A review by amywrites
Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I watched the TV show with Eddie Redmayne when I was about fourteen and remember loving it. The thing is, I could only remember bits and pieces so, while I was reading, it was almost like things were brand new to me (and I couldn't remember the ending!)

Oh my God. I forgot how heartbreaking this was! Poor Tess just couldn't catch a break. I spent the whole time thinking 'oh man, what's going to go wrong next?' It was a bit frustrating at times with the way she thought and acted, but this just proves how much we've evolved since then. She was a young woman from a rural place - she was sheltered and basically told that women shouldn't be strong.

But that being said, I actually like Tess. It's the rest of the characters I have beef with. Alec, of course, is terrible and deserved every bad thing ever. Tess' parents sucked so bad. And Angel! Ugggggh. I hate him. Marian was a good friend to Tess, but Izz can go away.

I loved how Hardy has shown us the prudish views of the Victorians and showed how wrong they were. I was pleasantly surprised about how he went about it, it seemed almost modern in thought.