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What are readers saying about Tess of the d'Urbervilles (Penguin Classics)?
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-08-09 05:16:37.
(Language: English)
 
I was required to read this novel for my 11th grade English class and am so thankful that I actually took the time to read it (unlike 99% of my classmates). There is something about the written language that is unmatched in the conversion to a movie. A movie has a target audience... they add and subtract substantial portions of a novel to make a "pleasing" movie for the masses. However, a novel can appeal to everyone, from a cloistered nun in Ireland to a struggling teen in New Orleans. I could never live without books...especially one as emotional and enthralling as this one!
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-09-30 09:42:30.
(Language: English)
Very moving tragedy. I related to it..had an "Angel" too in my life. Major repercussions, thankfully no one died or committed murder or suicide. But you can see the deep effects of emotions acted out in innocence or high values of youth untempered by experience or deeper understandings. These kinds of tragedies happen in peoples' lives throughout the ages, and Thomas Hardy could capture the humanity, beauty and deep tragedy that ordinary people live can encounter or create in their short lives on this earth.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-12-29 07:21:45.
(Language: English)
The identifiable Tess is exasperating at times, but this perhaps is what makes the reader keep reading. Hardy's writing is full of descriptions that make the story vivid, however, at times his descriptions get in the way of the storytelling, though this could be plot device, holding the reader in suspense as to what happens to the characters while he's going on and on about the scenery. The book has very intriguing characters that keep the reader turning pages. Please beware of the ending, though, the writing here doesn't seem to be up to Hardy's best; it feels like the characters don't hold true to themselves, rather like Hardy was looking for a quick, tragic ending to his book.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-12-23 12:49:28.
(Language: English)
Whilst engaging and moving, this was not a book that I would describe as 'un-put-downable'. Hardy's descriptions of the scenery are excessive at times, though usually serving symbolic purposes, at the expense of character development. However, that's not to say that the characters are two-dimensional - far from it.Tess is the classic wronged woman and it is imposible not to sympathise with her plight and feel outrage at the injustices she incurs. Complex feelings of hate, exasperation and even forgiveness towards the supporting characters are inspired well in the reader by the author, making this novel better than a mere tragic romance. There are many nice touches throughout the story, (a particular favourite being the use of Stonehenge as the site where Tess is eventually 'sacrificed'), and I found it to be a much more intelligent novel than I was expecting.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-08-02 12:12:37.
(Language: English)
Finally managed to read it and finish it, too! Started this story ages ago but never seemed to quite get through it all - now I finally have and what a powerful classic it is indeed! Apparently Thomas Hardy's best and also, at the time, very controversial book as it covers sexuality (in the 19th century - shock! horror!) and religion openly - both subjects that were simply not discussed at the time, never mind written about in a novel! However, it does present the reader with the world as was then - pretty repressed and thus a lot of anxiety caused due to morale issues and particularly men taking advantage of young girls that do not really know any better. A rather sad tale overall, though still incorporating hope also with something of an unexpected ending - I guess, it comes as it comes as it must! This old style writing can be a little tiring and testing - hence it taking me months if not longer to finally get through the presented and compact 300 odd pages - but once you get going, you don't want to put the book down anymore. Happy Reading :)
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-11-08 06:01:18.
(Language: English)
Thomas Hardy is a master of landscape. He reminds me of a John Constable of literature. Hardy is notable for his ability to make the landscape a character in the story. In fact, when I read "Tess," I see two unstated characters: Fate (often expressed through nature,) and Hardy himself. My favorite aspect of this book is Hardy's attitude toward Tess. He puts her in unforgiving, merciless circumstances, yet the entire time he upholds her character. It is of interest to note that the original title was, " Tess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman." This is a girl, who, set against all forces of nature and fate, retains her purity. The fact that Hardy upholds Tess as an image of purity despite her decisions makes one reconsider what actually constitutes purity. Hardy also causes the reader to wonder the extent to which our decisions are our own and the extent to which they are dictated by our circumstances. Tess makes decisions with ill consequences, but Hardy seems to excuse every decision due to the circumstances she was in. Its as though Hardy asks, "seeing her situation, how can you blame her?" Indeed- Thomas Hardy is the only one in the story who doesn't blame her . . . he seems to be the only one who loves her faithfully.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-02-20 02:08:06.
