Jude the Obscure: Jude: Amazon.ca: Amini Hossein, Thomas Hardy: Books

Product Description

From Library Journal

Jude the Obscure created storms of scandal and protest for the author upon its publication. Hardy, disgusted and disappointed, devoted the remainder of his life to poetry and never wrote another novel. Today, the material is far less shocking. Jude Fawley, a poor stone carver with aspirations toward an academic career, is thwarted at every turn and is finally forced to give up his dreams of a university education. He is tricked into an unwise marriage, and when his wife deserts him, he begins a relationship with a free-spirited cousin. With this begins the descent into bleak tragedy as the couple alternately defy and succumb to the pressures of a deeply disapproving society. Hardy's characters have a fascinating ambiguity: they are victimized by a stern moral code, but they are also selfish and weak-willed creatures who bring on much of their own difficulties through their own vacillations and submissions to impulse. The abridgment speeds Jude's fall to considerable dramatic effect, but it also deletes the author's agonizing logic. Instead of the meticulous weaving of Jude's destiny, we get a somewhat incoherent summary that preserves the major plot points but fails to draw us into the tragedy. Michael Pennington reads resonantly and skillfully, his voice perfectly matching the grim music of Hardy's prose, but this recording can only be recommended for larger public libraries.
-John Owen, Advanced Micro Devices, Sunnyvale, CA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

'His style touches sublimity'
--T.S. Eliot

'The greatest tragic writer among English novelists'
--Virginia Woolf

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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THE school-master was leaving the village, and everybody seemed sorry. Read the first page

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100 Reviews

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4.0 out of 5 stars A Beautiful Reading by Jenny Sterlin, July 30 2010

By

Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 112,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews
(TOP 10 REVIEWER) (#1 HALL OF FAME)

This review is from: Jude the Obscure (Audio CD)

"For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish." -- Galatians 5:17 (NKJV)

I always avoided Jude the Obscure, largely due to its title that just doesn't appeal to me (although I like it better now after understanding its references). But with several long driving trips planned, I thought it would be worth giving it a shot with the unabridged CDs narrated by Jenny Sterlin for Recorded Books. I am happy I made that choice. I'm not sure I would have been able to finish reading the book, with its painful portrayals of how Jude Fawley and his cousin, Sue, struggle with trying to overcome the flesh to live spiritual lives. The morality that Thomas Hardy portrays isn't quite that simple, suggesting that perhaps the road to happiness includes more fleshly satisfactions than those who are committed to living in the spirit might enjoy. Ms. Sterlin's reading kept those conflicts fresher and more interesting for me than the printed page would have done.

I found the book much more appealing in the beginning as Jude explored his dream of becoming a learned man . . . up until the time he met the manipulative flirt, Arabella.

From then on, I found myself instead admiring the astonishing plot design more than I was immersed in feeling as though I identified with the characters or was attracted by Thomas Hardy's philosophies.

Should you decide that Jude the Obscure is a must for your reading list, do yourself a favor and enjoy this reading.

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5.0 out of 5 stars almost perfect, July 17 2004

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I ain't no porn writer (author, "Crippled Dreams") - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jude the Obscure (Paperback)

This novel is just one step shy of being a true and great masterpiece. But it's still excellent and its near perfection makes it a compelling read. It's also a deeply moral work, although attacked upon publication as an insult to marriage and religion. No, it isn't. It's the story of a decent Christian guy named Jude who has dreams of getting educated and becoming something in life, so he teaches himself Latin. He meets and falls for a pagan girl named Sue, with whom he has nothing in common. Love works in mysterious ways. Although Thomas Hardy's writing is powerful and gripping with great storylines, his stories are ultimately tragic and convey his pessimistic view on life. But I prefer unhappy endings anyway. He's my favorite Victorian novelist.

David Rehak
author of "Love and Madness"

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5.0 out of 5 stars Hardy's best novel, May 24 2004

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Rollie Anderson (Forney, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Penguin Classics Jude The Obscure (Paperback)

In my own personal quest to read as many of the "classics" as possible I picked this one up some years ago after seeing it referred to by many critics and writers as a beacon of excellent prose. I was pulled into Jude's world almost immediately and it took a while to escape it completely when I had finished the book. It's not pessimistic, it's just that Jude lives a tragic life and Hardy expresses it to the fullest. This book started me on a quest that didn't end until I had devoured each of his other novels and a biography of his life. As good as the others were, this one tops them all.

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Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars This book ruined your life? Get serious...
Someone has posted that this book ruined their life. How pathetic. Did Hardy leave you so sad and apathetic that you were incapcitated to live a normal life or are you looking... Read more

Published on May 29 2004 by Matthew Bond

5.0 out of 5 stars The most depressing book I have ever read BUT.......
Having said that, I think reading Jude the Obscure was a worthwhile experience.
It concerns the young man Jude, stonemason by trade, who dreams of a university education. Read more

Published on April 10 2004 by S. Becker