An amazing novel! Hardy is a genius, and Tess a fabulous heroine. The ending is moving. It's interesting to see a novel without a heroic male. ( )

**** "Happiness is but a mere episode in the general drama of pain." ~Thomas Hardy

A fitting quote to sum up the entire existence of Tess Durbeyfield, the beautifully tragic heroine of Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles. Tess reminded me of that sister or friend in your life that you cannot help but love because of her absolute goodness of character, yet at the same time cannot help but become exasperated by due to her constant poor judgment and lack of common sense. She i...more "Happiness is but a mere episode in the general drama of pain." ~Thomas Hardy

A fitting quote to sum up the entire existence of Tess Durbeyfield, the beautifully tragic heroine of Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles. Tess reminded me of that sister or friend in your life that you cannot help but love because of her absolute goodness of character, yet at the same time cannot help but become exasperated by due to her constant poor judgment and lack of common sense. She is the embodiment of all that is good and right, but her lack of backbone and ability to think for or stand up for herself is often maddening to the point of distraction. Devotion is an admirable quality in any human being, but at what point does such a trait cross the line to becoming blind obedience? This character trait in Tess had me questioning throughout the entire book whether the pivotal moment of the story...the point at which Tess loses her innocence...was, in fact, a case of rape or just another moment in Tess's life in which she allowed someone to coerce her into her actions.

On the whole, I was captivated by Hardy's beautifully tragic story, despite the fact that I found all 3 of the main characters to be unbelievably exasperating and frustrating to me. The writing was beautiful, and in many ways I found the author's use of purposeful ambiguity in regards to the "main event" to be a masterful move in creating his story. His use of character development gives us many clues as to what could have happened, but in the end we're left to decide for ourselves. Regardless, the culmination of events leads to a heartwrenching conclusion that left this reader pondering the age old themes of Forgiveness, Redemption, Judgment, Pride, Devotion, and more... ( )

Profoundly affecting. ( )

Never has a story gripped me more and made me fiercely proud to be a woman of our modern era. For a book that Hardy meant to create a conversation about the treatment and view of women, I would say he succeeded...even today. You fall in love with Tess, you feel for her pain, and you cheer her on in the hopes of some happiness. Tess, the book, is horribly tragic, but makes its point about the subjugation of women and the double standard placed on women of the Victorian era. ( )

One of his most famous books, Thomas Hardy tells the story of class and sex prejudice. Not my favorite book of his. ( )

A beautiful tragedy, Tess of the D'Urbervilles is one of literatures most abused heroines. This is my favorite book of all time and my desert island read. Tess illustrates the reality of life during Hardy's time and the sometimes brutal relationships between the classes and genders. As with all of Hardy's works, don't be looking for a happy ending, but this is great literature. ( )

Tess was a Lady, I don't care what anybody says of her. She had to do what she did...fate was so cruel to the naive girl. Over all I didn't like the book. Tess did nothing to deserve her fate. I watched the movie on Masterpiece, and after crying for hours...decided I didn't care to finish the book. However, I am keeping the book and hope one day to finish it. ( )

It's almost impossible to rate a novel without taking into account its place in the canon. 'Tess' is an iconic novel about hypocrisy, seduction, betrayal. suffering and the compromises we make for love. It's indisputably a powerful and beautifully structured story - Hardy's descriptive prose is like poetry and his characters are fully (in some cases painfully) realised. As a reader it left me stunned - Hardy wields tragic irony like a cudgel and he's never met a trauma he doesn't love. ( )

Not as good as his others, a lot of waiting for something to happen. But still a very well written book, a plot that was unpredictable, and ending that brought out the emotions. ( )

One of Hardy’s most famous books, followed by Jude the Obscure, about a woman’s journeys through life. Follows the life of Tess, and her family’s sudden noble lineage, as she meets Angel, then Alec and in the future when she finds true love all over again.

I found this novel very interesting, separated into seven different books. I seem to always love these life stories that take the reader from the beginning to the end of the life of the protagonist. There were many times I became confused as to the storyline and had to reread portions because I would become distracted, but overall the story is one more intriguing.

One of the greatest English tragic novels, TESS OF THE D’URBERVILLES (1891) is the story of a “pure woman” who is victimized both by conventional morality and its antithesis. Born near Dorchester, Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) set most of his stories in the region between Berkshire and Dorset in the fictional county of Wessex. He was a controversial writer whose work often showed the result of flouting the rigid Victorian moral code — his novel JUDE THE OBSCURE was (allegedly) burned by the Bishop of Wakefield for its shocking content. Hardy was an unflinching observer and in TESS has left us some unforgettable vignettes of rural life in late 19th-century England: the slow death of a flock of wounded pheasants, the monotony of field labour under an iron gray sky, and the itinerant farm worker’s seasonal round. (Summary by Adrian Praetzellis) ( )

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1211897...