(Language: English)
Have been on a bit of a Hardy binge over the last couple months and I thought I might be about ready to review one. This is one of my favourites, despite the notorious downer of an ending. Tess is seduced by an upstart landowner and runs away to have a baby which later dies. Several years later she falls in love again and confesses her past to him on their wedding night. Things spiral rapidly out of control for Tess after that. This is where Hardy's reputation as a depressing writer really comes from. I know of at least one writer who detests Hardy for his grim vision of life, but really, there isn't that much difference between this story and the stories of inner-city strife and turmoil you can read today except for the scenery and the props. I love it for the honesty of Hardy in refusing to compromise his tale, and for his unflinching grip on what was wrong with his society. If you think he has a pessimistic view you have missed the point.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-05-04 11:39:37.
(Language: English)
i had read this novel when i was studying for my graduation.Tess is written with marvelous skill. Hardy's eloquence and scene/psychology painting are both beyond dispute. My main trouble here is with fatalism as it applies to this book. Hardy seems intent on taking innocent people and subjecting them to the worst kinds of beatings as the plot moves. And he does it not with the compassion of Dickens, Austen, Dostoevsky, or Steinbeck, for example. Rather, he takes delight in plunging both the characters and the reader into ever-deepening hopelessness. I felt gross after reading this book, as much as I admired its craftsmanship. Dwelling on this too much makes the wretched feelings in the story seep into real life. One more thing...the book would be considered backward today if Hardy criticized Islam or any other non-Western religion in this book quite as much as he took pot-shots at Christianity. To create imperfect villains, set them up to prey on decent people, and then graft the formers' misuse of Christianity onto any kind of whole is intellectually dishonest. I refuse to be as cynical as Hardy; Christianity (or any other faith) is not diminished on the account of some imperfect followers.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-06-11 06:21:18.
(Language: French)
Tess Durbeyfield était une jeune paysanne aux grands yeux innocents. Son teint éclatant fit son malheur. Placée chez les nobles d’Urberville, ses cousins d’après son père, elle est séduite et abandonnée. Aimée puis épousée, on la quitte une seconde fois parce qu’elle est trop honnête. Tess est la pureté même dans un monde perverti, la foi simple dans une société puritaine. La critique du XIXe siècle anglais est amère. Le destin des pauvres s’écoule, inexorable, celui des riches aussi. Sur l’au-delà même pèse le doute. Ici-bas seule est belle et heureuse la nature du sud de l’Angleterre. Les jeunes filles dansent dans les près le 1er mai, croquant les fraises à pleine bouche, travaillant dur les champs
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-11-01 12:10:04.
(Language: English)
This was not a bad book at all, although it stretched out a little long in parts. Tess is a timeless character, facing plights and problems that parallel what a person might face in today's world. She manages to shoot herself in the foot time and time again, screwing up her love life through the lack of communication men and women have experienced since time immemorial. She's a character that things happen to -- tragedy occurs to her through no direct fault of her own other than wrong place/wrong time or naivete. Her behavior is consistently innocent yet the consequences she experiences are harsh and extreme. In spite of her troubles, she is a character with much inner strength and perseverance and you can't help but feel sorry for the events in her life. I enjoyed this book quite a bit, even though on the surface it appears to be an ancestor to the trashy romance novel...
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-11-17 06:39:12.
