irvingbell

** spoiler alert ** This book was interesting. It's been sitting around on my shelf for about two years, and I have been putting off reading it, I think because I was feeling a bit daunted by it (even though I'm a Hardy fan). The book is surprisingly easy to read--interesting, clear, intellectual without being fussy. BUT: -SPOILER ALERT- I had a hard time with the death of the children. We knew so little about them! They were kind of just thrown in there all of a sudden, and so their deaths didn't affect me all that much. I realize that the sexual implications had to be glossed over for that time period, but still. That tragedy didn't even seem on the same playing field as Jude and Sue's remarriages, and it was a pretty aggressive tragedy. Other than that, I thought it was a beautiful book. The development of Jude and Sue was fantastic, as was the arc of Jude's slowly diminishing hope.

2022-11-14 17:19