Jude the Obscure Audiobook

" Still working through all the things in this book, but it has been plenty long enough to realize that this needs a spot on the silver shelf. "

" Great book but very tragic towards the end "

" I loved this book as I did all of Thomas Hardy's books, it's very powerful. I was reading it on the London underground on my way into work one morning when I came to the heart-wrenching climax. I had arrived at my station and I just sat on a seat on the platform, continuing to read, until I could bear to tear myself away from it to go to work. "

" I usually really like Thomas Hardy, but the only reason I gave this book 1 star was because Sue frustrated me so much! She was so irritating, that I didn't understand at all why Jude would put up with so much for her sake. "

" Thomas Hardys best book hands down "

" Death was not the tragedy for the reader, but rather the release. Jude's life was a long string of disappointment and despair - not because there was never any hope, but because great potential was dashed to pieces by decisions made foolishly because of a lack of maturity and experience, which is arguably the greatest tragedy of all. Needless to say, it was an emotional ride and an exercise of moral philosophy. "

" Enjoyable all around, but a bit too neatly tied with coincidental meetings of characters. I suppose that's par for the era. More potential for controversy than I expected: unwed pregnancies, premarital sex, old guys marrying young babes... hot! : ) "

" My favorite Hardy book but I love them all. "

" This book was really disturbing, but it was interesting too. I found myself rooting for Jude and Sue even though they did not have very much going for them. Not very redeeming. But, it was a great look into a relationship that would later on become very commonplace. "

" If you never read another Hardy in your life, you should read this one! "

" possibly the most depressing story I have ever read!! "

" Thomas Hardy was greatly disheartened from the negative critiques of this novel nwhich questions the institution of marriage and the shackles placed on society by its adherence to church doctrine. "

" This book is depressing- true- but a good read. "

" A friend's updates reminded me i've read this. the stars might not be accurate...should reread...someday... "

" Not one of my favorites. Definitely one of the most morbid Hardy novels. "

" One of my favorite books to get depressed by. "

" Holy shit this was depressing. Jude is strange and lovely, with the hard task of bridging 19th c. realism with the expressionist modern novel. Freudian internal strife, cultural expulsion, puritanical masochism, haunting ethereal characterizations (at times melodramatic;the little imp child Father Time? jesus), broken shattered dreams. And, Sue, get a vibrator already. "

" 'what i learned from this book': you will not win at life "

" The movie with Christopher Eccleston and Kate Winslet (of course!) gets 5 stars over the book, but the read is good too. Pretty intense, not an 'uplifting' story, so be prepared. "

" I enjoy reading Hardy but this is not my favourite story as the plot takes a very sad twist that I found disturbing. Whilst I would read Far from the Madding Crowd again, I will not read this book a second time. "

" Very readable but ultimately depressing viewpoint. Hardy must be into habitual determinism. "

" While a great vocabulary stretch... it was not uplifting at all and the plot was pretty futile.... if you like sad disturbing books this is for you.... I threw my copy away. "

" Great writing, but that plot.... "

" Great book but very tragic towards the end "

" Good book - sort of "Tess of the D'Urbervilles" from a male perspective. Not an uplifting story per se, but overall I enjoyed it, and found Hardy's descriptions easy to visualize, and it contained enough character development to keep my attention. "

" Would give it 0 stars. I hate Hardy's writing. "

" A bit hard going, not my favorite Hardy. I guess if you put it in context how shocking it must have been when it was first published it makes it interesting. But... "

" I enjoyed the story of this book but alot of it dragged and annoyed me. I hated nearly all the characters and jude was a real wimp. Glad i read this book though as it is a popular classic and is worth a read. "

" Third time's the charm....finally got through this terribly bleak story. "

" Rather boring even though I love the classics. A vivid tale of a rather ordinary life. He wants to be a university fellow and then a priest but is always just a stonemason. Divorces his first wife lives with a second and then marries the first over again while drunk. Then dies.[return] "

" I really like Thomas Hardy. This was a hard book to like the characters. So many crummy things happen. "

" This is one of my personal favorites. It starts slowly, but by about the third or fourth chapter, it really starts to captivate you. "

" Recommended by my Lit. Professor, a scathing paralell to everything that makes myself who I am. "

" this was good...but still, tess of d'urbervilles is better. thomas hardy is a little depressing. "

" What I learned is that if something goes wrong in my life, it's probably a woman's fault. "

" I enjoyed the beginning of this book but then got a little bored with it. I guess I can appreciate the different standards of the time when the book was set and how that would have influenced the characters, but the decisions made were the characters own downfalls. "

" Favorite of all time, so depressing but great vocab builder. "

" beautiful story of a man who is cursed since birth. the love stories are dramatic and entertaining, the scenery wonderful - the fields, the stone buildings, the streets, the church, his aunt's home. a book you never want to end, but can't wait to end it once you get there. "

" The person who gave me this book inscribed it with the phrase "I hope you don't end up like Jude." OUCH! "

" This is one of the finest books ever read. The character of a woman and the society are so vividly portrayed. Love this. Mwaah. "