(Language: English)
My favourite in drama, and I have my reasons. What's more, I'll give you some of them : A) A point for which the novel has been (and still is) criticised - Hardy leaves out the two essential facts in the book. This is a very neat trick, for, apart from letting your imagination work, it has two other consequences : 1. since you don't know anything about the rape, the degree of Tess' 'willingness' is in doubt (nowadays we know that 'she wanted it' is the most common lousy defense of the rapist, but that wasn't so in Hardy's days), but also 2. since you don't know anything about the rape or the murder, at each of these moments there is a rupture in your identification with Tess; some people always desperately want to 'identify' with the character, but that's very romantic-western; here it's hindered deliberately, for it suits Hardy's purpose, since he's interested in Tess as an icon of some kind of symbolic inncocence (i.e. which never actually existed, but that is used to juxtapose some things - see point b), plus, due to this rupture, tess becomes more transcendental (which is nicely juxtaposed by here getting 'closer to the earth' during the novel), less tangible, and therefore more the 'role' she plays in the novel/society, which is a more eastern way of looking at things. Like I said, this is balanced by the story tearing in the opposite direction. As a consequence, you FEEL the pull of society (since she becomes abstract through the way of telling), but at the same time FEEL her need to escape (the content of the story). B) Which brings me to the second point, the juxtapositions, of which I mentioned one already. Now, to further emphasize the pull in opposite directions, Hardy pulls off another neat trick : the novel isn't strictly romantic at all. The subject matter is a romantic pastorale, but the language use varies. I.e., the most pastoral descriptions of the countryside (which are, each time, stunning) are mostly written in a very documentary style, almost like New Objectivity / New Realism, which he predates with a couple of decennia. And he stirrs in this objectivity at the exact spots where you expect excessive romanticism. This is no coincidence : though the novel sings the hosanna of rural England, it has one leg planted firmly in the modern world, showing hardy's ambiguity on the subject. The fact that the way of storytelling (also the 'leaving out' of essentials) doesn't really seem to 'fit' the story, enhances the feeling of conflict on which the novel rests, between the past and the future (cutting out the present, like cutting out chords from under a melody line, leaves you with a floating timelessness). Picture this : If all was romantic and e.g. the rape written out, the subjective picturing of the countryside the whole notion of conflict would be lost, since you would sympathize with Tess, and with the pastoral image. Now, an essential reason why people do NOT automatically sympathize with each other (and why we keep killing each other) is exactly because we are unable to fully identify with someone else, because we lack information about that person's inner states. And it is exactly this fact that Hardy uses so well in this book, to make us feel ambivalent towards Tess and towards the issues that he himself was ambivalent to. Because, what most people don't like about it is often the weak Tess character. So they discard the book. But that is just the point! Ambivalence combined with transfiguration of that main character. Hardy could not be entirely subjective, because he himself didnt really have a unified thought about the conflicts (has anybody?). The whole idea is to, through these tricks, carry your identification from Tess to the conflicts in the book, without taking a stand. Looking at Hardy's own doubts. The fact that he did this using not only story but story and style intermixed makes him more of a modern writer than is often thought. C) And if all that bogus doesn't convince you (I'm just making it up as I write, I haven't studied literature or anything, I just read the bloody books), then let me point out that it is EXCEPTIONALLY well written in an EXTRAORDINARILY BEAUTIFUL language. I mean, every few pages I found a paragraph that I'd like to see tattooed on my chest - mirror image, so I can gape at it whilst shaving. But, like all good books, take your time, this is not a book to read for swift storyline developments. This is a book like a single malt - sniff it for hours and when everyone around you has finally categorised you as a loco, take a sip, step in, and let it enfold you as your mind projects emotions, opens the page and drops you in the midst of a field. Open your eyes and you're back. Only in this book, you don't have to do it. It has been done for you, with skill and brilliance. Enjoy
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-05-09 10:09:41.
(Language: English)
Surprise...another tragedy by Thomas Hardy. Not as devastating to read as Jude the Obscure, but I was propelled through the book by a sense of dread. The most depraved person in the book, in my opinion, was not Alec D'Urbervilles but rather her unforgiving, self-righteous husband. He *seems* so conscientious and open-minded but ultimately is more of an ass than the guy who keeps trying to take advantage of her. Well, then there's Tess herself. Can't help thinking that she was far too long-suffering and brought much of her victimization on herself. But she did deserve better than what life delivered for her. Which seems to be typical Hardy.
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Nina posted a review at 2011-03-21 08:46:43.
