what do you think?

beth01081 · 02-07-2009, 02:40 PM

I'm thinking of reading jude the obscure by thomas hardy. please tell me what you think of it.
Thanks.
Bethy

Neely · 02-07-2009, 05:09 PM

Delightfully tragic little book, mature Hardy at his very best, I would safely say this is his finest novel. So yes, go on read it definitely.

Babelfish · 02-07-2009, 11:33 PM

I think that it doesn't really matter at all what I think of it. It's very possible that we could disagree entirely; and that would be quite alright. Why don't you just read it and tell us what you think of it. Who knows? perhaps an interesting discussion will develop.

That said, I haven't ever read it. hehehe.

subterranean · 02-08-2009, 07:00 AM

Jude the Obscure is the novel that made me fell in love witn Hardy. Absolutely well written; tragic life story of man in pursue of a dream. Hardy, I think, was one of the writers with ability to attract readers' attention in first few pages. I bet you'll love the novel. I also suggest his other novels Far from the Madding Crowd as well as Tess of the d'Urbervilles.

kasie · 02-08-2009, 07:12 AM

Gloom, doom and general despondency.

If you haven't read any other Hardy novels, then I suggest you don't start with this one: try Far from the Madding Crowd or Tess or The Mayor of Casterbridge first. Then try Jude if you decide you like Hardy and can cope with the deep vein of sadness he tapped so successfully.

But as Babelfish posted, you really have to read it for yourself.

beth01081 · 02-08-2009, 07:02 PM

thank you all for your opinions. I have read Tess, and decided that i do like Hardy. So, I think after I finish reading The Scarlet Letter I will read this book.
Bethy

gabbyhayes · 07-03-2009, 04:01 PM

In his attitudes and his use of language and situations, Hardy hardly seems like a 19th century English author. I admire Graham Greene, who often wrote about similar themes, and I think I would put these two authors side by side in terms of a contemporary point of view. The book isn't thick and it isn't daunting. You quickly become emotionally involved in the situations that civilization and morality put people in. I just got done recommending it to a friend of mine and I'd certainly recommend it to you. It was this book and the outrage it inspired among readers that turned Hardy from a world-renowned, skilled, insightful, and entertaining novelist into a relatively obscure poet for the remainder of his life. If it were not significant for any other reason, that would make this novel worth the entry fee.

02-07-2009, 02:40 PM	#1
beth01081 Registered User Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 19	what do you think? I'm thinking of reading jude the obscure by thomas hardy. please tell me what you think of it. Thanks. Bethy

02-07-2009, 05:09 PM	#2
Neely Trainee Bibliophile Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Sheffield, England Posts: 1,010	Delightfully tragic little book, mature Hardy at his very best, I would safely say this is his finest novel. So yes, go on read it definitely. __________________ John Milton (1608-1674) Regions of sorrow, doleful shades, where peace And rest can never dwell, hope never comes That comes to all; but torture without end. (PL-i 65-67) "To cure the soul by means of the senses, and the senses by means of the soul" Wilde

02-08-2009, 07:00 AM	#4
subterranean precious... Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: København for the present Posts: 6,537 Blog Entries: 34	Jude the Obscure is the novel that made me fell in love witn Hardy. Absolutely well written; tragic life story of man in pursue of a dream. Hardy, I think, was one of the writers with ability to attract readers' attention in first few pages. I bet you'll love the novel. I also suggest his other novels Far from the Madding Crowd as well as Tess of the d'Urbervilles. __________________ "there are people in the world so hungry that God can not appear to them except in the form of bread" Mahatma Gandhi

07-03-2009, 04:01 PM	#7
gabbyhayes Registered User Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 1	hardy is surprisingly modern In his attitudes and his use of language and situations, Hardy hardly seems like a 19th century English author. I admire Graham Greene, who often wrote about similar themes, and I think I would put these two authors side by side in terms of a contemporary point of view. The book isn't thick and it isn't daunting. You quickly become emotionally involved in the situations that civilization and morality put people in. I just got done recommending it to a friend of mine and I'd certainly recommend it to you. It was this book and the outrage it inspired among readers that turned Hardy from a world-renowned, skilled, insightful, and entertaining novelist into a relatively obscure poet for the remainder of his life. If it were not significant for any other reason, that would make this novel worth the entry fee.

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02-07-2009, 11:33 PM	#3
Babelfish Registered User Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 8	I think that it doesn't really matter at all what I think of it. It's very possible that we could disagree entirely; and that would be quite alright. Why don't you just read it and tell us what you think of it. Who knows? perhaps an interesting discussion will develop. That said, I haven't ever read it. hehehe.

02-08-2009, 07:12 AM	#5
kasie Registered User Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 611	Gloom, doom and general despondency. If you haven't read any other Hardy novels, then I suggest you don't start with this one: try Far from the Madding Crowd or Tess or The Mayor of Casterbridge first. Then try Jude if you decide you like Hardy and can cope with the deep vein of sadness he tapped so successfully. But as Babelfish posted, you really have to read it for yourself.

02-08-2009, 07:02 PM	#6
beth01081 Registered User Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 19	thank you all for your opinions. I have read Tess, and decided that i do like Hardy. So, I think after I finish reading The Scarlet Letter I will read this book. Bethy