A few months ago, I discovered with delight that many of the classic literary works are available on Amazon for Kindle download at the lavish sum of $0.00. Yep, they are free. I promptly downloaded all of Thomas Hardy's works and proceeded to delve into a re-read of Tess of the d'Urbervilles. I remembered it from my college days as a rather erotic read with heart wrenching, tragic ending. No change there, but my older wiser psyche was touched in a different manner with this reading. In present day culture innocence in a young woman seems neither expected or valued. The fact that I only discussed reading this story with one friend speaks to the lack of openness of the era. It was the beginning of the sexual revolution.
Fast forward to the present and the most often mentioned publication is the tantalizingly graphic Fifty Shades of Grey. Imagine my surprise, when the title character gifts the protagonist valuable first editions of Hardy's tragic tale. The current story reads a little like a "valley girl" fantasy and the plot bears none of the richness of Thomas Hardy's storytelling. I have only read about halfway through the first book and am not yet committed to purchase the remaining two books of the trilogy. It is a provocative bit of entertainment. I do hope this heroine will fare better than my "Tess"!
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