(Language: English)
The story can be summed up in her dying baby's name "Sorrow'. This is the strongest feeling that is conveyed in Hardy's novel. Tess lives a life of complete sorrow and from the beginning knows her destiny full of vicissitudes. Yet Tess is a virtuous girl who falls prey to the circumstances of her life. For Tess the name D'urbervilles seals her doomed fate. Hardy decides Tess' fate from the beginning and allows for no joy in her life Hardy lusciously narrates England's landscape and the lives of the disenfranchised in England. Here he is much more generous. This is a gorgeously narrated story, very haunting; you can't but help feel that Hardy is a mysoginist...
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Scott posted a review at 2012-01-07 07:09:42.
(Language: English)
Back in 1991, a High School English Literature teacher recommended this to me. It took me twenty years to get around to reading it myself. The edition I read was based on the original, published back in 1891. It is clear to understand why this novel would have been considered so shocking in it's day.
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-10-03 11:56:31.
(Language: English)
In my teens I really identified with this book, the themes were very similar to what I was feeling at the time, it remains the book that has most affected me emotionally - who could fail to cry at Tess's acceptance of her fate at the end? The book has so many layers; the descriptions of the countryside and of Tess herself conjure up such powerful imagery that you can't help but get a sense of the surroundings. Historically speaking, it is interesting reading about the agricultural work and how hard it was to get stable employment. This is the one book I would have loved to have studied whilst doing my A levels, however I studied King Lear which Hardy drew parallels with whilst writing Tess.
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Virginie posted a review at 2010-02-24 12:27:45.
(Language: English)
Very moving indeed. Reminded me at turns of Nana, Captain Corelli's Mandolin, The Old Wives Tale, etc. Surprising reappearance of characters during the story. Nerve-wracking incidents like the letter slipped under the carpet inadvertendly. Some very interesting insights into the agricultural world and habits, e.g. 6 April shifts (hence our current fiscal year). Some very helpful notes in this particular edition.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-12-11 06:40:22.
(Language: English)
A story of a pure woman, torn between the dictates of society and following her self deterined life. Tess' father gets to know of their lineage with the D'Urberville family and is determined to recover the glory of the past that is dead. IKn so doing, Tess is sent to seek acquaintance with thei relatives where she meets Alec. The family of Alec has taken on the D'Urberville name because of its unique past, a true case of snobbery. This leads to events that will affect Tess and haunt her forever. She gets a child out of wedlock and determines to runwa y from her past, only to be confronted with it each time she gets a pinch of happiness. In the end, she has to kill Alec in order to be married happily to Alec, only to meet her death, because society misjudges her actions. The story of Tess is a story of the haunting past, prejudice, conflict and love, a mixture of fortune and tragedy, a story we all relate to, yet push far away from us for its truth.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-05-15 10:28:57.
(Language: English)
In TESS OF THE D'URBERVILLES, an offhand remark by a passing parson convinces an alcoholic father that he is descended from English aristocracy and to sacrifice the virtue of his oldest daughter Tess for his own gains. There are two big shocks in the book -- first, when secret pasts are revealed and, later, what happens when Tess reveals what happened to her "cousin." The book was considered too sordid and tawdry for most readers of the late Victorian period but would be considered tame fare today. Made into a thoughtful movie directed by Roman Polanski and starring 15-year old (!) Nastassia Kinski.
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-09-13 06:27:10.
(Language: English)
This book is based on the tragic downfall of its main character, Tess. Most people find her character hard to sympathize with for her poor foresight and weakness as a woman. She is made a figure of degradation and disgust when she is taken advantage of. Her later lover finds out about her terrible secret and shuns her with the same regard as all the characters. Eventually he returns having felt that he had wronged her only to find that she had become involved with the same man that wronged her to begin with. As a show of her devotion she murders her husband in a frenzy and only afterwards recollecting the consequences of her actions, she subjects herself to a fate expected of a character of that calibre; she is executed. Tess is a victim rather than a heroine. This is what makes her so different from the hundreds of other women regurgitated within english literature time and time again. She is not a rosy cheeked governess, or a daughter of five batting her eyelids one minute and scoffing the next. She is weak, she succumbs in her situations and she kills for the love of a man. She is not inspiring like the so called heroines previously described. She is simply human, and suffers at society's hands when it fails to recognise her flaws as marks of her humanity
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Melanie posted a review at 2009-09-23 11:31:16.
