I just finished this today and completely agree with you about Angel Clare, I absolutely hated him. I definitely appreciated it more than I enjoyed it.
I just finished reading this book and was looking for good reviews and i highly agree with you why you like it and not love it ,also after exploring your channel i subscribed ASAP as i read classics most of the time .
Excellent review! I love your deep insight into the meaning and implications of the book! I was so sad and depressed reading Tess. There is not a single ray of light in that story! It's just doom and gloom everywhere. I thought the ending was really outlandish and didn't seem to fit with the rest of the story. Also needed some more denouement. Happy REading!
I just finished it and loved the novel, but yes, I totally agree that Angel Clare is dislikable. I first read it in my early 20s and enjoyed it, although I was too young. This time I'm certainly not too young and I was so ready for it. It's the only Hardy I've read and now I'm itching to know what the others are in your list that come above Tess! Guess I'd best binge your chanel!
Oh my god the rage I feel toward Angel Clare! I read Tess when I was about 20 and in a reading slump and I just did not enjoy it at all - it took me just way too long to read and I should have put it down. I read Far From the Madding Crowd about two summers ago at 22 and fell for it - I was finally ready to dive into Hardy! But I still haven't because I had no idea where to start! Thank you for this video series, I'll be reading him again very soon 😍
Thanks for your wonderful reviews. They pull me back into the joy and sorrow of reading the books for the first time. Tess is my second, perhaps even my favorite Hardy novel. I could not put the last third of the book down and I must say that it’s the most powerfully emotional book I have ever read. I read it thirty years ago in my late twenties after having read several other Hardy novels, two in high school and Far from the Madding Crowd shortly before this. I would only put Jude before it of the six or seven that I’ve read. I am perhaps more sympathetic to Angel and see him as also being a victim of the double standard though not to the same degree.
Interesting thoughts on Tess! I'm actually very surprised that it's not too high on your list. I tried reading it once when I was younger, but I never got very far. I'm not sure if it was because the copy I had was yellowed and hard to read with tiny font or because I genuinely didn't like it. I'll have to try reading it again sometime. It's definitely one of Hardy's most well known books.
Great review, Katie! I've read and listened to Tess twice, and own the 1998 video. Tess (the character) stays with me for days after I read the novel. I can see why you dislike Alec and Angel - their cruelty to Tess seems more believable, and therefore more evil than my two favorite bad guys in V.F., Smallweed and Tulkinghorn. I'm looking forward to the remaining Hardy reviews.
9th favourite... that's low! I'm just thinking of reading it but I'm not sure I'm in the right frame of mind as it's so relentlessly bleak. Poor Tess ☹️
I feel kind of the same about The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. It's an amazing, important, outstanding book, especially for the time, regarding the themes of feminism, abusive relationships and marriage, it's a very important piece of literature. But I didn't enjoy reading it. It dragged on and on, and 95% of it was pure misery and I just felt tired in the end
I just read Tess (it was my first Hardy). I thought it was really good, but SO depressing. What really struck me by the ending is the similarities to Lucíola by Jose de Alencar, one of my least favourite books ever. I would be really surprise if Hardy hadn't read it.
I read it at around 14 and understood it fine, but I didn't really like it and it put me off Hardy for a couple of years. I reread it at 18 and really enjoyed it, so I'd recommend waiting until a little older probably!
I want Tess to be my first Hardy because I'm dying to watch the Polanski film with that amazing actress (whose last name I forgot, it's Isabelle something) and I want to read the book first :3
Wow ok: just came to this after the 'Problematic Views on Classics' comment & feel we're on the same page (sorry lol), this being my first TH except im 48! but i *still* feel i was probably triggered in a similar way. I agree on his succinct 'shining a light' on hypocrisy & double standards brilliantly, i thought many things of merit objectively re the book.. but subjectively (my feelings) were contradictory. However this being your 9th (or so) favourite im not writing off (sorry did it again lol) Hardy just yet.. but but its gonna be a while before i pick up again. I think Woodlanders or ROTNative next time. Brilliant video as always Katie.
Angel Clare acts appalling and I would not defend his betrayal at all. However it is worth noting that it is quite common for people to form a view of another and then be disappointed when they do not live up to that ideal. The real test is how we deal with that fact; hopefully in a sympathetic and mature manner.
Its so weird... Why can't I find any YT channels/videos by American content creators? I mean, I have no qualms with brits, but its like this book doesn't exists to Americans...
Technically Finnegans Wake, Ulysses, The Sound and the Fury, and Absalom, Absalom! are better novels than 100s of other novels I might read: but their cold technicism & reliance on 'the steam of consciousness' (what most others call stream of consciousness) device just doesn't do it for me. Both the very orderly & well-planned The Divine Comedy and Psalm 119 with its double acrostic again glitter technically, but all that glitters does not shine. Tess is Bach's Art of Fugue & Beethoven's late string quartets for Hardy: great but can't say they're "better" than so much other music/novels that were composed/written. Tess is #9. I get it.
