Have I read this before: Nope. In fact, this was one of the books I added in my most recent “300 Books” expansion, as I’ve read some Hardy and enjoyed him.

Review: Thomas Hardy. Friend. If the purpose of this book was to introduce one of the most frustrating female characters ever into the vast realm of English literature, mission accomplished. Like…I know Hardy can write enjoyable female characters, as Tess (of d’Urbervilles) and Bathsheba (from Far from the Madding Crowd) were both somewhat frustrating but still enjoyable and “root for”-able.

But fucking Sue, dude. I get that she’s supposed to stand in as a representation of the conflicting influences of religion and sex and marriage on a woman (or a person in general), but I feel like such conflicts could still be portrayed without making me want to punch her through a wall whenever she was in the scene. Even Arabella was obnoxious with how she used Jude and how Jude’s character basically started to deteriorate as soon as he met her.

Just…ugh. Frustrating characters and not in a good way, man. You know it’s rough when the most sympathetic character in a book is a creepy weirdo kid who commits murder-suicide.

Favorite Part: I don’t know if I have one. The fact that they referred to their creepy weirdo kid as “Father Time” was kind of…creepy and weird, I guess.

Rating: 4/10