I just finished it (by Thomas Hardy) and loved it!

... just wondering what anyone else thought

I read it and I enjoyed it a lot. I think I liked it because I can see some of myself and my own life in Jude. I like most of Thomas Hardy's books because he seems to understand disappointment and hardship. It's almost like he says, "I understand, because I've been there, too", without meaning to. What did you think of the book?

I read it and enjoyed it also. The part where he went off to school to learn Latin and was amazed and unhappy when he learned that it wasn't just about learning new words wrung a familiar chord. I've gone after things that ended up being much harder to do than I imagined.

The portion of the book that struck a familiar chord for me was when he met Arabella, and later found out that she was not what he thought she was. I've had this experience in lots of relationships.