Book Review: Jude the Obscure (Hardy)
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
Book Review: The Return of the Native (Hardy)
Have I read this before: No.
Review: This was quite an enjoyable book. Gotta love those weird-ass convoluted relationships that are only weird-ass and convoluted because PEOPLE DON’T DISCUSS THINGS WITH EACH OTHER. I also like it because it seemed to bring to light the idea of a flawed female main character, which wasn’t really seen in the best light during the time the book was written (1878). Also, Hardy does not shy away from sexual themes; another thing that was not all that common amongst big selling books of the time.
Favorite Part: I love the chaos of the ending when Clym and Wildeve are trying to rescue Eustacia. It’s hard to make those scenes just right, I think, but Hardy does a good job of it.
Also, this quote about Clym Yeobright: “He had been a lad of whom something was expected. Beyond this all had been chaos.” Yeah, that pretty much describes him, haha.
Rating: 6/10
Book Review: Far from the Madding Crowd (Hardy)
Have I read this before: Nope! Brand new to my eyes.
Review: This is what I learned from this book: if you’re going to mess with someone, it probably shouldn’t be anywhere near the level of implying you want to marry them when you have absolutely no interest in them.
Also: don’t piss off the farmers.
Far from the Madding Crowd chronicles three very interesting relationships of Bathsheba Everdene, a woman left in charge of a large farm in, as far as I can tell, the mid-1800s. First is Gabriel Oak, the shepherd we’re introduced to in the first chapter and who we mainly follow throughout most of the book. He loves Bathsheba from practically the moment he sees her, but is reduced to having to watch her other relationships blossom throughout most of the novel. They refer to him as “Farmer Oak” throughout but I kept reading it as “Professor Oak” (thanks, Pokemon), so that made for some entertaining reading.
Farmer Boldwood is the second lover and is the victim of a very poorly thought-out prank (it’s not even a prank, it was like, “hey, let’s screw with Boldwood, he’s weird”).
Finally there’s the soldier Francis Troy, who’s basically the 19th century equivalent of Zapp Brannigan. I read all his dialogue in Zapp’s voice and kept waiting for Kif to show up. Again, that made for some entertaining reading.
Anyway. It’s a soap opera on a farm. That’s always entertaining, right?
Favorite part: I feel bad calling this my favorite part, but Hardy did a great job showing how devastated Boldwood had become after he realized that the whole “Bathsheba loves you HAHA JUST KIDDING LOLZ” incident. I felt bad for the dude.
Rating: 6/10
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