Rating: 
Summary: Can We Say Contrived?
Review: This book has been lauded as a great work of English literature. Hardy does indeed capture the English landscape fairly well into his somewhat lengthy, verbose paragraphs. But his plot (to be frank) stinks.The moment the reader meets Tess Durbeyfield he or she knows exactly what her fate will be. The book is a ridiculous web of intertwined coincidences which finally succeed not in giving the novel the air of a distinguished and accomplished work, but of a silly contrived plot line filled with poorly developed characters that could easily be crammed into 20 short pages. And the book might be all the better for it. The point is that after I read this book and labored through the hundreds of pages and looked up archaic English phrases and fluffy words that Hardy seemed to fill the pages with, I was struck at how much time I had wasted to learn so little, how disappointing it was to be forced to read so much obsequious symbolism and heinous happenstances. Don't read this book unless you have to. It isn't worth your time.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent example of the romance genre.
Review: If you are a fan of the Romance genre, particularly if you are a fan of the historical Romance genre, and most especially if you are a fan of the tragic, historical Romance genre, you'll doubtless enjoy this book. What's more, if you like lush, flowery descriptions of pastoral settings, you'll doubtless love this book. Since I'm not overly fond of any of these things, it's main interest for me was as a period piece, a reminder of just WHY we don't want to go back to the "good old days" of Victorian sexuality. (Not that I really need much reminding.) It is certainly true, however, that given the limitations put on it by the time period of its writing, its genre, and the author's prediliction for flowery language, it was a far more interesting read than I expected; its characters were surprisingly sympathetic, and its plot more interesting than a cursory summary would make it seem. When an author has a definite idea of what course of action he deems the correct one, there are two ways for him to make his point: either he can have a character that resonates with the reader take that action, and show the positive outcome, or he can have his characters take the opposite action, and show what disasters follow. Hardy invariably takes the latter course in this book. Bank on it; if his characters are faced with a choice, they'll make the WRONG choice. And as a result of their choices, tragedy follows. This is generally considered to be "having realistic characters"; I've never entirely understood why. (Is it REALLY more realistic to be dumb as a box of rocks, rather than having at least as much sense as the average five year old?) Still, the technique is a perfectly acceptable literary device, and Hardy uses it well; the fact that I have a preference for the opposite technique is rather beside the point. This is certainly a more interesting and accessible read than many of its contemporaries, and many readers will be far more impressed with it than I was.
Rating: 
Summary: Immense and claustrophobic.
Review: Thomas Hardy is as close as the novel ever got to Shakespeare, and this is his 'Midsummer Night's Dream' (or nightmare). It is a pastoral - the set-piece descriptions of nature (the play of light at differing times of the day, the verdant plenitude during Tess and Angel's courtship, the astonishing effect of bonfires at dusk etc.) are among the most overpoweringly vivid in literature, genuine word-painting - and an anti-pastoral, with even the natural world infected with poisonous, unnatural social conventions, with the growth of Talbothays petrified into the sterile limbo of Flintcomb-Ash. As in Shakespeare, there is a conflict in 'Tess' between the surface, linear plot, which tells a transient, austere tale of some people whose existence is short and ultimately barren, and the movement of the imagery, eternal, self-generating. The abundance of the latter makes the relentless grimness of the former just about tolerable (although the Flintcomb-Ash section is painfully unreadable) - as in Shakespeare, the burden of sexuality and emotion denied by society is placed on the natural world, on the language and the imagery, so the emotional deprivation in the plot starkly contrasts with its potent, lubricious surroundings. The plot is not 'realistic', but ritualised and patterned, set in heavily symbolic, paganistic sites, human nature stylised in pageants and tableaux. The climactic part, where Hardy twice startlingly changes narrative point-of-view, ushers in a new age of anti-Victorian fiction.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful
Review: This is a wonderful story, it left me thinking instead of my usual forgetting about it 5 minutes later. The characters are intriging, and the story is interesting, making me not want to put it down. I (being only in high school) would definitly suggest that you read it.
Rating:
Summary: Stunning
Review: This was the first book of Thomas Hardy's, and I read it in my English class. The book is, at times, difficult to read, and it is filled with Biblical allusions that the average reader may not comprehend. Nevertheless, it is a powerful story, one that I would highly recommend. Beyond the story is Hardy's description of the English countryside, which, in themselves, are masterpieces. Granted, it is not an idealistic in tone, but still, it is an astounding novel. Anyone who does not read Thomas Hardy is doing themselves a disservice.
Rating:
Summary: great read
Review: I love Thomas Hardy's characters because he allows them to be fallible, allows them to be unduly influenced by the rigid thinking of the time in which they live. They make bad decisions, and suffer for them, and we suffer along with them. How refreshing! This book is incredibly rich, and there would be much to discuss in a class or book group. I actually think one of the most interesting characters is Alec d'Urbervilles. He is utterly contemptible, of course, but he goes through such changes in the book that he's fascinating to watch. A great bad guy. Not surprisingly, Tess's and Angel's theme, the Double Standard one, shows up all over the place. I caught 3/4 of Sweet Charity on TV last night, remember that one with Shirley McClaine? Great dance numbers. She confesses her past in a fit of passion, and guess what happens? A scene certainly as heart-wrenching as the one in the crumbling d'Urbervilles mansion. If you love classics, what are you waiting for? It's worth it, as are Hardy's other novels. If you are new to this sort of thing, reading it for a course or a class, you have a treat in store. Happy reading.
