I've been wanting to read this novel for awhile and I'm surprised by how quickly I got through it. If I just sat down and read for an hour or more at a time, I think I could have finished this novel in about 2 or 3 days. I wasn't particularly enamored with the story or the characters throughout, but once I read the end, my opinion changed. 
 (view spoiler)[I still think this novel is 3.5 stars, but I was going to give it a solid 2 stars before the ending. I used to study Naturalism in literature in college--Theodore Dreiser, Frank Norris, Stephen Crane. Naturalist novels and short stories are pretty dismal: their basic message is that you cannot escape your environment and upbringing, even if you're a better person. It's basically social Darwinism. Up until about 85% through Tess, the novel felt like a Naturalist novel but without all the action at the end (dying, women turning to the streets, etc. etc.). When Tess finally stood up for herself and killed that bastard Alec D'Urberville, I began to really root for her. The poor girl is beaten down throughout the novel and she can't even get in a decent attach on the biggest creeper in literature? Come on! And that Angel? Pfft. No backbone whatsoever. Stand up for your woman, dude! Especially when you yourself weren't so "angelic" in your past life.... 
 This may be a twisted way to see things, but I guess that's my love for dramatic literature peeking through :). I want a satisfying ending (please note that satisfying does not mean happy, necessarily). Many of my favorite Naturalist works (okay, all) do NOT end happily, but SOMETHING happens--I thought Tess was just going to cry and cry and cry throughout the whole novel with no redemption. Thank goodness I was wrong! (hide spoiler)]