Tess of the D'Urbervilles (Dover Thrift Editions)

Author - Thomas Hardy ... [Goo?] [Posters]

This Paperback Book item from Dover Publications was reviewed on 15-Oct-2008.

Search ISBN:0486415899 offer from Abebooks or used books from Alibris. Tess of the D'Urbervilles (Dover Thrift Editions) Reference Book. Classifications : Hardy, Thomas ( H ) Authors, A-Z Literature & Fiction 4-for-3 Books Store Custom Stores Specialty Stores Books Classics General Literature & Fiction 4-for-3 Books Store Custom Stores Specialty Stores . Click the following link to view the cover of Tess of the D'Urbervilles (Dover Thrift Editions).

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1) Paperback Book Tess of the D'Urbervilles (Dover Thrift Editions) by Dover Publications. Bleak and depressing, as far as the plot is concerned it´s sort of like Hardy was just experimenting with how many terrible things he could make happen to a trusting, wonderful person, until she´s finally crushed under the weight of the world and her society. Really makes you feel like crap to read it, honestly, but I guess I´m into that sort of thing for some reason. The writing is beautiful and the structure is flawless. There are moments of pure poetry on a Shakespearean level, that make you want to weep for all humanity. The characters, especially Tess, are very believable, and the psychology effecting their decisions drives the story, for me. I´m impressed, I´m going to read more Hardy. I´ve looked around and it seems like most of his books are about some great set-up to a disaster, all the while people´s hearts being ripped out of their chests and their hopes and dreams crushed one after another by a cruel world and cruel circumstances. He obviously had a pretty tragic and pessimistic view of our human situation, but a view that must have filled him with sympathy. He really goes into his characters´ heads and makes you feel their pain through it all, going through the stages of their grief, with really amazing descriptions that feel dead on. Or, at least that´s what he did in this book.

Also, it´s pretty amazing that he blatantly pointed out the sexual double standards of his time and their utter hipocrysy. It´s so crazy that people were outraged after the publication of this book by his subtitle, "A Pure Woman," simply because Tess was raped. When you keep in mind how firmly these ideas of purity and female sexuality were implanted in people´s minds, it makes the plot more believable, especially how Angel Clare could seem like a pretty decent chap, but end up behaving so poorly.¤

2) Paperback Book Tess of the D'Urbervilles (Dover Thrift Editions) by Dover Publications. This book will capture you and pull you in as you follow Tess Durbeyfeild, the blameless rape victim whose tragic jounrey through Wessex, England brings her love, despair, comedy (yes, there is some), friendships, tears, self-awareness, empowerment, but ultimately tragedy.

This book is sad...yes, but Thomas Hardy´s poetic prose litterally makes the insides of the reader do summersaults. This story printed on the pages of "Tess" are more than a novel, they are a portal into the world of a blameless woman. You´ll feel the pain of these characters, escpeically our heroine Tess.¤

3) Paperback Book Tess of the D'Urbervilles (Dover Thrift Editions) by Dover Publications. This book has it´s place--and that place is in an American Literature course at a university. It was entirely too technical to be enjoyable. I was assigned this book as a ninth grader and now that I am a teacher and understand lexile levels, I must advise other teachers not to assign this book until the later grades--and only to the highest students.¤

4) Paperback Book Tess of the D'Urbervilles (Dover Thrift Editions) by Dover Publications. I read this in about 8 hours. I loved the prose, the descriptions, the whole feel of the book. I have to say I have a hard time with the type of heroine who just lets things happen to her like this. You know the characters I am referring to---I mean this book was kind-of like an 8 hour train wreck. I knew what was going to happen, well, at least that it wouldn´t have a happy ending. But the writing is so great I couldn´t help myself!¤

5) Paperback Book Tess of the D'Urbervilles (Dover Thrift Editions) by Dover Publications. By today´s standards certain passages of this book may seem rather vague and subtle, but they were shocking when first written--enough that the book was subject to heavy censorship--vital passages from it were removed. And that is really what makes this book so grand. Its take on the double standards of the society in which fictional Tess lived may seem very distant from today´s post-60´s equality society, but it was very real then.

The book follows Tess´ journey through the English countryside, but what makes it so fascinating is the constant flow of her thought patterns as she tries to rationalize the hand she has been dealt. The modern reader may be befuddled, as her thoughts are representative of another culture and another time, but what is fascinating is the little insights on human nature that shine through. The joy she feels tempered by the despair in her past. The ignorant self-righteousness of overzealous youth. The mistakes that even very good, well-meaning people can make, without realizing it, that hurt others deeply. We hope for her as she lives through the initial tragedy, the slow recovery, the surge of joy she experiences, we are disgusted at the hypocritical betrayal that eventually leads to her final breakdown.

The prose itself too has a personality, often taking time to smell the roses and indulge in the lush scenery, fascinating historical anecdotes and social interactions that Tess deals with on a daily basis. For those who over-glamorize the past, here is a very honest look at the physical and mental hardships people faced in it. Hardy quotes Ascham: ´We find a short way, by a long wandering.´
¤

6) Paperback Book Tess of the D'Urbervilles (Dover Thrift Editions) by Dover Publications.

Page Updated: Robert N. Goolsby, 12-Nov-2008, 04864158999780486415895, 230-990-990-830-050-2X0-211-8

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