Rating:
Summary: Time Well Spent
Review: For those beginning to read the classics this one is a great hook. While the characters are complex the story is linear and the allusions are simple enough to follow. One can't help but hope Tess's life will somehow turn out right although knowing it will not. The burdens she encounters seem to do little to stop her from moving forward. Life seems so unfair to her, but Hardy handles her masterfully; indeed it is safe to say Hardy loves her more than God does.
Rating:
Summary: 'Tess of the d'Urbervilles' - a review
Review: Although Hardy claimed that 'The Woodlanders' was his favourite work, 'Tess of the d'Urbervilles' was his masterpiece. Only in this intense tale of a 'pure woman' did he unveil his tragic view of the world, conveying his feeling of the injustice of his society. He tells of a young girl taken advantage of by a wealthier man whose actions leave such a stain on her life that, when she seems to be on the path towards happiness following her marriage to Angel, they return to haunt her and, ultimately, effect her destruction. The book was condemned as immoral and pessimistic by contemporary critics, and was indeed written by a deeply unhappy man, but 'Tess' is a novel that should be read by every generation. It is beautifully written; though Hardy had a harsh view of life, his images of an idealistic 1840s Wessex are truly magnificent. Tess' journeys across the ancient tracks of a rustic, simple Southwest England remain within the mind of the reader eternally unforgetable; the contrast with her life at Flitcombe Ash, too, is deeply moving. Although his critics were harsh, the writer of 'Tess of the d'Urbervilles' was, and remains, unrivalled in evocation of tragic emotion.
Rating:
Summary: We live on a blighted star.
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed reading Tess. Many years ago, after completing a grueling mind-numbing week of exams in college I sat down to read this story, as a sort of reward for living through the previous five days. I have since read many of Hardy's novels, but Tess remains the dearest to me. Early on, in chapter 4, Tess is on a journey at night with her little brother Abraham and he is asking her if all the stars in the night sky are worlds similar to ours. She compares them to apples on a tree and concludes that most of them are "splendid and sound - a few blighted". "Which do we live on?" asks Abraham. "A blighted one," says Tess. Minutes later, their carriage crashes into some oncoming traffic... the family horse Prince is killed, and Tess is plunged through this incident into predicaments that will result in her complete undoing. Those who are familiar with Hardy will know of his fatalistic tendencies. His themes were not exactly "jolly". And here, in the above incident he sets that ominous tone that is so omnipresent in his work. Tess is the story of an exceptionally gifted and beautiful peasant girl of decayed aristocratic stock who is betrayed by two men: one is the rich and sensuous Alec D'Urberville, the seducer of her body and for a while of her emotions; by him she has a child which dies in infancy. The other is the intellectual free-thinking son of a clergyman (Angel Clare), whom she loves with her whole being, and who abandons her when he hears, immediately after their marriage, of her earlier violation. Here is a picture of that Victorian double-standard that similarly condemned Hester Prynne in Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter." Angel fully expects Tess to forgive his own past indiscretions (and she does), but he, in turn, will not forgive hers. More precisely, he flounders in his disillusionment, and cannot move from forgiveness to forgetness... as is obvious when he says to her in Chapter 35 "O Tess, forgiveness does not apply to the case. You were one person; now you are another." The double-standard breaks our heart even as we read of it. And hearts are broken here. It is not until many years later that Angel realizes his error by pondering on the Biblical story of "the wife of Uriah being made a queen" (2 Sam.11:1-27). Realizing (a bit too late) that he had judged Tess by the deed rather than the will, he searches for the girl... only to find that the extreme poverty of her family has driven her back to the other man. So strong is Tess's love for Angel Clare, and so powerful her disgust at what Alec D'Urberville has forced her to become, that she kills Alec. Now husband and wife are re-united but on the run from the police, and they spend a few days of loving reconciliation before Tess is arrested, tried, sentenced to death for murder, and.... (read the book). Hardy considered this to be his finest novel, and claimed that Tess was the most deeply felt character he ever created. Originally published in 1891, it yet remains a timeless story of the power of love to overcome the most profound betrayal. Significant is Hardy's choice of the subtitle: "A Pure Woman". "...Poor wounded name! My bosom as a bed shall lodge thee." - Shakespeare -
Rating: 
Summary: Most pathetic character in all of literature.
Review: Tess of the D'Urbervilles is one of the worst books I have ever read. I read this book in high school, though I am now in college, but don't discount this review because of that. Tess has absolutely no backbone. She pines away for stupid Angel who is more cruel to her than the guy who raped her in many ways. I know women weren't as strong at that time but even so, she is still pathetic. When she tells Angel that she would jump in the river and kill herself for him, I laughed out loud! Tess is a spineless, pathetic excuse for a human being. She needs to take some lessons from Jane Eyre, a hundred times better heroine. Also, Hardy describes the same stupid valley so many times that the book drags on forever and seems like it is never going to end. I disliked all of the characters so much, that it made the book have not one redeeming quality to it. If you want to read a Hardy book, read Mayor of Casterbridge--it is much better!
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