Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

117 reviews

erebus53's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

2.0

This is a book I was assigned to read in highschool.. and that, like every other read I was set, I quit at page 37. I resolved to one day pick it up and digest it in it's entirety. Verdict? Not very filling, a bit dry, not that satisfying. If I hadn't deliberately exerted myself, I wouldn't have bothered to finish it.

The setting is ostensibly spooky. It's a cold and desolate windblown house, with warped trees and harsh weather. The introduction sets the reader ill at ease with a new tenant imposing himself upon the landlord's household, only to meet with dour people and rude manners. Every attempt he makes to act toward them in a warm or overly familiar way is oh so cringeworthy, and disconcerting.

The narrative is told through word of mouth stories. The main narrator on the history of the characters is a maid servant, but yet further detail is fleshed out through recounting the content of letters and anecdotes of others... this method of telling stories inside stories I have seen before in things like Shelley's Frankenstein.

The Classism in this is predictably rampant. The use of a Yorkshire accent is disparaged and laughed at. Frustratingly for me, the narrator of the audiobook couldn't do the dialect any justice and she fumbled through all the parts that are written phonetically in rustic parlance. This took a lot more work for me to interpret than if it were read fluently. Gah! t'th divvel wet ye!

Another recurring theme is the whole cliché of dark and light. A dark haired, supposedly ill-bred orphan is taken to hearth and home, and of course fair haired, light eyed, pale skinned people are seen as morally superior. A bit of vanilla Racism to rub into the literature. Well.. the book is old.. but I don't have to like it.

Honestly confused at what a teacher would hope to gain from getting teens to vivisect a book like this.. the book is pale and dreary, a litany of ills and intergenerational abuse, of slow burning insidious revenge. I mean, I used to be a goth.. I've listened to Kate Bush.. this wasn't even romantic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Death of parent, Confinement, Violence, Sexism, Self harm, Racism, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, Death, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, Classism, Mental illness, Grief, Ableism, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, Bullying, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Child death, Cursing, Religious bigotry, and Alcohol

seapotatohowisitalrtaken's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Grief, Violence, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Chronic illness, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Gaslighting

Minor: Death of parent

issyd23's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

5.0

Holy fucking shit this nocked my socks off! The prose are phenomenal & moving. Not bad for a virgin with no friends who died at 30 from TB 5🪦

Joanne Froggatt also fucking slayed the audiobook 5🪦

NB Nelly doesn’t get paid enough to deal with all the BS from the Lintons + Earnshaws - get a better employer girl! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Confinement, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Toxic relationship, Rape, Sexism, Abandonment, Ableism, Suicide, Blood, Chronic illness, Incest, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Child death, Classism, Toxic friendship, Mental illness, Misogyny, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Cursing, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

redheadorganist's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Classism, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Mental illness and Pregnancy

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

Moderate: Animal death, Torture, and Animal cruelty

Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual violence

the_quickening_tree's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

2.0

Miserable plot, average writing, drags on more than is necessary. A classic, but not an enjoyable read

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Violence, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Alcohol, Death, and Grief

armand's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Racism, and Grief

Moderate: Death

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

theimposter's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Racial slurs, Violence, Chronic illness, Grief, Terminal illness, Bullying, Kidnapping, Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Classism, Emotional abuse, Religious bigotry, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Incest, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Toxic relationship