stars Author: Thomas Hardy " ( )

Tess was my first. This depressing and enchanting story of a woman in rural England struggling against 'a sea of troubles' was my introduction to Hardy, now my favorite author of fiction, through the excellent 2008 miniseries. ( )

2014: ...What? (2 stars)

2016 [SPOILERS]: I remember the first time I finished this book, in bed in my college dorm room with my mouth hanging open from the moment Tess declared "I have killed him!" A second reading really was necessary to process.

I think I care more for Tess than I usually care about characters, somehow. My heart aches for her in all the ways her life goes wrong. And I cheer for her because she really is a strong and mature character. She's very well-written.

Alec D'Urberville, on the other hand is sufficiently infuriating, as is Angel Clare. Alec makes me want to scream when he just won't leave Tess alone. I want to smack him. But that didn't do Tess any good... And Angel with his hypocrisy and self-righteousness... Ugh. Poor Tess. I should want Tess to find a better man than Angel, but she loves him so much, I tend to want him to come to his senses instead.

In regards to Tess' experience with Alec, the writing of it frustrates me a bit. To me, up through that moment, it is very clear that Alec raped Tess. She never liked him, never showed him any affection. She blatantly wiped away his kiss. He made her very uncomfortable. Her behavior through that point gives me absolutely no reason to believe that Tess would willingly have sex with Alec. Afterward, however, the writing makes it seem more like they had been in a relationship and she had willingly slept with him, though she regretted it later. And those two interpretations just don't jive. After thinking about it, I've decided on my interpretation. I think it is kind of both of the above. I think Alec raped her. And then because of the society she lived in, after that happened, Tess felt like she belonged to Alec or was tied to him in a way. It's even said in the book that she's more married to Alec than she is to Angel. Of course, I don't believe that, but I think that would have been her thought process. So, I think that after Alec "claimed" her, she continued working at the D'Urberville estate, and probably allowed him to have sex with her again, though she still didn't want that kind of relationship with him. Until finally, she couldn't live with it anymore, and she left for home.

Through all that, it really is a surprisingly feminist book for one written by a man in the 1800's. I should read more of his work (any suggestions?). I also think this book could inspire a really good modern film adaptation.

I think my only complaint aside from maybe the ambiguity of the [rape/seduction is that it can be quite slow, especially during Tess' employment at the dairy. I almost only brought my rating up one star because of that, but I love Tess so much and the story itself is so beautifully tragic that I rated it 4 stars.

I want to write a better review of this book. Maybe I'll edit this sometime. ( )