I think you're not supposed to like it, because clearly it's not a very "happy" book. Since it talks about such important matters and underlines the sexual stigma the Victorian age lived into, for a woman, it's not easy to read it. I don't think for anyone it's easy to read it, but expecially for women. Because of the way she is constantly under a thunder cloud and can't seem to get out of judgment, even though Hardy clarifies very often it's not her fault and this is his way to accuse the Victorian society. My first read happened when I was 17 and I also saw the movie adaptations. One of my favorites is the one with Eddie Redmayne as Angel Clare on BBC Mini Series. I remember it took me a while to get back my mental sanity because it left such a huge impact on me! You're not supposed to like it, but it leaves you with such a feeling... that liking it seems superficial. It's a great book. No matter how harsh it is. I think most of the books that are important are not supposed to be liked. You just have to bear the lesson.
I think that's probably true. It's one of the reasons I probably admire it as a book more than I like it. I remember that mini series too - it's very good.
I'm a bit surprised you rated Tess 9th, although I didn't like the ending. I did not like the way she was persecuted by fate with no chance of escape. I thought the Talbothys section was happy. I actually quite liked the Flintcombe Ash section. The chapter where Tess is working on the threshing machine is my favourite. She is the hardest working woman in Victorian literature.
I agree - I think that's what I find hard about Tess, I never feel like there's the possibility of hope. I agree about the chapters that describe farm work - something that always fascinates me in Hardy.
No, no, no... Do not start the gender thing. Tess is as guilty of being punished by honour, and perhaps class, as any of the male characters i n hardy. What she has going for her is a dramatic death, in a novel in which she has long since become a minor role... Not unlike Anna in Anna karinna... Who by the time of her death has long since been supplanted by by kitty and levin.
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
I just finished this today and completely agree with you about Angel Clare, I absolutely hated him. I definitely appreciated it more than I enjoyed it.
Agreed!
I just finished reading this book and was looking for good reviews and i highly agree with you why you like it and not love it ,also after exploring your channel i subscribed ASAP as i read classics most of the time .
Thanks very much :)
Excellent review! I love your deep insight into the meaning and implications of the book!
I was so sad and depressed reading Tess. There is not a single ray of light in that story! It's just doom and gloom everywhere. I thought the ending was really outlandish and didn't seem to fit with the rest of the story. Also needed some more denouement.
Happy REading!
Thanks :)
I just finished it and loved the novel, but yes, I totally agree that Angel Clare is dislikable. I first read it in my early 20s and enjoyed it, although I was too young. This time I'm certainly not too young and I was so ready for it. It's the only Hardy I've read and now I'm itching to know what the others are in your list that come above Tess! Guess I'd best binge your chanel!
Thomas Hardy is wonderful - there are many more great books to discover by him! Tess ranks sort of in the middle for me, but I think that's unusual.
Oh my god the rage I feel toward Angel Clare!
I read Tess when I was about 20 and in a reading slump and I just did not enjoy it at all - it took me just way too long to read and I should have put it down.
I read Far From the Madding Crowd about two summers ago at 22 and fell for it - I was finally ready to dive into Hardy!
But I still haven't because I had no idea where to start! Thank you for this video series, I'll be reading him again very soon 😍
Agreed! Far from the Madding Crowd is much more of a favourite for me than Tess.
Thanks for your wonderful reviews. They pull me back into the joy and sorrow of reading the books for the first time. Tess is my second, perhaps even my favorite Hardy novel. I could not put the last third of the book down and I must say that it’s the most powerfully emotional book I have ever read. I read it thirty years ago in my late twenties after having read several other Hardy novels, two in high school and Far from the Madding Crowd shortly before this. I would only put Jude before it of the six or seven that I’ve read. I am perhaps more sympathetic to Angel and see him as also being a victim of the double standard though not to the same degree.
Thanks! Thomas Hardy is such a great writer.
This has been on my TBR for so long but I've been a bit intimidated to start it 🙈 I loved your thoughts on it!
Thanks - I do recommend :)
Interesting thoughts on Tess! I'm actually very surprised that it's not too high on your list. I tried reading it once when I was younger, but I never got very far. I'm not sure if it was because the copy I had was yellowed and hard to read with tiny font or because I genuinely didn't like it. I'll have to try reading it again sometime. It's definitely one of Hardy's most well known books.
I definitely do recommend it, even if it's not my favourite one.
Great review, Katie! I've read and listened to Tess twice, and own the 1998 video. Tess (the character) stays with me for days after I read the novel. I can see why you dislike Alec and Angel - their cruelty to Tess seems more believable, and therefore more evil than my two favorite bad guys in V.F., Smallweed and Tulkinghorn. I'm looking forward to the remaining Hardy reviews.
I must try and watch the 1998 film. I agree that Alec and Angel are very believable, even if they stop me enjoying the book.
astonishing how fast you speak 😅
Arwa Chopdawala, I was going to say the same thing: that she talks so fast!
9th favourite... that's low!
I'm just thinking of reading it but I'm not sure I'm in the right frame of mind as it's so relentlessly bleak.
Poor Tess ☹️
It’s a good read though disturbing.
