Reviews tagging 'Ableism'

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

19 reviews

stellabyproxy's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.0

wuthering heights by emily brontë was my first introduction into the literary world that is the brontë sisters and i could have hoped for no better meeting. 

this novel is a dark illustration of the thin line between love and hate and how rage can become one’s undoing. we follow heathcliff and catherine in their life story as each inflicts unspeakable heartbreak on the other and miscommunication leads to a chess game of vengeance unleashed on their descendants. 

“… they may bury me twelve feet deep, and throw the church down over me, but i won’t rest till you are with me.”

the perfect illustration of this novel for me would be invisible string by taylor swift, the notion that heathcliff and catherine are tethered to one another by their childhood infatuation turned obsession and a “love” that is destined to be their undoing. with the world against them, and eventually them against each other, we see how misery creates company. how heathcliff’s revenge plot becomes a complex chess game that catalyses everyone’s downfall, even his own. 

i have not broken your heart — you have broken it; and in breaking it, you have broken mine.

is the entire premise of their story, as each character’s actions directly lead to their own unhappiness. vengeance runs thick and cold, like a raving river, fuelled by uncontained rage and unaddressed emotion; each victim by circumstance lives long enough to become a villain by choice. 

the only character that i was rooting for from the moment of their introduction to their very end was hareton, and his story i find joy in. the perfect way of changing course and allowing history to not repeat itself, to put an end to a generational tale of manipulation and i find it to be brontë’s slim offering of an apology for an entire tale of hate and agony. 

“it was a strange way of killing: not by inches, but by fractions and hairbreadths,”

p.s. thank you for the birthday gift marcíano 🤍 i pray our story does not suffer the same fate as heathcliff and catherine. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Incest

Moderate: Physical abuse, Bullying, Confinement, and Misogyny

Minor: Abandonment, Ableism, and Alcoholism

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

3.25

This book is completely wild. Maybe I needed to read it when I was younger to cut through all of the child maltreatment and threats against other people and see the supposed love story? I am. Confused. I had to SparkNotes this because I could not remember who was relaying the story. Whew - a trip, and not necessarily one that I would go on again.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Classism, Death, Grief, Terminal illness, Child death, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Alcohol, Abandonment, Ableism, Domestic abuse, Animal cruelty, Confinement, and Physical abuse

the_pysselfia's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

3.0

yikes my dude it did not need to be that racist

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Colonisation, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexism, Ableism, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Xenophobia, Alcoholism, Bullying, Classism, Grief, Incest, Drug abuse, Alcohol, Child abuse, Death, Racial slurs, and Violence

ajparmentier's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

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

2.0

Truly my feelings on this book are divided. Just about every minute I spent reading this book was dreadful. It was very hard to keep going. I find stories with unlikable characters very difficult to read, and this book has no likable characters on which to pin my hopes. Additionally, the sheer amount and depth of the domestic and child abuse and the racism (though nothing exceptional for the period) made it very hard for me to keep reading.

And yet every time I put the book down, I found it hard not to think about. The layers of narration, the parallels and contrasts between the characters, the vivid portraits of such flawed individuals, the complicated social dynamics in such a small and isolated community. All of these things are a fertile ground for discussion and dissection. I've found that I much more enjoy analyzing the story than reading a single word from the page, and as long as I am doing that and not subjecting myself to people who find the "romance" of the characters particularly *romantic*, that I can find something of value in the book.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Alcoholism, and Ableism

Moderate: Racism

akira_outofthegravity's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense

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

3.25

This book is absolutely not for everyone. Most of the characters are bad people, all make dodgy decisions, and a lot of bad things happen to innocent people. I like this book as an analysis of generational trauma, neglect, and racism- as it's implied that Heathcliff is mixed race. But if you dislike books where the characters are extremely flawed I wouldn't try this one.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Ableism, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Bullying, Classism, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

scruffie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

4.0

I found this one very slow paced and reading it was quite the grind. Exceptionally dark though, so I naturally loved it.

Say what you will about the villain but I was impressed by his perseverance and how he uses the very same systemic techniques that oppressed him to oppress others, effectively perpetuating the misery.

Made me think of Philip Larkin's words:

"Man hands on misery to man.
It deepens like a coastal shelf.
Get out as early as you can,
And don't have any kids yourself."

Sidenote: I'd generously say that I understood about 30% of what Joseph says in the book. Didn't make a difference, really.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Ableism, Alcoholism, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Eating disorder, and Alcohol

Minor: Pregnancy and Animal cruelty

m_r3ads's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? No

2.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, and Racism

tokenkobold's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.75

What a wild ride

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Ableism, Alcoholism, Grief, Incest, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Racism and Terminal illness

Minor: Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

sarah984's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

3.0

Watching a bunch of fading landed gentry behaving badly has a kind of vicious Real Housewives feel to it which could be fun at times. These people could not bear to let anyone else be happy and were constantly cutting off their noses to spite their faces.

However, it's kind of blunted a bit by the distance the literary device used to tell gives it (some parts are like Lockwood relating a letter written by Cathy as narrated to him by Ellen) and the ending sort of runs out of steam.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship

Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical content, Misogyny, Racial slurs, and Terminal illness

Minor: Incest