“This is one of my favourite books of all time and I will always have it on my bookshelf (when not re-reading it for the umpteenth time.) I adore Thomas Hardy, although I think his characters (much like Hardy himself) cared too much what others thought instead of just doing their own thing and basically getting on with it, that's the overall impression I seem to get from "Jude...". It is sad, but I can see a lesson in there...”
“Hardy's Jude the Obscure is captivating, though a thread of hopelessness runs throughout the novel somewhere lurking in the pages lies the wheel of emotion which propels the human race!”
“I remember reading Hardy’s Jude the Obscure working on my MA in English literature. And this novel is undoubtedly literary naturalism. Jude is, indeed, obscured by environmental factors preventing his ability to better himself in life through proper education. It is a novel that ring true in many parts of the world today as environmental factors do indeed spell out disaster for many individuals. In Jude’s case, his path of bad luck leads into Hell itself, it seems, especially with the scene of the murdered children. ”
“As if the characters' tragedies were not enough, this one had to kill ALL of their children!”
“Jude's tragic end was perchanced because he was a non-conformist....”
“Maybe Jude should have remained obscure... and not come to print. The pathos which found ready acceptance with this reader, slowly, oh so slowly, but surely pathetic. Jude started and ended... as a nothing. Not your happy ending!”