I feel kind of the same about The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. It's an amazing, important, outstanding book, especially for the time, regarding the themes of feminism, abusive relationships and marriage, it's a very important piece of literature. But I didn't enjoy reading it. It dragged on and on, and 95% of it was pure misery and I just felt tired in the end
i couldn't agree more
I just read Tess (it was my first Hardy). I thought it was really good, but SO depressing. What really struck me by the ending is the similarities to Lucíola by Jose de Alencar, one of my least favourite books ever. I would be really surprise if Hardy hadn't read it.
It is a great book, but yes, not a happy one! I haven't read Lucíola so will add it to my list.
Can a 16 year old read "tess of the d'urbervilles" or wait for later???
I read it at around 14 and understood it fine, but I didn't really like it and it put me off Hardy for a couple of years. I reread it at 18 and really enjoyed it, so I'd recommend waiting until a little older probably!
Yep, definitely surprised ^^ But I haven't read it :)
I still do recommend it!
It is definitely on my TBR, even if the story is grim.
I still do highly recommend it.
I want Tess to be my first Hardy because I'm dying to watch the Polanski film with that amazing actress (whose last name I forgot, it's Isabelle something) and I want to read the book first :3
I have never seen the film - perhaps I should!
Books and Things I actually got the actress wrong. It's Natassja Kinski. I don't know why I keep mistaking her for Isabelle Adjani...
I'm actually reading Tess right now. I'm 22 and it's my first Hardy. I'm enjoying it so far. I'm about 1/3 of the way through.
I hope you continue to enjoy it. It's certainly an interesting read.
THANK you. I hate Angel, too.
Wow ok: just came to this after the 'Problematic Views on Classics' comment & feel we're on the same page (sorry lol), this being my first TH except im 48! but i *still* feel i was probably triggered in a similar way. I agree on his succinct 'shining a light' on hypocrisy & double standards brilliantly, i thought many things of merit objectively re the book.. but subjectively (my feelings) were contradictory. However this being your 9th (or so) favourite im not writing off (sorry did it again lol) Hardy just yet.. but but its gonna be a while before i pick up again. I think Woodlanders or ROTNative next time. Brilliant video as always Katie.
Highly recommend The Woodlanders and The Return of the Native - they're amazing novels!
Angel Clare acts appalling and I would not defend his betrayal at all. However it is worth noting that it is quite common for people to form a view of another and then be disappointed when they do not live up to that ideal. The real test is how we deal with that fact; hopefully in a sympathetic and mature manner.
Its so weird... Why can't I find any YT channels/videos by American content creators? I mean, I have no qualms with brits, but its like this book doesn't exists to Americans...
Technically Finnegans Wake, Ulysses, The Sound and the Fury, and Absalom, Absalom! are better novels than 100s of other novels I might read: but their cold technicism & reliance on 'the steam of consciousness' (what most others call stream of consciousness) device just doesn't do it for me. Both the very orderly & well-planned The Divine Comedy and Psalm 119 with its double acrostic again glitter technically, but all that glitters does not shine. Tess is Bach's Art of Fugue & Beethoven's late string quartets for Hardy: great but can't say they're "better" than so much other music/novels that were composed/written. Tess is #9. I get it.
Agreed!
I think you're not supposed to like it, because clearly it's not a very "happy" book. Since it talks about such important matters and underlines the sexual stigma the Victorian age lived into, for a woman, it's not easy to read it. I don't think for anyone it's easy to read it, but expecially for women. Because of the way she is constantly under a thunder cloud and can't seem to get out of judgment, even though Hardy clarifies very often it's not her fault and this is his way to accuse the Victorian society. My first read happened when I was 17 and I also saw the movie adaptations. One of my favorites is the one with Eddie Redmayne as Angel Clare on BBC Mini Series. I remember it took me a while to get back my mental sanity because it left such a huge impact on me! You're not supposed to like it, but it leaves you with such a feeling... that liking it seems superficial. It's a great book. No matter how harsh it is. I think most of the books that are important are not supposed to be liked. You just have to bear the lesson.
I think that's probably true. It's one of the reasons I probably admire it as a book more than I like it. I remember that mini series too - it's very good.
I'm a bit surprised you rated Tess 9th, although I didn't like the ending. I did not like the way she was persecuted by fate with no chance of escape. I thought the Talbothys section was happy. I actually quite liked the Flintcombe Ash section. The chapter where Tess is working on the threshing machine is my favourite. She is the hardest working woman in Victorian literature.
I agree - I think that's what I find hard about Tess, I never feel like there's the possibility of hope. I agree about the chapters that describe farm work - something that always fascinates me in Hardy.
The Thomas Hardy book made bigger by 50 Shades of Grey :|
Was it?! Ha, I did not know that...
No, no, no...
Do not start the gender thing.
Tess is as guilty of being punished by honour, and perhaps class, as any of the male characters i n hardy.
What she has going for her is a dramatic death, in a novel in which she has long since become a minor role... Not unlike Anna in Anna karinna... Who by the time of her death has long since been supplanted by by kitty and levin.