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Title: Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy, Michael Pennington ISBN: 1-85998-789-3 Publisher: Trafalgar Square Books Pub. Date: 01 June, 1996 Format: Audio Cassette List Price(USD): $13.95

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Average Customer Rating: 3.96 (103 reviews)

Rating: 4
Summary: Save us from pompous reviewers
Comment: Will Godwin ([email protected]) from Wisbech, England writes several reviews below: "I, like Mr. Myers, am substantially smarter than the average reviewer (or moronic AP student), and therefore must say that I am one of the few people who can truly appreciate the unique aestheticism of Hardy's transcendental, impressionistic, amorphous, and quasi-sublime genius."

Then goes on, after a paragraph about the novel itself:

"After the completion of this novel, Hardy, as Mr. Myers told us, wrote poetry that suggested a great deal of Shelley's influence for the rest of his life. I am shocked, though, that no reviewer, not even Mr. Myers or a stupid AP student, mentioned that Hardy turned to poetry after the critics and public ridiculed and castigated him for writing JUDE. I seem to be the only reviewer knowledgeable and well-read enough to know that."

PLEASE! The back cover of the Penguin classic edition of the book contains the information of which he speaks, which hardly makes one knowledgeable and well-read!

Mr. Godwin would do well to be substantially more obscure himself!

Rating: 3
Summary: Thoughts on Jude
Comment: An opening word of caution: if you've ever winced at a movie where the bad guy won, leave Jude the Obscure on the library shelf. Because we're not talking about a book where the protagonist merely loses. He loses spectacularly. If you feel cheated because you just found out the ending, don't worry: the first half of the novel will leave you so full of pessimism that you won't be able to accept anything but a tragic conclusion. It is hardly surprising that author Thomas Hardy gave up novel-writing due to the almost universal displeasure voiced by his conservative English readers.
The story outlines Jude's progression from ambitious young boy to hopelessly distracted and troubled young man. However, his problems are not used by Hardy to ridicule human weakness, but rather to take pot shots at selected targets, namely women, marriage, and the upper class. Jude himself seems to bear little blame for his misfortunes when the story is finished.
The plot and pace of the book often resemble a rookie driver's first attempt at operating a stick shift. Certain parts grind along, taking significant amounts of time without a critical purpose. Others race ahead without warning. The majority of the time period of the central relationship in the story is summarized with a single sentence: "Two whole years and a half passed thus." Dialogue seems to be strongly favored to narration, and at times significant energy will be required for the reader to plow through the elaborate conversations of certain characters.
The characters themselves are generally convincing, although often maddening. As suggested earlier, Jude really winds up as a tragic hero. While his weaknesses for alcohol and women are hardly ignored, they only serve to emphasize his humanity and evoke greater sympathy. The beginning of the book sets us up for a stereotypical feel-good, rags-to-riches story. As Jude fails in one aspect of life after another, it simply reinforces to the reader that the vast majority of us are condemned by our averageness to lives of mediocrity. Perhaps even more compassion should be poured out to Richard Phillotspon, Jude's childhood mentor and eventual competitor for a woman's love. He makes a very selfless and thoughtful decision on behalf of the said woman, and then suffers a mighty backlash from society. Despite this, he does not regret his choice or complain about having made it.
Our two male heroes are sharply contrasted by the feminine presence in the story. Sue Bridehead, the most significant female, makes horrendous decision after horrendous decision throughout, and despite her uncommon education and knowledge, she offers limited justification for any of them. However, her weakness is almost loveable when juxtapositioned with the blatant evilness of Arabella Donn. This woman dupes Jude into marriage by the basest means imaginable at the beginning of the book, and her reappearance at the end of the story only reinforces her true wickedness.
Despite his biases, Hardy should be given full credit for his ability to evoke sympathy. The plot, while bordering on being too neat and tidy, is believable enough to give credibility to his arguments. While taking significant time to develop, the storyline is carefully manufactured to defend largely indefensible positions and blame scapegoats in a compelling manner. It seems that Hardy wrote this work to create irritation within the reader, and direct it at the targets of his choice. If this is the case, then his mission is accomplished. In light of that fact, it is pretty obvious why it was not wildly popular at its first publication. However, if you are one who enjoys being irritated, this book is definitely for you.

Rating: 4
Summary: This book ruined your life? Get serious...
Comment: 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 for someone to blame your miserable life on? Either way, it seems that this book has made a lasting impression, which any great book should do. I guess it should have a warning- WARNING TO READER: ONLY FOR THOSE WHO TAKE RESPONSIBILTY FOR THEIR OWN ACTIONS. That said, this is a book that people will be reading years and years from now. Hardy was one of those Modernists writers that was on the cusp; hard to label and not easliy confined into a period. Low Modernism? Late Victorianism? Forget the easilt attched titles and labels and enjoy.