BODICE RIPPINGLY GOOD (Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy)

Member Name: thingywhatsit

Product:	Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
Date:	20/10/07 (398 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A reminder of how powerful language can be.

Disadvantages: None.

Upon taking this book from the bookshelf the other day, I wasn't quite sure why I was drawn into reading a book read many times in the past, and one which I kept for a rainy day. The rainy day had arrived, and little by little, I delved into the life of Tess, our heroine, and began to recall why this book stands out as such a worthy contender for books that portray life in old England.

Thomas Hardy's use of description is amazing. Not only is the reader almost on intimate terms with characters, but the scenery that he describes passes the test of time, in language that really does it justice and does not seem to have dated, considering that it was written as long ago as 1891. What stood out on the page and that surprized me even after reading it several times in the past is the clarity of description that shows up the author's skill. There is only one other writer that I know that uses this amount of depth to portray their characters and their surroundings, and that is Laurie Lee.

The story tells the life of a simple peasant girl called Tess, born to a lowly family and plunged into a new world by the discovery her father makes that perhaps their descendents were of wealthy stock, who send Tess to make acquaintance with people of a similar name in order to gain recognition and to lay claim to what Tess's father believes will be the making of the family.

As far as the story goes, it really would spoil it to tell Tess's tale, since the writing of the book sets out and succeeds to explore the life of Tess, putting those characters that affect her life into clever vignettes almost as if their passing through her life strengthens the character that readers become familiar with throughout the tale, rather than making them the stronger elements of the story. It's a very clever method and the author goes through such vivid description that the reader feels the emotions, pictures the scenery, and even feels familiar with the landscape to such an extent that even now, over a hundred years after publication, the author's work stands out as vivid and extremely enlightening.

The clever turn of phrase reminded me of the use of language as it should be, as opposed to more modern books where the structure is less rigid, though his crafting of words is superb and at times leaves the reader marvelling at the skill of language itself.

Whereas there has always been criticism of the genre of books that is labelled as "bodice ripping" tales, I really do believe that this book stands out because of its sensitivity, and even when dealing with coarse truth and morbidity, somehow the language used really does conjure up the sense of loss, hope, despair and makes each of the sentiments throughout the tale very real and readable.

There are those that criticise the strength of the characterizations within the works of Hardy, although to me, it is almost as if the very weakness of the characters makes them into credible people that were part of a woman's emotions and feelings, and the manner in which the author dealt with delicate storyline with much misery was more sensitive than any I have ever read before.

Tess is the heroine of the tale that takes twists and turns through such sadness and longing, and by playing down the other characters, what Hardy seems to have achieved is a perfect picture of the girl that takes the route to womanhood, using the complementing characters as parts of her thinking processes in an extremely clever manner.

The scenery which creates the backdrop to the story is cleverly detailed so that the reader can actually picture the corn in the fields, and the work ethic of the time rather than being given a blank landscape that the imagination has to work on. No stone is left unturned as the story weaves through the life of Tess, and the contrasts of her life between the time she spent in Flintcomb Ash and Talbothay's Dairy farm. All of the twists and turns within her life are explored in such a detailed way as to feel that the author was indeed intimate with the character that his book develops.

It's a beautifully told story, and the sadness still very real and undated, the kind that touches every human being, making it a book that never really dates. My enthusiasm drove me into going back to seek more, to care about Tess, and to recognize what work the author did in presenting his public with a whole and very complex character.

For those who enjoy romance, the book has a lot to offer, though I don't think that the offering stops there. For those who would not choose romance as their main source of reading, what the book holds is use of language in a very rich manner that takes the reader back to a time before the media of television or film, to a time when the written word had to capture every essence of a situation rather than depending upon the media to back it up.

It's a wonderful book, and one that I know I shall read again at some stage in the future, when I need reminding of the craft of writing, and the richness of words.


Paperback: 592 pages
Publisher: Penguin Classics (May 27, 2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0141439599
ISBN-13: 978-0141439594


Certainly worthy of buying at the new price (today's price) of £5.00 with second hand editions at a much more humble price.

Summary: A beautifully woven tale that stands the test of time.