Thanks for joining me for
book club!
My pick for May was
Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy. Oh my, what a book. I don't think I realized just how complex the storyline would be when I chose
Tess of the d'Urbervilles for book club. I'll do my best to review/summarize it, so bear with me.
Tess of the d'Urbervilles is divided into seven parts or phases. This book is also known as
Tess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented,
Tess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman, or simply
Tess.
The story starts innocuously enough: Tess's father (John Durbeyfield), a peasant, learns he is descended from an old, noble family: the d'Urbervilles. This information goes to his head, and much of the storyline is fueled by his discovery.
After reading parts one and two (phase the first and phase the second), I had to take a break from this book. Life seemed terribly cruel to poor Tess, who was believable as a pure and innocent character (sometimes such traits seem contrived).
At her father's bidding and against her better judgment, Tess went to work tending fowl for her distant relatives, the d'Urbervilles. The reader finds out that these wealthy relatives are not relatives at all but adopted the name "d'Urberville" some time past.
During her stay at Trantridge, Alec d'Urberville takes advantage of a sleeping Tess. That sneaky rotter. Some time later, she returns to her family home in Marlott. There she has a baby, but subsequently the child falls ill and eventually dies unbaptized.
To escape her stigma, Tess finds work at a dairy some distance from her home. There she forms a relationship with Angel Clare. Eventually the two fall in love, and after several refusals from Tess, they become engaged and eventually marry.
Tess tried to confide in Angel on several occasions regarding her liaison with d'Urberville, but it's not until their wedding night that he learns of her bygones. Prior to her own confession, Angel reveals his own past transgression of a similar nature. Tess immediately forgives Angel, but Angel is dismayed by Tess's misdeeds and tells Tess he doesn't love her: “the woman I have been loving is not you.” I don't have enough words to describe the reprehensible hypocrisy of the misnamed Angel Clare.
I was really outraged at this point in the book--he said he loved her! He was kind and honest and made mistakes, but couldn't accept hers? Aaah! Makes me want to scream.
During part of their conversation, Angel and Tess both refer to Alec d'Urberville as Tess's "husband in truth." Angel even mentions that he can only be her true husband if Alec were dead. What a load of bunk. Alec d'Urberville is a lecher in truth. And possibly a rapist. Of course, I believe the author intended to highlight the inequality of moral codes between men and women during that time period. It's still despicable.
Tess soldiers on, however, believing she deserves Angel's censure. Angel leaves the country for Brazil, and Tess returns to her parents' home. Both keep the reason for their separation a secret. Tess doesn't stay long with her parents, but rather finds work on a farm in another area. Poor dear. She works so hard.
Eventually, she crosses paths with the now-reformed Alec d'Urberville as he is preaching to a crowd. D'Urberville found religion and redemption through Angel's father, Pastor Clare. From this time forward, he approaches Tess on several occasions and even offers to marry her to pay for past mistakes. She refuses since she has already married Angel Clare. Alec gives up preaching after speaking with Tess about her own ideologies, which are actually Angel's opinions and beliefs, but Tess believes them wholeheartedly because of her faith in Angel himself.
Tess's luck never does seem to look up, and when she has nowhere else to turn she accepts Alec's offer of financial assistance for herself and her family. Somewhere during the course of this, Angel stops being a blockhead, forgives Tess, and comes back for her. The two have lived separately for over a year at this point. Angel finally realized that he had been harsh with Tess, and he also recognized the hardships Tess endured while trying to provide for herself and her family while he was away. Unfortunatley, as Tess says when she first sees Angel after their estrangement, "it is too late." When Angel finds her, Tess is living with Alec d'Urberville as his wife (even though she is legally married to Angel).
If they weren't already, this is where things get crazy. Tess kills Alec so she can be with Angel.
What the what? Angel doesn't know if she really committed murder, though she tells him she has, and they reconcile. They travel the countryside together, moving stealthily, until they get caught, Tess gets arrested, and finally she is executed: "'Justice' was done, and the President of the Immortals, in Aeschylean phrase, had ended his sport with Tess."
In some ways, this is a really horrible book. Probably I sympathize too much with Tess: even when she was calm and demure, I was furious on her behalf. Once again, however, I believe the author intended for the audience to be outraged by Tess's misfortunes at the hands of her father, Alec, and Angel, in particular. In so doing, Mr. Hardy points out both the dichotomies and double standards within the social and moral standards of the Victorian middle class. While I applaud his efforts, it makes for a dismal story. Hardy's agenda is apparent in the byline:
A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented. Even the book's ending paragraph included the word justice in quotation marks (as quoted above), as if Tess didn't deserve any sort of sentence for committing murder. Um... no. That said,
Tess of the d'Urbervilles is quite captivating.
The book held my attention the whole way through, and the author engaged my emotions quite adeptly. I even learned a neat phrase:
petite mort. Even so, I'm not sure I
liked this book. I wish it had ended differently. Maybe I'm interpreting the author's intent incorrectly, but I don't sympathize with Tess to the point that I think she should commit murder and get away with it. And since I mentioned it, how in the world does Angel Clare, who couldn't stomach sexual immorality, accept Tess as a murderer? Maybe that's another irony Hardy purposely introduced to the story. Crafty author. Even though I have mixed feeling about the book, I'm still glad I read it. I hope you are too, if you ventured to try this one.
Whew. I applaud you if you made it through all that. On to
June.
My pick for
the month is
It's Never Too Late
by Dallas Clayton
From
Goodreads:
From the author who’s been hailed as the “new Dr. Seuss” comes an uplifting book that reminds adults to live each day to the fullest.
Full of wisdom and whimsy, this children’s book for adults is a beautifully written, gorgeously illustrated timeless story for anyone looking for the perfect reminder of just how magical life is. As adults with bills and babysitters, it’s easy for us to get distracted from what matters most in life. Yet if today was the day that it all came crashing down, would you be happy with your life? If not, it’s never too late. It’s never too late to tell someone you care, to start something new, to appreciate life at its fullest. Because at the end of the day it’s the love you’ll remember that you gave and you got.
This one will be an easy read, I'm sure, since it is "a kid's book for adults." After
Tess of the d'Urbervilles, I could use an easy read. I have been really curious about this author, so I'm excited to read
It's Never Too Late. June is a busy month for me, so a quick read is convenient (for you too, I'd bet).
It's Never Too Late gets an average rating of 4.00 stars on
Goodreads and 4.7 stars on
Amazon. This book is new enough that it hasn't been reviewed yet on
Barnes & Noble.
See you next month!
Sidenote: did you notice that Tess said "it's too late," and the next book's title is "It's Never Too Late"? Ha, ha. That wasn't intentional, but it worked out to be funny.
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