" Compelling, but it leaves you exhausted and demoralized. Not fun times, kids. "

" I haven't read this book for ages but quite often little chunks and pieces of it come back into my memory. There are some pretty disturbing scenes in the book and I remember having a hard time putting it down. "

" I well written story for those who appreciate 19th century literature. It bogs down several times throughout the story, but overall a good read. "

" Not nearly as good at Tess of the D'urbervilles "

" So dark and so sad....loved it!! "

" Meh. Very drawn out in sections: conversations between Jude and Sue begin to feel like they've been copy-pasted from earlier in the book. There's nothing here other than the basic naturalism plot curve. "

" My favorite book right now. "

" What I learned is that if something goes wrong in my life, it's probably a woman's fault. "

" I'm not sure what to say about this one. It took me ages to finish, I pretty much hated all the characters and the message, but at the end I actually found it interesting. So, I guess that's good? "

" I know I liked this more than some of my friends, but as someone who enjoys Thomas Hardy novels, I enjoyed his exploration of moral themes and consequences. The ending was quite memorable to me. "

" I was required to read this book for a college class and it was one of the most depressing reads of my life. "

" Not my favorite. Worth the read. Like Tess better. "

" I just couldn't bring myself to finish this book. Ploughing thru 160 pages of it was about as interesting and instructive as watching grass grow. "

" I haven't read this book for ages but quite often little chunks and pieces of it come back into my memory. There are some pretty disturbing scenes in the book and I remember having a hard time putting it down. "

" This is a great book, interesting story, but the most depressing book I ever read. I read it because it was recommended by our tour guide in Somerset, England, where the story takes place. "

" Hardy's Jude the Obscure remains my favorite book of all time. Beautiful. "

" This is one of those books that for a good long chunk made me never want to read again, interspersed occasionally with a few chapters of interest. It was written fine, it was just rather boring compared to other stories of a similar vein. "

" A wonderfully depressing book. You might want to start some anti-depressants before picking it up, but totally worth it. "

" Philosophical with lots of jabs at establishment. Well written and entertaining. "

" Probably one of the most awful and depressing books I've ever read. The logic and morality is all mixed up- a headache from start to finish. "

" Determinism. (See my comments on Tess...) "

" senior ap summer reading - on my kindle. it took a while to get through this book. i actually did enjoy it even though it is a thoroughly depressing book! funny reading it in the context of modern society though, considering when he wrote it. poor jude - what a rollercoaster life. "

" It's rare to discover a book of any era that can call forth strong emotion and shock at the unexpected. This book does just that. Hardy lulls you with the mundane and then punches you with the most horrific scene in all of literature (or life). Yes, I scoffed at this claim as well, but it's true. "

" Thomas Hardy really jumped the shark this time. And that's saying a lot. "

" A good read for anyone looking for an epic soap opera. Hardy is definitely not for the faint of heart. "

" Wrote part of my Master's Thesis on this one, so I like it quite a lot. It is a meaty read, and you only have to throw it across the room about four times. "

" Wrote part of my Master's Thesis on this one, so I like it quite a lot. It is a meaty read, and you only have to throw it across the room about four times. "

" I named my only child Jude. And it was not for Jude Law. "

" I named my only child Jude. And it was not for Jude Law. "

" I wish my English teacher had asked for an essay on this book. I could've written a legitimate essay on how this book would've been better had it never been written. "

" I wish my English teacher had asked for an essay on this book. I could've written a legitimate essay on how this book would've been better had it never been written. "

" This was one of those books where you wanted to reach through the pages and shake the characters until they had more sense. "

" This was one of those books where you wanted to reach through the pages and shake the characters until they had more sense. "

" Poor Jude, he was obscure. I rather liked the writing but the story was fairly sad. "

" Poor Jude, he was obscure. I rather liked the writing but the story was fairly sad. "

" One of my favorite books ever. So bleak it's almost painful to read. The story of a man who does the best he could, until he couldn't (to steal and damage a line from Discworld). "

" One of my favorite books ever. So bleak it's almost painful to read. The story of a man who does the best he could, until he couldn't (to steal and damage a line from Discworld). "

" This book made me cry. Only a couple of tears got out because I was at work, but if I had been reading this at home I would have sobbed. In one word, this book is grim but I loved it. I truly felt for Jude. "

" I definitely recommend this book but I can't say it's really a fun read. Jude's life is quite painful to read about. Hardy seems almost sadistic in the way he beats his protagonist down. It's a good novel, just not a fun one unless you're one for schadenfreude. "

" While I generally admire Hardy's work, this one was just too depressing. "

" This book made me cry. Only a couple of tears got out because I was at work, but if I had been reading this at home I would have sobbed. In one word, this book is grim but I loved it. I truly felt for Jude. "

" I definitely recommend this book but I can't say it's really a fun read. Jude's life is quite painful to read about. Hardy seems almost sadistic in the way he beats his protagonist down. It's a good novel, just not a fun one unless you're one for schadenfreude. "

" While I generally admire Hardy's work, this one was just too depressing. "

" Not a fun read. Slow. Not great. "

" Not a fun read. Slow. Not great. "