I don't believe I'd read a word of Hardy before I started this book. It's not as bad as I feared, though it moves awfully slowly, is annoyingly condescending to people with funny accents, and fails to really challenge gender narratives for today's reader. Hardy no doubt meant well and perhaps even intended to be a bit feminist in his presentation of Tess's story, but it doesn't really work; one wishes that he had let her be more of an actor (before the crime at the end of the book) and that he had shown the men who treat her so badly in a more unforgiving light. I'm not wild about Hardy after reading this, but I won't spurn him either if his books come up in my reading. ( )

Tess is one of the more depressive novels I've read lately. My wife will attest to the fact that I have a strange affinity to depressing stories. With that in mind, let me say that I really enjoyed this book.

The writing was at times a bit too much for me for the reason that I get annoyed at many 18th and 19th century novels...namely, that Hardy focuses far too much on minute descriptions and in-depth analysis of setting and location. Don't get me wrong, I love a vivid and lush environment and I much prefer a fleshed out character to a flat one. I just sometimes feel that all of the flowery descriptions slow down the story telling element too much. There were a few paragraphs/pages that I tried to skim through in order to get to the next relevant points of plot. Still, I don't know that I'd want to edit out the descriptive text since it does comment on the narrative itself in a metafictional sort of way.

The main characters in this book are wonderfully composed. They are absolutely and completely frustrating but they are superbly crafted nonetheless. I wanted to smack each of the main characters on many occasions.

Tess is far too willing to simply be acted upon and then to bemoan her fate. Alec is an absolute pig (although towards the end of our experience with him, it's debatable just how awful he truly is). And Angel is far too inconsistent to be liked at all...at first he seems almost lovable...then he deserves to be hated...then he seems slightly adequate...then he becomes repulsive again...he's just far too wishy-washy in his behavior and ideals to ever be fully redeemable.

The story itself falls into the realm of realism taken to its extreme. The plot elements felt almost like the Bible story of Job...whatever could go wrong willgo wrong. And even though Tess was generally found to be almost whining about her circumstances rather than trying to make things better for herself, the story was still rather thought provoking since it makes you wonder just how you would handle horrific circumstances and what can truly be done about them. Is it better to try and solve the problem or better to just let fate and happenstance take its toll.

Personally, I try to make the best out of any bad situation...perhaps that's why I like "depressing" stories...they make me realize my life could be worse and they help inspire me to always think of the best possible outcome.

I'm sure this book won't be for everyone. Those who want a happy fairy-tale romp through a girl's life would do better to stay away. Those who are easily frustrated by fallen characters, will find themselves hating all of the primary roles in this book. The book isn't terribly lengthy (~300-400?) but some of the longer descriptive passages do crawl by at times.

Still, I whole-heartedly recommend this book to those who are willing to look imperfection and awful situations square in the face and come away smiling. It's not a happy book. It's not a terribly fast past book (which can also be frustrating...I wanted to shout Just do it to Tess many times).

But it is a wonderfully rich book and definitely worth getting into.

*****
4.5 stars (out of 5) ( )

http://amiralace.blogspot.com/2006/10... ( )

After all of this time, and after all of the books I've read, this is my first Thomas Hardy novel. To be really honest, PBS recently ran the BBC production of Tess of the D'Urbervilles, and I wanted to read the book before I watch it (it's still on TiVo). Now I'm afraid...this book was so incredibly depressing!
That's not to say I didn't love it.

I won't rehash the plot; there are wonderful examples of critique, criticism and plot summaries all over the internet. I found Tess to be a complex character -- while she is certainly a very tragic figure, she is proud, able to face adversity and determined to do what it takes to survive in the most trying of situations. The male characters of this novel I found to be the least likeable, no matter who they were. But on the other hand, it also struck me that one could argue that men like Angel were also victims of the times -- although he felt himself to be more idealistic than other men of his generation, and although he escaped his father's plans for his future, he was still a product of ingrained proper Victorian society, where scandal could ruin a "good" family. He has to go to a place where societal ideals mean nothing before he turns himself around. As a human being, this doesn't excuse his behavior, but it does help to explain it.

I enjoyed reading this book, but it was like watching the proverbial train wreck -- you just know what's going to happen and yet you cannot turn away. I see many more books by Hardy in my future. I'd recommend it for others who might be considering reading this author's works; if you're not into tragic heroines you may consider skipping it.

