Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

95 reviews

books_because_why_not's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

 To start off, I found the characters in this book to be insufferable. They were interesting, but awful people. I only liked two characters in the entire book, but they were not even the main character. It is fine to have characters who have flaws, but many of the characters were just terrible and had hardly any redeeming quality. At least, I want one main character to be likable, that’s all I ask. 

Also, this book put me in a really bad reading slump. I started this book in Early 2022 and finally got around to finishing it midway through 2023.The writing is very flowery and hard to understand in the present day. I had to look up summaries for chapters because I could not follow along. Brontë uses eye dialect (basically writing words misspelled to show how they were literally spoken) to convey Joseph’s yorkshire accent. This, however, made reading any of Joseph's dialogue absolutely unreadable. 

The story was fine I guess. It did not really capture me as a reader because it was kind of slow going. Many people describe this book as a romance, but I felt like this is not true to what I read. A lot of times character’s were physically assaulting each other. In my opinion, this story is more about Heathcliff’s revenge rather than a love story.

I really did not like this book and if you have similar tastes as me, I would avoid this book. I’m not saying “Wuthering Heights” is awful, it is considered a classic after all. It is just not my cup of tea and is the worst book I have read this year.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Grief

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, and Abandonment

canyi's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Read as part of a buddy read among friends so it’s more recreational/ to mock it as a romance. But my final opinion is that its not a romance to mock because

it’s not a romance but more of a horror, the true romance is not the “main” couple, they’re the source of the horror. The true romance in this book is the end couple, I guess you could look at it as a romance that blossomed from the pure evil doings of Heathcliff but it really doesn’t feel like it’s the main point.

Personally I prefer to read books where I like or enjoy the main characters so honestly it wouldn’t be my go to pick. However once I got past that I found it was actually a really easy/ captivating read once I acknowledged (not a major plot spoiler)

that it was not a romance but more of a horror.

. 

Despite the slow moving plot I felt compelled to finish it, at least just because I wanted to see if

Heathcliff is ever stopped

. Although I was inclined to give this a one star because I absolutely despised most of the characters, I don’t think I was supposed to like them. Honestly it’s easier to hate a character you’re supposed to hate than not liking a character you’re supposed to like.

3.5 stars because it wasn’t a bad story

just terrible people, although I will admit the rating would be lower if it didn’t have a somewhat happy ending.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Classism

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Torture

Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual violence

elisabethshanahan's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, and Toxic friendship

tammykuffo's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

Everyone is miserable 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Classism

jubsrabellogs's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

I don’t think I’ve ever been so angry, terrified and miserable over a book before. I’m still struggling to understand the point of it all. At first, it was like a soap opera, a huge melodrama. Then, it felt like a study on the human capacity for evil and for its endurance. And, finally, at the end, it felt like the triumph of good over evil. Even with that ending, nothing on this world would persuade me to approach the titular estate! Time and time again I wondered if the soil itself was not cursed and responsible for Hindley and Heathcliff’s degradation, for Catherine, Edgar, Isabella and Linton’s declining health, etc. It felt even worse than The Overlook Hotel at times.
I cannot say it was a pleasant read, but it was a captivating one, and I couldn’t put it down until I finished it. And it kept me engaged in the question of nature versus nurture. Although, by the end, it looked like Emily Brontë was firmly on the former’s side. And how curious it would be that the unknown “gipsy” child is the one with a despicable nature… (yikes, Emily!)
If I was made to choose between this and Jane Eyre, I would choose the latter without second thought. But this book was still a haunting and worthy piece of gothic literature, and it certainly scared me more than Dracula and Frankenstein ever did (although I do love both). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Grief

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Blood, and Death of parent

livelaughomo's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Racism, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Child abuse, Mental illness, and Death of parent

Minor: Alcoholism

remuslibrary's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Child abuse and Racism

Minor: Animal cruelty

overbooked207's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

📖 Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë Book Review 📖

1st book of January 2023 and 1st of the year:

“‘May she wake in torment!' he cried, with frightful vehemence, stamping his foot, and groaning in a sudden paroxysm of ungovernable passion. ‘Why, she's a liar to the end! Where is she? Not there-not in heaven--not perished--where? Oh! You said you cared nothing for my sufferings! And I pray one prayer--I repeat it till my tongue stiffens-may you not rest as long as I am living; you said I killed you--haunt me, then! The murdered do haunt their murderers, I believe. I know that ghosts have wandered on earth. Be with me always- take any form- drive me mad! Only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you! Oh, God! It is unutterable! I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!” - Emily Brontë.

I read this years ago, but I think I listened to it too fast and didn’t remember much of it, so I decided to give it another try because I remember loving the quotes and the atmospheric setting, and I’m glad I did! The atmosphere and writing are rich, haunting, and poetic, and so many of the quotes, like the one above, quickly became new favorites of all time, said quotes being infinitely quotable and full of drama, passion, love(even if it’s toxic), and poetry! Almost every character is the absolute worst, but sometimes that’s exactly what I want to consume because it can be so entertaining, and I love watching/analyzing the characters’ complexities and thoughts/actions even as I’m shaking my head(tho reading about what Heathcliff does was hard). And winter is one of the perfect times to read this as you get cozy with a hot beverage and blankets. The audiobook read by Joanne Froggatt was also amazing! I enjoyed the first half of the book a lot more than the second, but the quotes made it up to me.

But please be aware of the TWs that are unfortunately prevalent in classic lit for unchecked racism, ableism, sexism, classism, incest, etc., and read/enjoy it critically and with that in mind. Other TWs include abuse(child, domestic, physical, and verbal), alcoholism, death, ghosts, grief, guns, and violence🥀🍂🪦💔

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Classism

sparodi's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Dementia, Grief, Gaslighting, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Kidnapping, Grief, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal cruelty, Incest, and Death of parent

rakkaussipsi's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Racism, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent

Moderate: Alcoholism and Incest