I wasn't particularly thrilled with this bookclub choice as I remember Hardy being a pretty depressing writer. I hadn't actually read Jude but had seen the 1971 BBC in 1971. It is a sad tragic story but I was impressed by the rather advanced commentary on social issues given the time Hardy was writing in. He was very critical of class differences and lack of equal opportunities and also very critical of religion and institutions like universities. He is referred to as a civil libertarian by some and an anarchist by others. Probably closer to an anarchist in his time...now just a liberal.
I'm not sure the novel completely works and the character of Sue stretches credulity. We did have an excellent discussion and the food was excellent as usual. This is Liz's bookclub. I missed the Brock House bookclub this month as they were reading Tess of the D'Urbervilles. Reading and discussing two depressing novels within a couple of days was a bit much.
