Tess of the D'Urbervilles (Dover Thrift Editions)
by Thomas Hardy
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Book Summary Information
Author: Thomas HardyEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2001-06-14
ISBN: 0486415899
Number of pages: 321
Publisher: Dover Publications
Book Reviews of Tess of the D'Urbervilles (Dover Thrift Editions)
Book Review: Beautifully Written and Pessimistic
Summary: 5 Stars
Bleak and depressing, as far as the plot is concerned it's sort of like Hardy was experimenting with how many terrible things he could make happen to a trusting, wonderful person, until she's finally crushed under the weight of the world and her society. Really makes you feel awful to read it, honestly, but that's ok because the writing is beautiful and the structure is flawless. There are moments of pure poetry on a Shakespearean level, that make you want to weep for all humanity. The characters, especially Tess, are very believable, and the psychology effecting their decisions is what drives the story, for me. I'm impressed, I'm going to read more Hardy. I've looked around and it seems like most of his books are similar - a great set-up to a disaster, all the while people's hearts being ripped out of their chests and their hopes and dreams crushed one after another by a cruel world and cruel circumstances. He obviously had a pretty tragic and pessimistic view of our human situation, but a view that must have filled him with sympathy. He really goes into his characters' heads and makes you feel their pain through it all, going through the stages of their grief, with really amazing descriptions that feel dead on. Or at least that's what he did in this book.
Also, it's pretty amazing that he blatantly pointed out the sexual double standards of his time and their utter hipocrysy. It's so crazy that people in Hardy's day were outraged after the publication of this book by the subtitle, "A Pure Woman," because Tess was raped. When you keep in mind how firmly these ideas of purity and female sexuality were implanted in people's minds, it makes the plot completely believable.
Summary of Tess of the D'Urbervilles (Dover Thrift Editions)
A ne'er-do-well exploits his gentle daughter's beauty for social advancement in this masterpiece of tragic fiction. Hardy's 1891 novel defied convention to focus on the rural lower class for a frank treatment of sexuality and religion. Then and now, his sympathetic portrait of a victim of Victorian hypocrisy offers compelling reading.
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