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dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
They're all bad people... but written beautiful... It's just toxic 😂
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Gaslighting, Abandonment
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I see the hype, and I can appreciate that hype, but it's not my style. The characters are just bad people save for like three of them. Nature versus nurture.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Physical abuse, Violence, Gaslighting, Classism
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is not a romantic story. It is a whirlwind of emotional manipulation and abuse and how it trickles down through generations all because two people refused to admit their love for each other. An unhealthy, obsessive love.
This story had me gasping and clutching at my chest at the insane decisions these people made. I don't know if I could ever bring myself to want to read it again, but I'm glad I did read it. It is on my mind constantly, even after I have finished it.
Brontë's writing is beautiful and lyrical. Her use of literary devices such as alliteration and assonance were brilliant. The audiobook really heightened the experience for me, and would strongly recommend it to folks not used to reading old English.
This story had me gasping and clutching at my chest at the insane decisions these people made. I don't know if I could ever bring myself to want to read it again, but I'm glad I did read it. It is on my mind constantly, even after I have finished it.
Brontë's writing is beautiful and lyrical. Her use of literary devices such as alliteration and assonance were brilliant. The audiobook really heightened the experience for me, and would strongly recommend it to folks not used to reading old English.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship
Minor: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts
While there are a myriad of issues in this book, Brontë does a decent job of not being too graphic in her descriptions.
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I have now had to revisit this book three times over the course of 12 years, because for some ridiculous reason, members of my book club keep requesting that we discuss this one. I read it in hard copy the first time and was thoroughly disappointed. The second time I made very little progress and eventually just gave up and watched a movie version, which I also didn't enjoy. This, my third attempt and second time actually finishing the book, I read it mostly via audio book and probably only made it to the end because I kept increasing the speed of the audio. I will freely admit I hate-read the final chapters of this book just so I could enter it with a star rating instead of a DNF. Maybe this book is groundbreaking because of the way it frames the story, first introducing you to a cast of truly miserable characters and then going back in time to explain how things got so bad. Maybe Emily Bronte was the first author to do this, maybe not. Maybe the book was a stand out in its time for its unvarnished, unflinching portrayal of child abuse and spousal abuse and the cycle of generational trauma. I found myself quite literally hating nearly every character and I certainly didn't like a single one. The character development was depressing. Most characters went from bad to slightly worse. A few went from bad to impossibly bad. Only two have a possibility of positive growth presented in the final pages. I contemplated giving this book two stars, but I did find the book better in print than in audio and certainly some of the writing is quite beautiful. That said, I never, ever want to read this book again and I can't imagine ever recommending it to anyone, ever.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Kidnapping
Moderate: Alcoholism
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief
Moderate: Alcoholism, Terminal illness
Minor: Animal death, Confinement
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is one of those books for reading on eerie autumn days. It is an intriguing look into the nature of… well, one’s nature. Or rather, into the question of nature versus nurture. Though it lacks the same aesthetic of Frankenstein or The Hunchback of Notre Dame, there is something deeply gothic about these characters and their plights—most are as detestable as they are pitiable, and the rest are fodder for their anguish. And in the closing of the story with something as sweet as began it, Heathcliff and all his tortured schemes seem pointless, giving everything the appearance of a self-contained nightmare or illusion, unreal and yet lingering in the imagination.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Blood
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
WHERE do I even begin? Throws up so many debates and questions and engages in some, while offering others for the reader to answer. Is having a good character something innate, or shaped? Can it be nurtured after being so utterly trampled? I couldn't help but place Heathcliff and Hareton on some axis. Nelly's fondness of the latter and sympathy for the former speak of something, and her plight that Hareton is not as ruined and beyond hope of growth as Heathcliff would've liked him to be, and yet, while Nell doesn't outright voice it, could not the same have applied to Heathcliff? Could a world with more kindness to him have made him a better, happier man?
There's so much more to this, particularly in that every character crafted by Brontë is so full of emotion and motivation, so repulsive and yet so sympathetic. Completely in tune with the human experience.
There's so much more to this, particularly in that every character crafted by Brontë is so full of emotion and motivation, so repulsive and yet so sympathetic. Completely in tune with the human experience.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death of parent
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death
dark
sad
tense
slow-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:
Yes
Unfortunately many call "Wuthering Heights" a love story and many are attracted because of that and end up disappointed and hating the book.
The relationship between Heathcliff and Cathrine is an obsession, a passion, a math between two characters who are monstruos, but not LOVE!
Think about something like "they match each other's freak" but the freak here is there selfishness, monstrosity etc...
The relationship between Heathcliff and Cathrine is an obsession, a passion, a math between two characters who are monstruos, but not LOVE!
Think about something like "they match each other's freak" but the freak here is there selfishness, monstrosity etc...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Incest, Violence
Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Death of parent
Minor: Sexism, Religious bigotry
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Enjoyed the supernatural elements, the allusion to mental illness and the role of landscape.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Classism
Minor: Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting