Thomas Gibson Books

Now I know this is not one of better known Thomas Hardy Books. And I know it probably isn't all that well thought of by critics who like the doom of many of his other books (that doesn't sound good, but if you get the chance read them anyway!) I like this because it is nice and simple, about a gil called Anne, who is in love with someone called Robert, who is continously unfaithful to her. And of course you have John, Robert's brother, who is in love with Anne. You sympathise so much with the characters. And, in this book, there is a happy/sad ending, but I would spoil it if I said any more. Without reading this, you might feel that Anne is a bit stupid to stand by her man, but just go and read it and you'll understand better. Perhaps this book isn't a great literary masterpiece like other works, but it is fairly easy to read, which is exactly what I advise you to do!

She was walking through the library carrying the university's entire Hardy collection. I already had a nasty schoolboy crush on her, but after that day I was jello. And perhaps it began on the afternoon she lectured on Thom. Hardy, describing him as a poet who sacrificed his art to survive as a novelist. Yet, his novels were not pot-boilers, and Hardy eventually returned to his true muse. I shouldn't write this - let Linda explain it to you.

This novel tells of the many turns of Anne Garland's heart takes as she decides upon one of three possible suitors. Each turn her heart takes affects the other suitors in ways which are humorous/clever, but the underlying theme is the pathos you feel for the unfavored ones, primarily John Loveday and his ultimate resolution. Overall not bad.

I have read most of Thomas Hardy's novels--he is, along with Wilkie Collins, my favorite novelist--and this is the first one by which I have been disappointed. Still, a disappointing book by Hardy is worth ten by nearly anyone else, so let me explain. The ending felt quite out of the blue and abrupt compared to the events leading up to it, yet in retrospect, it makes more and more sense.

The ending aside--where the oddness is confined to just the last two pages--this is a superb character study of five disparate main characters and a handful of minor characters. Hardy is a master at imbuing each character with not only distinct personalities, but with the inconsistencies and flaws that make them leap, whole and warm-blooded, from the page. His characters are never stock people; they always seem as though they are people you could (or do) actually know in your own life.

The primary character is Anne Garland, a lovely country village girl who is much sought after by three different local men. These include Festus Derriman, a ne'er-do-well with a temper and a lust for his uncle's money; John Loveday, a soldier and the trumpet-major of the novel's title, who is the kindest, most patient character I believe I have ever seen in a novel; and John's younger brother Bob, who is a boisterous sailor with good intentions but a short attention span when it comes to the ladies. The machinations by which these three seek to catch Anne's eye is endlessly inventive and endlessly interesting for the reader, and her varied reactions to their attentions is a marvel of observed detail and the inconsistency of human nature. By turns hot and cold towards each of the men, Anne never seems shallow or thoughtless--merely human. There is also another sharply etched female character, the actress Matilda Johnson, who appears only a couple of times, but who is the linchpin of much important action.

As always, Hardy likes to insert subtle humor into even the most serious of situations. In detailing the village's concern about Napoleon (who is referred to frequently in the book by the derisive nickname "Boney"), Hardy writes:

Widow Garland's thoughts were those of the period. "Can it be the French?" she said, arranging herself for the extremest form of consternation. "Can that arch-enemy of mankind have landed at last?" It should be stated that at this time there were two arch-enemies of mankind, Satan as usual, and Buonaparte, who had sprung up and eclipsed his elder rival altogether. Mrs Garland alluded of couse to the junior gentleman.

You will be surprised, as I was, by the man with whom Anne Garland ends up. Yet now, just a day or two after having finished the novel and having been almost affronted by the abruptness and seeming insuitability of the ending, my position has softened and I can see that Hardy was actually quite true to the characters, their motivations, and their choices--however inconsistent they may at first have seemed to the reader. This is not by any means a great Thomas Hardy novel, but an average novel by Thomas Hardy is still a marvel of construction, of character, and of plot.

I first had the pleasure of using Mr. Damon's book, "Introduction to Space: the Science of Spaceflight," in my first few graduate classes. I was impressed by the coverage afforded in this book. Granted, this book was completely useless for technical graduate studies (I needed my 'number and equation fix') it has many uses for persons wanting to know about space without the calculations and involved physics.

The coverage of the book hits topics from brief history of spaceflight, to propulsion, orbital mechanics (without math!!), remote sensing, the Space Shuttle program, to the future of space travel. Diagrams and pictures convey the information clearly and the infoboxes have minor mathematics, for those closet 'rocket science' geeks...

The only downside to this book is not the fault of the publisher or author; it is of the book's users. This book is completely inappropriate for technical graduate level studies; as a non-technical book it has enough science to satisfy a reader's interest. This book is great for high-school/undergraduate students (or laypersons) that you're trying to get interested in spaceflight. Don't abuse grad students by having them purchase this!!!

In a fully updated and revised third edition, Thomas Damon's Introduction To Space: The Science Of Spaceflight is an information packed compendium showcasing all aspects of spaceflight, including propulsion, orbits, high resolution images of Earth from space, satellites, debris in orbit, MIR, the International Space Station, space shuttles, working in space, exploration of the Solar System and beyond, disturbances in the space environment, and more. Profusely illustrated with color as well as black-and-what photography, charts, and graphs, Introduction To Space is an informative, superbly presented, and detailed history enhanced with both common units and metric unit descriptions of all quantities; a glossary; and an index. Highly recommended for school and community library space science and history collections.

Thomas Damon's "Introduction to Space" is a good place to start for people who are generally unfamiliar with any of the basic principles of space flight. It is comprehensible any to interested person, and is generally geared toward a high school or early collegiate reader. The text is good at simplifying the math involved and in separating it from the text, making comprehension much easier for people who are not mathematically inclined.

The book introduces most every aspect of space flight from the history of the US and Soviet space programs, to living in space. There are specific chapters that discuss orbits (although sparing the reader the math of an orbital mechanics book), space stations, the shuttle, space stations, astronomy, remote sensing, satellites, and even the potential for extraterrestrial colonization.

I was required to read this book for a class, but think this book is really only suitable for a high school or early undergraduate course. (It would be ideal for a high school physics unit on space.) I have a fairly good conceptual background in spacecraft operations, and because of that found the book a tad boring, although it occasionally did teach me something I had not previously known. The book is clearly written, and seems factually quite good. I recommend it for anyone who needs a basic introduction to spaceflight, and who has no previous background in that area.

I am well satisfied with the purchase of this book, Great seller and price.

I just finished taking a class called "Introduction to American Politics" and this was our only textbook. I found the textbook to be easy to read, clearly written, and factually accurate. I fear that many students, like myself, who have already studied some in this area may find the book to be too simplified, and will get bored reading about the basics of material which is already familiar to them. The book is great for the novice, but is definitely not upperclassmen material.

Overall this book is a good overview of the american political system. The structures of the beurocracy, executive, congressional, and judicial branches are covered very thoroughly. However, I found that the author inserted a bit too much of his own Republican biases in it. There is a whole section devoted to "government waste" - a common election tactic by Republicans. While it is true that the government is wasteful- all beurocracies are to some extent- a recent survey showed the US gov't to be the 3rd most efficient in the world. Also, sprinkled throughout the book are convinient three paragraph long and very shallow "Counterpoints" which try to convince readers of republican principles from the flat tax to the abolition of affirmative action. The most egragrious offenses come in various profiles "people in polics" of various leaders in politics. Invariably, the Republicans profiled have their personal strengths asserted with a folksy charm, while the Democrats are given a far away overview as well as mention of some trivial personal faults (Barbara Boxer's overdrafts from the House banks- a trivial issue in the big picture of things- is in her bio). And of course there are also the "Liberal ratings" in it- with the late Paul Wellstone topping the list. In addition to all of this, the general wording of the book and word choice used betrays the clearly Republican biases of the author. Overall the book is not a bad book, it does a good and thorough job at outlining the structure of the federal government, however, reader beware of the biases of the author.

Possibly because of the format I thought that this book was going to be like many of the pulpateer biographies out there with a lot of rehashed stories and not much of anything else. But his one was realy entertaining. No scholarly disertation by a fanboy trying to make us think he is a professor and yet contains all the relevant facts about a writer whose life is as mysterious as his characters.

This book is great for Shadow fans, so grab this one before it goes out of print(as most other Shadow related books are)! There is plenty here for the seasoned Shadow fan, and the newcomer too. Pulp covers are reproduced in black and white, as are the various photographs of Walter Gibson. The biography is written in a clear,easy to read style, and is very informative.

Walter B. Gibson is a very overlooked cultural influence in America, arguably even to this day. His Shadow character captured the imagination of a generation, and even spawned a movie (with a too watered-down plot) in the early 1990's. So much Shadow lore is available out there - comics, radio shows, and novels - but many overlook the profound effect of Mr. Gibson, who is entitled to a cult following similar to that of HP Lovecraft or Robert E. Howard. I give this book 4 stars because of the price - it should be about 15 dollars cheaper.

I first read Gibson's "Neuromancer" when it first came out (about 24 years ago) and really enjoyed it. I just finished reading it again, and was pleasantly surprised to find that it's weathered the intervening decades very well. This book created a genre by envisioning a wired world when, at the time, microcomputer's barely existed and ARPANET hadn't even started the move away from the Defense/Academic community to become the internet. It's truly amazing that such a book is still worthwhile today. It does have some minor problems with the characters and pacing, but those are insignificant compared to its historical significance. I rate it at a Very Good four stars out of five.

While I did enjoy the book, it wasn't anywhere the world's greatest novel that many seem to say it is. The plot was shallow, the characters were decent but also a little shallow. The world was an ok futuristic setting, defiantly fits as a cyberpunk genre.

The book is a little confusing, many of the aspects are never really explained. And the ending was a build to something great and then just fizzled out. But even with that being said I defiantly would recommend reading it because it's a ok novel.

gibson does an excellent job at creating and transporting us to a world and culture which is very much unlike and like the world we currently reside. as always there is a strangeness to the tone and i find myself very much stuck in whatever mood gibson desires the reader to feel. and then he makes you laugh with delight at the sheer imagination he exhibits. in other words, i really wish he was one of those really prolific authors so instead of an occasional treat we would receive a glutton's feast.

I think I am a pretty intelligent and well read guy. I am a fan of a variety of different types of SF, but this book simply didn't work for me. I've seen people who are obvious fans of this book lambaste the one-star reviewer in the comments section saying they must be semi-literate, inbred NASCAR fans if they didn't like this book. To you people I say, "Grow up." I'll stack my IQ up against yours any day.

Like many other one star reviews, I point to the heavy usage of unexplained jargon. More importantly, however, is that the book is so disjointed that it is difficult to determine precisely what is taking place at any given time. Is there a plot? I couldn't figure this out and after forcing myself to read half the book I decided that life was too short and set it aside.

Peter Hamilton is an SF writer who does a good job of creating futuristic technologies and presenting them in a way that the reader gets it and becomes immersed in the world he creates. I simply could not get into Gibson's world. I'm not sure I would want to.

I understand this book launched the Cyberpunk movement. Excuse me my ignorance, but I guess I don't really understand what Cyberpunk is. If this is it, then I'll happily steer clear. Give me a good John Varley book any day.

If you want to read an excellent SF story that shows a fantastical future with bizarre implications of powerful AI, then check out Varley's Steel Beach. I cannot recommend it enough.

I found this book to be horrendous, if not outright painful. Perhaps the cyberpunk genre isn't my bag, but considering that my trade currently is (and has been for almost a decade now) computer programming, it should warrant a greater appreciation for the technical aspects of the novel. Unfortunately, the ideas within Neuromancer were so far fetched that it just came off as cartoonish.

In my opinion, Gibson awkwardly complicates ideas/vocabulary, in an attempt to show off erudition in technology and history, but comes off as pseudointellectual and immature. The style offers little payoff (if any) when the definition of terms manifest in later chapters and distracts from an already weak premise. The detective elements offered a hint of something to come, but the incongruous jargon and unlikeable characters left much to be desired.

I have to admit it that Neuromancer is the first fictional book (out of hundreds) I wasn't able to see to the end. I read 174 pages out of 270, and threw in the towel. Granted, Gibson occasional offered descriptive imagery which many tout poetic. Despite this, it took everything I had just to finish chapter after trite chapter, finding that with each completed page I was farther and farther away from an enjoyable plot.

One favorable evening, Tess in her white garb attends May-Day dance in sleepy town of Marllott. A passerby not used to sophistication will incline to notice her. It is not the extravagance, nay the ostentatiousness of the girl's beauty, but the softness in spirit and demeanor conspicuous on her big, beautiful eyes that sets her apart. The same passerby endowed with experience will not pinpoint Tess among the young, comely girls as someone prone to vicissitude of tragedies. Unfortunately, this is not the case.

Tess Durbeyfield later known in the novel as Tess d'Urberville is the hapless victim if not the heroine of this tragic tale. Born from poor parents, she is whisk away to work for the rich d'Urberville family. There she meets Alec, the handsome scion of d'Urbervilles clan. His incessant seduction of the young maiden results in violation of her rights. Forlorn, she returns home to the embarrassment of her parents and her neighbors. Stripped of clear prospect in life, she travels miles and miles away to be a milkmaid. While in the vast dairy field of Thalbothay, Tess falls madly in love with Angel Clare, the fledgling agriculturist of noble descent, convinced to make the newcomer his wife. Thus the journey that leads Tess from one farm to another is side by side with her lamentations over the two Englishmen and becomes her heart's landscape that stretches beyond endurance.

Hardy, an architect by tuition, molds his male characters in an anvil of insensitivity. Their frozen hearts incapable of thawing by burning tears of a woman's pleading. As to his female character like Tess, Hardy constructs her similar to obelisk with solid foundation of faith that gradually narrows at the peak.

Unsurprisingly, Victorian society scorned Hardy when this novel came out in 1891. The way he chose to describe Tess and her violation were less subtle in comparison to Eliot's writings. At present society however, Thomas Hardy is as impeccable as the clock ticking on the wall. He is in command of his story as if time is in command of denizens elsewhere. Under no circumstance he pauses to please his readers. He continues and takes them where nothing exists but the certainty of time.

Tess Durbeyfield never really has a chance. Her father is a poor alcoholic and her mother is a slightly feeble-minded optimist. Tess has six younger siblings, and they are just barely scratching out a living in Victorian England. When her father hears that he is actually descended from a noble family, the D'Urbervilles, his heart swells with pride. When he and his wife find out that there is a rich family sharing their ancestral name living nearby, a plan is formed.

Tess, who is seventeen, will be sent to this other branch of their family, to claim kin. They will take her in, clean her up, and marry her off to a high-class gentleman who will be able to provide for Tess and the rest of the family. Off Tess goes to meet the other branch of her family. Little does she know that these D'Urbervilles are actually a recently rich blind old mother and her son by the name of Stokes, who have plucked D'Urberville out of an old book to adopt as their own, as it sounds classier than their real name.

Tess' connection to their family is never made clear to the old blind woman. Instead, her son Alec takes Tess in, gives her a job, and takes care of her day-to-day routine in his mother's name. He also makes romantic proposals to her, but she always turns him down. One late evening chance finds them alone together in the countryside, and Alec rapes her.

Tess goes back home, without the rich husband her parents expected, without any advancement in the world, and without her maidenhood or her dignity. Slowly she begins to piece her life back together. Three years later finds her at work as a milkmaid on a dairy farm. She catches the eye, then the heart, of a man there learning the trade. Angel Clare is the son of a minister, who quickly becomes determined to win over Tess. But will her past continue to haunt her?

I simply couldn't help myself from viewing this story through the lens of my own life and time, which made me so angry and frustrated with Tess. She allowed herself to be manipulated by everyone, from her parents who wanted her to marry rich in order to help their situation, to Alec and Angel, who each used her as they wished and discarded her when convenient. Never did Tess question her own fault in her situation; she simply accepted that everyone had the right to treat her like they did because of her rape as a teenager. It was horrifying for me to read her begging Angel for some tiny morsel of affection or forgiveness. Although I finished the book, Tess had lost my loyalty far from the end. She simply wasn't worth rooting for.

I went into "Tess of the D'urbervilles" with full knowledge of the harsh fate waiting for Tess, but that knowledge still could not prepare me for how harrowing and painful that journey was for her, and the reader. The character of Tess is so moral, innocent, kind, and unselfish against the society that is anything but, that Hardy's message of fate and social hypocrisy reveals itself full force in the novel. Tess has a love for life and an optimism that takes the harshest and cruelest society to beat down, and that is heartbreaking to behold.

I thought this was going to be a stuffy English novel, despite the fact I quite enjoy (most) Victorian novels I read. However, I discovered that Hardy's prose flows well and is even beautifully poetic. Some of the best lines come from Tess's mouth, showing that she is not only morally upright, but also smart and incredibly perceptive.

Hardy has a great way with words; romantic scenes are intensely passionate, emotional letters drip with feeling, and narrations delve into the feelings and thoughts of the characters so that the reader can understand, pity, empathize and sympathize with them. Most surprising perhaps is Hardy's understanding of the female mind; I think he has developed Tess into a believable and realistic heroine, and he has many interesting things to say about the differences of the genders, especially during that time period.

"Tess of the D'urbervilles" is a gorgeous yet heart-breaking novel. Not only does it entertain with its poetic prose and social themes, the novel also opens one's mind to the hypocrisy of the times; hypocrisies that even now may still appear in the thoughts and actions of people in this "modern" society.

But if you get the Wordsworth Classics edition, don't read the introduction until you finish! I'm going to make this standard practice for all classics from now on. I was hoping for some background on Hardy but before I even realized what had happened I'd read a summary of the entire story in one paragraph, plot twists and all. And it really did ruin the climactic last couple chapters for me. I hate it when editors / publishers assume that if a novel is famous and critically acclaimed then the reader must already be familiar with the story. Completely false: In this day and age reading for pleasure isn't as widespread as it used to be and the old classics are fading into the distance. The story in "Tess of the D'Urbervilles" is certainly not common knowledge anymore, so when you discover a gem like this I beg you not to ruin it for yourself by reading the canned introduction.

Still a fabulous read, certainly. The story centers on the simple, sincere, hard-working farmgirl Tess Durbeyfield who is fated to stumble into a few serious and unfortunate challenges over the couple years that the novel spans. Hardy spins a truly magnificently written and plotted tale in narrating poor Tess's adventures & mishaps.

I read another Hardy classic, Far From the Madding Crowd, several years ago and enjoyed it immensely. For the life of me I can't remember any of the story in that novel except that the central character was rather strange, but a few pages of "Tess of the D'Urbervilles" instantly resurrected my memories of Hardy's unmatched power of narration. He truly brings every scene and character to full animation and vitality, does the poignant scenes full justice, and even handles humorous situations with aplomb.

Easily five stars, one of the best classics I've ever read. Just don't read the introduction!

I had read Thomas Hardy's Far From the Madding Crowd many many years ago for school and it left me cold. I was young. Hardy was wordy. And flashing swords wielded by a soldier in a scarlet tunic hardly left me breathless as it was supposed to have done when the book was published.

So these many years later I decided to give Hardy another chance with Tess and I was not disappointed.

Dull and boring prose has become joyous and unexpected. Staid characters colourful. And plodding plot amazingly poignant. But it has nothing I am sure with Tess as opposed to Madding but rather the distance my life has travelled since reading Madding.

Tess is wonderful book with a contemporary message about actions, decisions, and reputation. He paints Tess in a sympathetic light but leaves room for us to doubt that this is entirely the world acting upon her. It may even be read as a cautionary tale of chosing duty over our own happiness, or even others importunity over our own intuition.

It was contemplative for these many years later I could feel Tess's anger and frustration and finally acceptance of a life she did not want while ever so briefly tasting the life she knew she deserved.

I have to say the ending surprised and disappointed me. Rather like a Kafka novel it seems that Hardy just wanted to wind things up rather than finish them. In fact it rather seems to me that he may have tried different endings and for some particular reason preferred this one over the rest. Or maybe because I believe that like Tess she deserved a break I was disappointed when it was short and fleeting. If I read his afterword correctly it seems that I was not alone in my sentiments about his ending as he defends his sympathies and his predilections in it.

It is obvious that my first experience with Hardy came at an age when not enough water had flowed under my bridge. Thankfully I gave him another try.

Tess is simply brilliant.

Jude Fawley, is an orphan trapped in poverty and a narrow working class paradigm, but in spite of these limitations, he dreams of a scholarly life in the university town of Christminster.
Jude is smitten by Arabella, who tricks him into marrying her. After a short time Arabella leaves Jude to go to Australia. Shortly after Arabella leaves him, Jude moves to Christminster to pursue his dreams.
While in Christminster he meets his cousin Sue. Jude had fallen in love with Sue when he first saw her picture. Now he is in Christminster where he can pursue his dreams of becoming a scholar and meeting Sue. The conversations between Sue and Jude, despite their differences, bring them closer together and they quickly become friends. Sue deflates Jude's dream when she marries the schoolmaster (the same man at the beginning of the book, who had promised Jude some books but never fulfilled his promise).
Even after Arabella comes back into the picture, Sue and Jude get divorced from their respective spouses and live together without marriage. In the years that follow, because the couple is not married, they face a lot of difficulties and become social outcasts. In spite of their difficulties, they still love each other and the family they are raising together. An extremely tragic event shatters the family. The consuming guilt, brought on by the tragic event, leads Sue and Jude back to their former hated lives.

It was a desperate try on Sue's part to say no to customs she didn't believe in, and a desperate try on Jude's part to live the peaceful life he wanted with the woman he loved, but just as life didn't grant him his dream of an education, Society denied him acceptance of the relationship he wanted with Sue. The shocking end was Hardy's way to convey his thoughts on love, sex and the institution of marriage, at a time when talking about love, sex, and criticizing the marriage constitution was taboo.

Hardy was criticized for creating complex, overtly sexual characters like Sue and Jude who would act against established norms of marital and sexual behaviors. Sue, recognized her intellect but still used marriage as a way of having the career she wanted, She could not force herself to be attracted to her older husband, who was understanding and gave her a divorce, after which she was free to pursue Jude. Jude loved Sue deeply, but knowing that she was married, he still slept with Arabella, when she came back, because she was still his legal wife.

Reading the entire 500 plus pages of Jude the Obscure was totally draining. The emotional torment that Jude experienced throughout his life left me depleted. Each and every person in Jude's life played a little role in aborting his dreams of happiness: the schoolmaster who didn't pay attention to a promising ambitious little boy, Arabella who was a totally self absorbed narcissistic woman, whose character along with Jude's character is clearly revealed during the pig killing ritual, Sue who truly loved Jude, but her love was a selfish love that was centered around her own demons of guilt and doubts. Even Jude's older son, was another extension to Jude's obscurity.

In the end Jude became completely obscure to the people for whom he cared. I don't think Hardy himself totally understands the canvas he has painted and perhaps that is the reason Hardy turned to poem after Jude and wrote no other novels. It wasn't the controversy that took place in Great Britain and the United States over the scandalous nature of the book, which led him away from novels to poetry. But rather Hardy left part of his heart in Jude and was unable to retrieve it.

Jude's life is short and miserable. His aspiration of becoming a scholar is thwarted when he is trapped into marriage by Arabella. But even without Arabella's manipulations, he is trapped in time, born many years too soon for the reality, instead of only the dream, that someone of a working class background can attend an institution of higher learning.

He remains a stonemason and eventually unites with Sue Bridehead, not in a legal marriage, but one of heart and mind. Jude is ahead of his time, again, for this type of union to be socially accepted. Their rejection of a marriage contract turn them in social outcasts and their hardships culminate into a horrific event that affects Sue profoundly and causes the separation between her and Jude.

For me, Sue is the character who leaves the most lasting impression in Jude the Obscure, even though it's not in a wholly positive sense. She is indecisive and at times so annoying that I clenched my teeth as I was reading. But the scene where she jumps out the window when Phillotson accidentally enters her bedroom is priceless and forever ingrained in my mind. She cannot force herself to accept him as a husband. Others, less free-spirited and emotional than Sue, might have been resigned or indifferent to being the wife of a dull, older man. Not Sue. Her spirit rebels because she wants to be with Jude, until she is shocked and overwhelmed by grief. Then she transforms into someone who can overrule her own will and submit herself to Phillotson. In the end she is crushed and as dead as Jude in his coffin.

Jude the Obscure is bleak, but also surprisingly fast-paced with good dialogue and memorable characters. If the book had been more favorably received by critics upon its publication Thomas Hardy would almost certainly have continued writing novels. But he was discouraged by the cries of outrage and turned his attention to writing poetry. We'll never know what great books he might have written but the masterpiece Jude the Obscure is an exclamation point as a last novel.

Thomas Hardy has accomplished a miracle with this novel. He has written a novel equal in the strength of the ideas, the beauty of the writing, and the compelling nature of the story. If he had only done one of the three well, the book would be worth reading, but having done all three so beautifully has resulted in a masterpiece.

I first read Jude about 10 years ago and recently re-read it. I was even more delighted after reading it again, and plan to read it a third time.

Some of my literary compatriots have been put-off by what they characterize as stiff language in Hardy in general and Jude in particular, but I would encourage anyone to persevere...after a few chapters, it wears-off and then you will thoroughly enjoy the reading!

Thomas Hardy... I wonder what his life must have been like in order for him to write such a tragic book. For those considering it, this book is a romantic tragedy of the highest degree. If your looking for a happily ever after, look elsewhere. But if your looking to run the gamut of human experience in books, this is one you will want to take up, I've never read a book that has taken such a sentimental turn for the worse than this. I hope this helps.

I love this book because it finally drove Thomas Hardy out of the novel writing business.

I don't know if Hardy was a sadist or a masochist or just chronically depressed and loved to spread the mood around, but either way he had no sense of humor.

However, after exposing myself to TESS OF THE D'URBERVILLES and introducing myself to THE MAYOR OF CASTERBRIDGE and finding them both miserable company, I thought I'd give Thomas Hardy one more try with the story of a stonemason who has pretentions to learning.

JUDE THE OBSCURE, set in class-structured nineteenth century England, seems to be the model for modern American liberals. They don't seem to think people are capable of rising above "their station" or leaving "their class" the way Jude is thwarted in seeking advancement through learning.

There is one element in the book that rings true. After more than a quarter-century of association with a major American university -- as a student, and a graduate student, and an employee -- I can confirm that the attitudes of the professors of "Christminster" (a thinly-disguised Oxford) have remained constant. Their "class-consciousness" consists of political and intellectual high mindedness but they still think they're better than ordinary people.

The story: Jude wants to become an educated reverend gentleman but since he's self-educated he can't get his foot in the door of the University. He seems religious but it's only skin deep; the first woman who tries to seduce him succeeds without much effort. After faking a pregnancy she forces him to marry her. But Jude, adopting the attitude of his profs, always thinks he's better than she is (and he may be right) and the marriage isn't particularly successful. After they have a disagreement over the proper way to slaughter a pig Jude leaves her and his home town he makes his way to Christminster, where he works as a stonemason, drinks to excess, and meets up with his cousin Sue. Sue is a total nutcase. Her behavior is inexplicable. Though she keeps trying to present herself as liberated and modern, she really has severe sexual hangups. Like his first wife, Arabella, Sue toys with Jude. She keeps him dangling on the end of a chain, and jerking him to her when she needs to talk to someone. She has practically promised herself to another man, but she has some sort of breakdown when Jude finally tells her he married someone else a while back . . . so she rushes into a marriage that she doesn't like, then chucks it (apparently because it has to be consummated) and shacks up with Jude and their burgeoning family, and things really go downhill from there. I won't give away the ending. It's not worth it. But when you read it if you take it seriously you'll just want to go hang yourself up on a meathook.

All I can say is that Hardy strikes me as a shallow man with little understanding of the history and theology he disdains. His understanding of the Middle Ages -- or at least the understanding he puts in the mouths of his characters -- shows an amazing lack of erudition, even for his time. All he seems to have is "common knowledge" (which in this circumstance ranks with "old wives' tales")

SPOILER ALERT

Earlier, I said Hardy didn't have a sense of humor. I was wrong in a way, because, after being appalled by the horrors of TESS and almost sickened by THE MAYOR, I found myself giggling in JUDE every time things took a turn for the worse (here's a hint: in Hardy things never take a turn for the better). By the time I reached the suicidal child and his garrotted siblings, I was positively howling with laughter. Hardy, that stolid Victorian writer, needs finally to go the way of Grand Guignol and Victorian melodrama of the "you must pay the rent" variety. When something so achingly sad makes you laugh until the tears stand in your eyes you know it's a thing that's had its day.

Maybe that's why the thing (I'll forever think of this book as "the thing") garnered bad reviews -- it was simply too absurdly sad even then. Anyway, when people didn't fawn all over his new book Hardy got all hurty and took his ball and went home and devoted himself to plays and poetry. He never wrote another novel and for that we may be truly thankful.

I do some writing myself and thought of doing a satire of Hardy books, a la COLD COMFORT FARM, but I won't. A satire is no good unless someone knows its object, and no one gives a ding-dong for Hardy any more, and why should they? Oh, except for Hardy fans; and considering they actually eat this rubbish with a spoon, they must be dour, prim, humorless persons who wouldn't get a joke if it bit them on the shin.

All I can add is: Hey, Jude, take a sad song and make it better.

This is very undeveloped Hardy--pleasant, well conceived, but predictable and not much more than an extended character sketch. If you're in the mood for something light and atmospheric, this is a good fit. If you want complexity, drama, the transcendental--all of Life's biggies--choose Tess, Return of the Native, or Far From the Madding Crowd.

"Under the Greenwood Tree" does not rank among Hardy's greatest novels, but it includes many moving moments and memorable characters. This first of the great series of Wessex novels introduces the reader to Hardy's beloved and changing countryside. The landscape and it's occupants are lovingly invoked, and the natural humour of the locals shines through.

In fact, the supporting characters are far more interesting than the hero and heroine. "Under the Greenwood Tree" is really a tale of young love, and although Hardy touchingly illustrates the yearning and naivete of his lovers, both characters remain at arm's length. This is particularly true of Fancy, the heroine, whose emotions do not become apparent until close to the tale's end.

Hardy would explore many of "Greenwood Tree's" themes more effectivly in later books, but this novel is more than just a warm-up act. The decline of English country life- one of Hardy's greatest themes- has never been as tellingly illustrated as in the sub-plot of the Mellstock Quire, and the contented, ironic ending rings as true as any of the fatalistic horrors to come.

The painter Poussin's famous title might stand as a rubric for this lovely book. Hardy views his cast of rustics through the prism of music: the old church stringed instruments choir is to be replaced with the spanking new organ. There is the added romantic interest of young musician Dave and the controversially female organist, Fancy Day.

This is a story of established customs breaking down through the interloper: a new vicar in town. Structurally divided into Winter, Spring, Summer, Autumn, it follows the natural rhythms of the earth and of society. Hardy revels in his descriptive powers.

Filled with nostalgia and that increasingly fashionable concept, "Englishness", and seasoned with wisdom and wit, this is truly fabulous. It's a mini-masterpice in a similar bag to, say, Mrs. Gaskell's "Cranford".

In Under the Greenwood Tree, Thomas Hardy combines many of the elements that would define his career as a novelist--colorful common folk and their equally colorful language, an ironic narrator, an unflinching perspective on changing times, and the marvelous "Wessex" countryside. All that is missing is a plot, the lack of which contributes to the uncharacteristic happy ending.

Under the Greenwood Tree addresses two related matters: the fate of the Mellstock choir and of the charming new schoolmistress. Although the members of the choir acknowledge that their way is becoming an anachronism, they see that it is not only the inevitability of change that is pushing them aside. Both Farmer Shiner and the vicar show a strong interest in schoolmistress Fancy Day, who happens to have musical ability. By eliminating the choir and installing Miss Day at Farmer Shiner's behest, the vicar believes he will achieve two objectives: modernizing a parish that has no desire to be modernized and impressing a woman who does wish to be wooed.

At the same time, the sight of Fancy at the window with her hair undone in the wee hours of Christmas morning is enough to win the heart of young choir member Dick Dewy, who devotes his energy to attracting Fanny's notice and attention. While he is more educated than his father and the other members of the choir, he seems to represent honest labor, sincerity, and singlemindedness, while his rivals the vicar and the farmer, represent culture and money, respectively. Fancy is educated and cultured, while her father is revealed to have some money. The question is not about her choice but about whether it is the right one--a question that cannot be answered by the end of the novel.

Fancy's response to the vicar shows some ambivalence about her commitment. At times, the parish's long-standing couples reveal their own sense of fate about their spouses and marriages. Mrs. Penny tells the tranter's Christmas gathering, " . . . and lo and behold the coming man came: Penny asked me if I'd go snacks with him and afore I knew what I was about a'most, the thing was done." Later she tells Fancy to reassure herself with the thought, "'tis to be, and here goes!" She adds that "'Twill carry a body through it all from wedding to churching if you only let it out with spirit enough." When Dick's father says to his wife, "You be a well-enough woman, Ann," then, "Mrs. Dewy put her mouth in the form of a smile and put it back again without smiling." An impressive subtext underlies these couples' anecdotes, exchanges, and expressions, with the narrator's--and reader's--knowledge that they were once in the same position as Dick and Fancy.

In his introduction, Simon Gatrell writes that "the heart of the novel is the right way to do things." Eliminating the tradition of the choir to impress a woman may not be the right way, but the members concede the vicar's right to do so. Their attempt, not altogether unsuccessful, to negotiate the timing of the change both affirms his right and preserves their dignity. It also allows the vicar to "win" without forcing the choir to "lose." As Reuben Dewy says, "Everybody must be managed"--including both vicar and choir, and both Dick and Fancy.

Under the Greenwood Tree is organized by seasons ("Part the First--Winter," "Part the Second--Spring," and so on), which reflects the cycle of life that Hardy portrays. Dick is not the first man to fall in love with a pretty face. ("A very good pink face, as far as that do go. Still, only a face, when all is said and done," according to the choir's erudite Mr. Spinks.) Fanny is not the first woman to be tempted by appeals to her vanity and her social and cultural refinement. The elder Dewys, the Pennys, and the other mature couples seem to regard Dick and Fancy with a wryness born of their own distant courting experience and their ensuing lives together. Even Fancy, who wants to be stylish and modern, gives in and honors the old cycle when, after some resistance, she agrees to follow the traditions, saying, "Respectable people don't nowadays. . . . Still, since poor mother did, I will." No one knows what their future will be, but Mrs. Penny observes, "Well, `tis humps and hollers with the best of us, but still and for all that Dick and Fancy stand as fair a chance of having a bit of sunsheen as any married people in the land." Had Hardy written Under the Greenwood Tree in the same spirit as Tess of the D'Urbervilles or Jude the Obscure, perhaps Mrs. Penny's prediction would have proven tragically wrong.

Under the Greenwood Tree was written by a Thomas Hardy who had not reached maturity as a writer, but he reveals the insights and the verbal beauty that would mark his place among the great Victorian writers. Phrases such as, ". . . if Fancy's lips had been real cherries, probably Dick's would have appeared deeply stained," ". . . your mother's charms was more in the manner than the material," and "I've walked the path once in my life and know the country, neighbors; and Dick's a lost man!" remind the reader that Hardy's true love as a writer would be poetry, not prose. Like his other novels, Under the Greenwood Tree reveals the poetry, comic, ironic, or tragic, in everyday life.

Ok, I'll admit it. I'm not a Hardy fan. Ever since I read his Tess of the D'Urbervilles (a book filled with endless bad fortune for the title character) I said I'd nvever read another. However, my book club did choose this book and I have dutifully read it.

First, the good. There is no doubt but that Hardy is a superb writer. He captures perfectly what life was like in the 1840s (when the actions in this book were supposed to take place) as well as depicting the characters so well that you feel almost as if you'd recognize them on the street. If that is all you're looking for, then read this book. However, if like me you also want to ENJOY the process of reading, I'd recommend against this book.

For the plot, Hardy uses his writing skills to paint a tale of courtship between a young man and woman. He captures well the angst and naivete involved. For a subplot, he writes about the church choir's angst at being replaced by one person who plays the organ.

The above being said, there is such an undercurrent of cynicism in this book. The two characters as he paints them are very shallow in their courtship and it is apparent that soon after their marriage reality will set in. No one in this book is happily married and it almost seems as if that cannot be. No, the picture Hardy paints is that there is a rush of infatuation resulting in marriage. After marriage, the infatuation quickly fades and one just has to make the best of it. Depressing. I much prefer Dickens books that portray good and bad marriages as is closer to the truth in real life.

One last opinion here. Reading about Hardy's life I can't help thinking that he unfortunately could not keep a good relationship with either of his wives (he married again after being widowed) and thus thinks it is the same for all.

This publication of the contents of two autograph albums from
a university in Tennessee on the eve of the Civil War is a great
resource for researchers and reenactors interested in men's civilian dress of the era. The vast bulk of photographic portraits are remarkable for their insights into the civilian dress of young men on the eve of war; they certainly give the lie to any ideas that men's fashions were drab and colorless at that time. The biographical sketches of students and faculty are
interesting too. Buy and study this book!

Chosen Poems, compliled by Hardy himself later in life is an essential look at Hardy the poet. While Hardy the novelist spun tales of romance and intrigue, his poetry suggests a more reflective tone. The sentimental nature of most of his poems thrusts the reader into a mind coursing madly about lost loves, and the ancestrial rememberances of better times. The metaphors are thick and the syntax archaic to a modern ear, however the sing song nature of much of the rhyme and meter ushers those of us in generation X back to the day of green eggs and ham. Near the end of the 1978 edition edited by Francis Shapiro Puk Hardy's Epic Poem recounting the life of Napolean is added making that edition a more complete and fulfilling read. I recommend Thomas Hardy's Chosen Poems as a vehicle to transport the bored reader to a time of ideal notions and lofty reflections. Your time will be well spent and your vocabulary improved!