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erebus53's review against another edition
- 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
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.
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
issyd23's review against another edition
- 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
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!
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
canyi's review against another edition
- 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
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)
Despite the slow moving plot I felt compelled to finish it, at least just because I wanted to see if
3.5 stars because it wasn’t a bad story
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
jem_carstairs's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
At times this made it a little bit tricky to care about the plot. But overall I still loved reading Wuthering Heights, even if it was a little slow toward the middle
Graphic: Physical abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, and Death
Moderate: Kidnapping, Violence, Misogyny, and Sexism
Minor: Racism
tammykuffo's review
- 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
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
joygarcialim's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Emotional abuse, Incest, and Physical abuse
Minor: Addiction
alishamegan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I liked cathy 1 and 2, and edgar linton who is the only good male in the book, the soft boy. Heathcliffe is a psycho, and cathy 1 knew that. She loved him like a girl or woman might love the toxic abusive boy or man despite knowing his nature, and add to that fact that they grew up together makes it even harder for her to leave him. but SHE DOES. She chooses edgar bc she knows what's good for her, and I love that. she chose the healthy loving relationship over the unhealthy toxic one. GOOD FOR HER. also heathcliffe is a black man and I certainly saw that clearly. But also hate the obvious and predictable racism by all the white ppl.
CORRECTION
So I forgot cathy 1 hit edgar, so yes she is also abusive totally. And that cannot be excused at all. I still like cathy 1 bc of her choices, but I of course condemn that action against poor edgar. And edgar is awesome.
Also Nelly is a bum like i don't care her narration is not totally reliable and she meddled when she wanted and didn't meddle when she didn't. She was better than the other horrible servant though that did not help cathy 2 at all.
Also cathy 2 is a child througout and only 18 by the end and she is very brave and resilient.
Also mr lockwood is also a waste man and I'm glad cathy 2 did not marry him, as he like most Victorian white men wants his love to be an "angel". However I don't like hareton either bc abuse sooo. I wish she would have escaped but this is the olde times and she would have no cash and assets as a woman etc etc so that's no escape at all. She made the best of cards dealt to her, like her mom cathy 1. Good for her again.
It is also interesting to compare mr lockwood wanting cathy 2 to be an angel and thinking less of her when she acts like any human being would in her situation, and heathcliffe loving cathy 1 with or may be because of her roughness and continues to when she becomes a so called proper lady. Both also resist and doing the opposite of what their love interests expect and want from them which is fab.
Joseph is irritating af and enough said.
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Misogyny, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, Sexism, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence
anniesher23's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Death, Racism, Sexism, and Violence
overbooked207's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
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🥀🍂🪦💔
Graphic: Child death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Incest, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Misogyny, Ableism, Bullying, Confinement, Kidnapping, Murder, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Classism, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
sparodi's review
- 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
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Classism, Dementia, and Grief
Moderate: Alcoholism, Sexism, Kidnapping, Racial slurs, Racism, Child abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, and Alcohol
Minor: Incest, Death of parent, and Animal cruelty