(Language: English)
I have wanted to read this book for awhile because I was curious what it was about, and am glad that I did. Tess is a daughter from a struggling family, who is thrown out into society naively to better the family name and status. She finds herself in a compromising situation that she was not prepared for, and spends the rest of her life paying for it. That is where the tragedy comes into this book. If a life was rewarded and lived based on intent, she would have had a wonderful one, because she was a nice girl trying to do the right thing. Trouble seems to follow her beauty and bring her down throughout the book with only miniature glimpses and experiences in true love, happiness and hope. One could argue that in the end, she found happiness and was vindicated, but not without a price. Did she get what she deserved? That depends, should a person be judged by their actions and responses to things despite the duration and harshness of circumstances, or should they be judged on their intention and willingness to pay for their shortcomings? It is amazing to think that Thomas Hardy could write so clearly about the human struggle against sin, and tragedy back in 1891, and the book must have been quite scandalous back in its time as seduction, murder, love and betrayal were probably not written about much back then. And certainly not in the detail Hardy provides. I loved this book, for probably the same reason I love reading history war novels, because under the right circumstances and without appropriate support, we humans are capable of horrific things. It is hard to find Tess truly guilty, maybe especially since she so willingly admits and pays for her sins when the novel comes to the final conclusion.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-10-27 02:30:04.
(Language: English)
There are but three words that sum up 'Tess of the D'Urbervilles' perfectly and it is fitting that they apply to both the novel and its lead character - sad, yet beautiful. Tess' journey from a humble village to the tragic infamy of the finale is slow and tortuous as Hardy explores the frustrations of Victorian morality at the end of the 19th century. And amidst all this intense sadness is the beauty of Hardy's prose as he mirrors Tess' pain with detailed, poetic visions of his beloved Wessex around her. A real joy for this English Lit student to read over and over in detail.
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Sarah posted a review at 2011-07-19 04:29:30.
(Language: English)
the price of simplicity the price of beauty
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Lori posted a review at 2012-03-03 08:35:21.
(Language: English)
REQUIRED READ
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-07-25 07:22:54.
(Language: English)
Thomas Hardy is a master of landscape. He reminds me of a John Constable of literature. Hardy is notable for his ability to make the landscape a character in the story. In fact, when I read "Tess," I see two unstated characters: Fate (often expressed through nature,) and Hardy himself. My favorite aspect of this book is Hardy's attitude toward Tess. He puts her in unforgiving, merciless circumstances, yet the entire time he upholds her character. It is of interest to note that the original title was, " Tess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman." This is a girl, who, set against all forces of nature and fate, retains her purity. The fact that Hardy upholds Tess as an image of purity despite her decisions makes one reconsider what actually constitutes purity. Hardy also causes the reader to wonder the extent to which our decisions are our own and the extent to which they are dictated by our circumstances. Tess makes decisions with ill consequences, but Hardy seems to excuse every decision due to the circumstances she was in. Its as though Hardy asks, "seeing her situation, how can you blame her?" Indeed- Thomas Hardy is the only one in the story who doesn't blame her . . . he seems to be the only one who loves her faithfully.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-03-13 02:36:34.
(Language: English)
It was a good book, but it proves how little control women of the time had over their lives. I especially hated how Tess would say "I don't know" everytime someone would ask her why she felt or thought a certain way. I just wanted to tell her to stand up for herself! Shows how foolish men can be and how poorly women were treated at this time. I was mostly mad at Tess because whenever someone asked her why she felt or thought something she only answered "I don't know." She never really stood up for herself and when she finally did, she did it in a bad way. It was good, but I'd like to kick Alec and Angel. What fools men can be!!
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