Reviews tagging 'Ableism'

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

18 reviews

greatexpectations77's review

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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.

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the_pysselfia's review against another edition

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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

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ajparmentier's review

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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.

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akira_outofthegravity's review against another edition

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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.

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scruffie's review against another edition

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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.

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m_r3ads's review against another edition

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

2.75


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tokenkobold's review against another edition

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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

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sarah984's review

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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.

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