Overall, a fine book, one I'm very happy to have read. ( )

Have read this multiple times and shall read it again! ( )

I read this novel many years ago, but I remember that it was very sad and it has stayed with me. ( )

I remember Return of the Native being much better written than this, but it was enjoyable and the occasional majesty of Hardy's prose is worth it. Tess is a bit obnoxious throughout most of the book. When we finally get to see her react to all her misfortunes with something besides forlornness and self-pity, there are only a few pages left. Still, it's a thoughtful take on many things, including societal set-ups, religion, hypocrisy, madonna/whore complex, punishment and fate. ( )

Although this novel is verbose and overlong, I couldn't deny it five stars because it made me cry a little, not once, but twice! I recently confessed on my blog to never having read any Hardy, and coinciding with the recent BBC adaptation decided to read Tess. I only watched the first two episodes on TV though, and can honestly say I didn't know the second half of the story at all.

The big theme is social injustice, with the pastoral idyll ever present in the background. Tess is innocence and vulnerability personified (a friend of mine says she has 'victim' tattooed on her forehead). Her once-noble family is now impoverished and they have to work hard for a living.

Without spending too long on the story, Tess meets and is unwillingly deflowered by a bad 'cousin' Alec, then meets a good man, Angel, who rejects her when she tells him her shameful secret - I was reading this in bed with tears rolling down my cheeks. Angel leaves her to go to the Americas and Tess. too proud to ask his family for help, goes back to toiling on farms, where Alec finds her again and pursues her with a vengeance, leading to such a sad ending on Angel's return that I cried again, not believing that it could end this way.

I'm definitely a Hardy convert! ( )

This is definitive Hardy: Verbose and pastoral, with highly-detailed descriptions of the scenery that make the setting as important a character as the characters themselves.

Tess is all innocence, vulnerability, and well-meaning ignorance. Decended from a now-impoverished line of a noble family, she and her family are resigned to a life of hard work. Her life is thrown into upheveal when she becomes the pawn of two rich men: Alex, with bad intentions, and Angel, with good. No matter what their intentions, their meddling sends Tess to her downfall. She overcomes seduction, or rape, depending upon your interpretation of the scene, only to suffer the hypocrisy of the man she loves, who cannot forgive her for having the audacity to be forced upon. Classism clashes with the reality of the poor working woman's life. Injustice is a major theme, and Hardy spends much time on bringing home the point that Tess, though not a bad person, is constantly outcast as a sinner. If this all sounds familiar, think of its American counterpart ``The Scarlet Letter." But while Hester Prynne wears the symbol of her sin on her breast, Tess carries her shame inside of her, only to cause a furor when she confesses under the innocent delusion that Angel will forgive her. With Hester's sin exposed, society can gradually adjust ot the idea of her disturbing presence. Tess's sin confessed disrupts the illusions of her innocence, causing her to be rejected in an impulsive burst of hypocrisy, immaturity, and vengefulness. In fact, we can judge the morality of the characters by the way they treat Tess.

The book is rife with symbolism, a dream for English majors bent on interpreation. Those simply reading for fun may be put off by Hardy's wordiness. He often says thirty words when five will do, but this is all part of his distinguishing style. If you're the type to get lost in words, Hardy is an excellent choice of an author. ( )

Augh, that was depressing! ( )

Least favourite of Hardy's books - hated it the first time I read it and then had to dissect it for college and hated it more. Poor old Tess, you want to reach into the book and shake her. Hardy's writing suffers in comparison to his other works - it just progresses into misery and depression. ( )

Shall I be audacious enough to write a review of a book that already has thousands of pages of criticism written on it? I found the narrative to be less of a dark read than Hardy's Jude the Obscure but nevertheless containing elements of the same fatalistic darkness conveyed in that novel. Overall, it was a poignant story that made me feel deeply for Tess and the unfairness of her life. Perhaps we all can relate to Tess at times? However, I hope that none of us ever find ourselves in the same situations as our heroine. ( )

I really enjoyed this -- probably one of the best 'classics' I have read recently. A haunting story of Tess, a young girl coerced into leaving her poor country home to "claim kin" to her ancestral family the d'Urbervilles in an attempt to raise her family's status. The disasterous results of this endeavor plague the rest of her days. We travel with the likeable yet self-effacingTess who eventually becomes a milkmaid, falls in love, and tries to rise above her past.

Hardy's elegant descriptions of setting and atmosphere, his ability to weave an engaging story, his unflinching view of the world as "a blighted star" all make for an unforgettable read. Having read recently the bleakness of "Jude the Obscure," I still somehow felt that Tess' denouement would be hopeful. Unaccountably, I was surprised at the ending - yet still found the entire reading experience very satisfying, albeit sad.

A very worthy, entertaining and accessible classic. A bit heavy on the unlikely coincidences which eroded the realism -- perhaps that is my only complaint . Otherwise, a fabulous read! ( )

This was a set text for an English module at uni and I struggled with it from the start to finish. And I can honestly say there are not many characters that I have disliked as much as Angel Clare *shudder*. ( )