Who Would Like This Book:
If you love your classics dark, dramatic, and full of wild emotions, Wuthering Heights is right up your moody alley! Emily Brontë delivers an intense, atmospheric Gothic tale set on the windswept Yorkshire moors, swirling with obsession, revenge, and the tangled bonds between two families. The unreliable narrators and story-within-a-story structure make the reading experience unique - you might find yourself questioning what's true. This book will especially appeal to fans of complex, flawed characters and those who enjoy dissecting the darker side of human nature. If you loved Jane Eyre or the twisted passion in gothic novels, add this to your TBR pile!
Who May Not Like This Book:
Wuthering Heights isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. The characters often make terrible choices and are rarely sympathetic - don’t expect lovable heroes here! Some readers find the entire cast infuriating, self-absorbed, and downright unlikable. The narrative shifts (stories within stories) can get confusing. Plus, heavy dialects and old-fashioned language, especially the Yorkshire accent, might make parts tough to follow. If you prefer uplifting stories or can't stand malicious characters and drama, this classic might feel more like a slog than a swoon.
About:
"Wuthering Heights" by Emily Bronte is a dark and complex tale of a convoluted and tragic love story between Heathcliff and Catherine. Set against the haunting moors of England, the novel blurs the line between passion and obsession, delving into themes of vengeance, societal expectations, and human nature. The book portrays a cast of flawed and complex characters, with relationships marred by cruelty, revenge, and unfulfilled desires. The writing style is described as gothic, mysterious, and enthralling, with a moody atmosphere that matches the bleak setting of the moors.
The narrative unfolds through multiple generations, showcasing the consequences of love and revenge that reverberate through time. Despite the challenging writing style and complex characters, the story captivates readers with its haunting and chilling portrayal of characters not likely to be called sane in the modern world. The book challenges traditional values and beliefs, questioning the dark side of English and Western culture, making readers reflect on psychological and gothic elements in the narrative.
Genres:
Tropes/Plot Devices:
Topics:
Notes:
Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
The book contains themes of abuse, violence, revenge, murder, and other dark elements that may be triggering to some readers.
From The Publisher:
There are few more convincing, less sentimental accounts of passionate love than the story of the tormented Heathcliff, who falls wildly in love with Catherine Earnshaw, the daughter of his benefactor, and of the violence and misery that result from their thwarted longing for each other.
Ratings (848)
Incredible (129) | |
Loved It (246) | |
Liked It (209) | |
It Was OK (133) | |
Did Not Like (99) | |
Hated It (32) |
Reader Stats (1631):
Read It (898) | |
Currently Reading (17) | |
Want To Read (431) | |
Did Not Finish (36) | |
Not Interested (249) |
23 comment(s)
Dear God Do I Love This Book. its one of those that deserves a perusal of the critcism (ie, stevie davies’ baby work). but this bad boy’s got everything: paternalism, cylicality, mind-body dualism, the afterlife, forgiveness, the feminine unknown. the structure is so tight i want to autoerotically asphyxiate to death on it. like, i swear to god, the meaning of life is somewhere in this book if i just roll enough blunts with the pages.
also any filmmaker who’s only ever adapted the first half of the novel has no taste, you completely missed the point, thank you, try again. this is NOT a romance novel, you are a shallow reader, stick to superhero movies, eat my whole buttshole. all that talk about the hollywood formula and you dont even recognize the perfect midpoint when its handed to you on a centuries old silver fucking platter (cathy 1 dying while cathy 2 is being born, like???). jesus christ. people who go on about how cathy/heathcliff is so fucked up or whatever and thats all they took from WH are missing the point.
also the real romance is cathy 2/hareton, so you fucked that one up as well. i will die mad. [smokes another WH blunt to take the edge off]
“My own features mock me with a resemblance. The entire world is a dreadful collection of memoranda that she did exist, and that I have lost her”
Should be "Whilrlwind" heights!
A shocking story about unrequited love and generational trauma that claws at our most essential bleeding hearts.
If Wuthering Heights had one well-timed axe scene, half the characters wouldn’t have had time to spend 300 pages being miserable to each other. Instead of brooding and monologuing about revenge for years, Heathcliff just shows up at Thrushcross Grange with an axe and solves his Catherine problem immediately. Or, instead of passive-aggressively insulting each other, Catherine just chops the tea table in half and tells Isabella to rethink her life choices. Or maybe Nelly Dean, the only sane person in the book, finally snaps and just starts swinging to shut everyone up
To dark depressing
I first listened to this in early 2019 and have had it high on my top favorite classics of all time. Been meaning to reread this and I was so pleased to see I still love it. Gloomy, bitter and full of terrible characters and it's far from a happy book or swoony romance. After this reread it's on place 3 of my favorite classics, the first being the phantom of the opera and Dracula. Might need to reread them soon too
read the penguin version so i could understand it better, but the plot, characters and the point of the story were beautiful.
Was given this book by my fifth grade teacher, did not realize until very recently that everyone in it is an abusive maniac.
There are so many terrible people in this book, but I can't help but be fascinated by them, hoping to see the younger generations overcome the trauma of the older ones. And the vibes of this setting are immaculate. I read this as a teenager and it was even better a decade later.
What can you read after
Wuthering Heights?
About the Author:
Emily Jane Brontë was the most solitary member of a unique, tightly-knit, English provincial family. Born in 1818, she shared the parsonage of the town of Haworth, Yorkshire, with her older sister, Charlotte; her brother, Branwell; her younger sister, Anne; and…
When you click the Amazon link and make a purchase, we may receive a small commision, at no cost to you.
