About this title: JUDE THE OBSCURE is perhaps the most vivid illustration of Hardy's belief that our lives are governed by dark and malevolent forces. Jude Fawley is torn between his sensual nature and his equally strong lust for learning, two sides of his character that are personified by the two women in his life--the earthy Arabella and the intellectual Sue Bridehead. Jude comes to a tragic end because of his inability to reconcile them. His attempts to rise above his humble origins, in spite of all his efforts, prove impossible, as do his attempts to live an unconventional life outside of marriage with the ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Bantam Books, Toronto
Date Published: 1981
ISBN-13:9780553211917ISBN:0553211919
Description: Good. No Jacket. 12mo-over 6¾"-7¾" tall. The book is very solid with unmarked pages. The cover has minor shelf wear & moderate edge wear. The spine has a few creases. read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Signet Classics
Date Published: 1961
ISBN-13:9780451523709ISBN:0451523709
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. VG-cover wear. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 416 p. Signet Classics (Paperback). Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Bantam Books, New York
Date Published: 1981
ISBN-13:9780553215731ISBN:0553215736
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. 1981 Bantam paperback. NOT EX LIB! Clean, lightly toned pages with some light reading wear, spine is creased & slightly rolled & slightly tilted, some light edgewear, mild cover scuffing. 444 p. Glued binding. Bibliography. read more
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Cover has very minor wear, pages are unmarked. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 448 p. Signet Classics (Paperback). Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Date Published: 1973
ISBN-13:9780333047491ISBN:0333047494
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. Nice soft cover, read once, light shelf wear to cover, light crease along spine, light aging. 423 p. read more
"As with Tess, this book concerns the injustices inherent to conventional society with particular emphasis on marriage and religion. Unlike Tess, it's written primarily from the male perspective -- and perhaps more closely reflects Thomas Hardy's own point of view.
I found it validating and infuriating by turns. At times, it was disheartening. I very much related to Sue but couldn't quite discern Hardy's tone in regard to her. (I wish reviewers would stop calling her a frigid narcissist!) The one thing that can't be held in doubt is Hardy's ability to write an engaging story in beautiful, poetic prose.
Update: You know what went really went wrong with this book? Yes, there's the preaching, the wallowing, the questionable depiction of women, -- but those are all a matter of taste. What really went wrong was his portrayal of the children. They're key to the story. Really, they are the story . Yet, they serve here as mere device. (Why are the children in novels so often glossed over, I wonder?) Had he developed them a bit, this would have been a masterpiece, -- albeit a depressing one."
"This man can write! It was recommended to me by Nicholas Manning, but he failed to mention that the man can write. Very beautiful, economical, unselfconscious prose that is refreshing if you've been working through too much Don DeLillo and Martin Amis.
I'm only about thirty pages in, but so far the plot is basically the same as Harry Potter (with about the same depth of charecterisation). I read Tess of the D'Urbervilles many years ago and hated it because of that stupid I-love-you-but-I-couldn't-possibly-tell-you plot. I hope the quality of the prose can sustain me through this one, and that it doesn't turn into a Jane Austen-Charles Dickens crossbreed."
"This was difficult to rate. I wholeheartedly agree with another reader who wrote: "Some days it was a five star read and others a two, with me wanting to throw it at a wall." The characters were so human, so painful in their weaknesses. It was heartbreaking to witness the obscure (yes!) demise of humans with so much initial promise. I'm half-cursing Hardy. But he does make his statement (shockingly for the time period) about marriage, social norms, feminism. Sue drove me crazy throughout, but I did feel for poor Jude.
Still...I thought it was a great read, but would be hesitant to recommend it to those who can't handle Hardy's bleakness. Quite depressing."
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