About a Book...

Despite the looming title of this blog, I have decided to write a post about a book I have just read. Having recently completed all of my higher education, and being jobless, I have multitudes of free-time to read. This is quiet exhilarating for me, and I am enjoying every bit of it. 


I am always trying to expand my book knowledge, and to accomplish this, I recently looked up a list of the top 100 books one should read. Naturally, I made a spreadsheet of this list and checked off which ones I have read and marked which ones I have not read (perhaps too extreme?). I am a list person and after making this list of books to read, I was excited to get started! Trying not to be dismayed by the expanse of books on the list I have not read, I began downloading the free ones on my Kindle (due to the aforementioned jobless situation, I have no money to actually buy these books). The first one I decided to read was Tess of the D'Urbervilles, by Thomas Hardy. I have never read anything by Hardy so this was to be a new experience for me. 


Being a thoroughly educated English major (she laughs to herself, for this is not possible). It was easy to recognize the naturalistic elements of the novel immediately in the opening pages. It called to mind such poets as Wordsworth and Coleridge, and such poems as "Lines composed above Tintern Abbey." The feel of the English landscape and beauty of that country, the life of the common farmer and the common man, struck me immediately. One does not have to read his Wikipedia page (and I confess, I just did) to pick up on the elements of the Enlightenment and Romantic eras in his novel. The situation with Tess's father discovering that he is the last remaining progeny in an old and extinct noble family, evokes many chuckles from any reader.  However, the heart of the book is at the same time greatly influenced by the naturalism that so clearly controls the events. 


Hardy brilliantly combines humorous elements with supernatural qualities and realistic feelings and actions of human beings into his heart-wrenching tale. I found myself sympathizing with the characters even more because I saw my own feelings about organized religion, reactions to societal norms and the like in the characters of Tess Durbeyfield and Angel Clare. More than a novel of naturalism and fate, this is a novel of humanity, and Hardy hits the nail right on the head with the nature of humans. How does the common man react to being told he is a noble? How do secrets tear people apart? How does arrogance and a superior mindset affect those who love you most? These are all questions that Hardy addresses through the characters of the novel. This is a delightful read and I would recommend it to any who like naturalistic, or even ironic novels. 


For a book lover, discovering a new novel is like a kid finding a dollar under her pillow where her tooth was. We expect it, but when it happens we are more excited than we thought we would be. I feel like a kid when I discover a new novel I love, and that sums up my experience with Tess of the D'Urbervilles. 


I'll try Not to write about books next time:)