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ayphyx's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Toxic friendship, Violence, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Ableism, Child abuse, and Mental illness
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Racism, Animal cruelty, Racial slurs, and Blood
wuthrinheights's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Although I do not condone their behaviours, I was still so fascinated and amazed by the intensity of the love held between Catherine and Heathcliff. They were wild and reckless and passionate, which hurt not only each other but the people around them and others that came after them. My favourite parts of the book were their love confessions spoken to Nelly. It was so intense and agonising, it plays so vividly if I were to think back on the book.
My favourite character was Nelly. Everyone was always dramatic and taken by emotions, but Nelly was always cool and focused. Her deadpan deliveries cracked me up, which gave a lighter tone amidst the gloomy setting of the Heights. She often spoke the truth and would strive to do the right thing, even if her master(s) didn't like to hear it.
It is still so mind-blowing that despite being written hundreds of years ago, Brontë was able to pen a story that covers abuse running through generational lines, when it probably wasn't that well studied back in those days. Emily was way ahead of her time and it's a shame she never got to see how well her book was loved after the publication.
Minor: Ableism, Child abuse, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Incest, Abandonment, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Addiction, Grief, Racism, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Death, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, and Toxic relationship
chelseaisreading's review against another edition
5.0
Listen, it is purposefully confusing initially on who is who (two Cathy’s?! Of course.) but if you can muddle through it, it pays off. This book is deeply atmospheric, and it felt like Jane Austen’s dark cousin. Heathcliff stirs all the “I can fix him” vibes and the story tells you why…that’s not a good idea.
The characters are complex, all have plainly disturbing faults in character, and yet you still find yourself rooting for Heathcliff or Cathy at times. Reading through a bystander’s POV gives the reader such a removed perspective that you can find the characters strangely sympathetic even at their most horrific.
This is a gothic romance to be sure, the dark passion between Cathy and Heathcliff and how things ultimately play out in the following generation felt dramatic and poignant to me. Great book for October. I’d love to chill with Emily Brontë.
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Moderate: Child abuse and Violence
Minor: Blood
melancholymegs'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
2.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Racism, Animal cruelty, Toxic relationship, Violence, Domestic abuse, and Death
Moderate: Incest, Confinement, Death of parent, Misogyny, and Stalking
Minor: Blood, Kidnapping, and Racial slurs
moonlitstardust's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Cursing, Death of parent, Grief, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, and Medical content
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
seapotatohowisitalrtaken's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Slavery, Grief, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Addiction, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, and Sexual content
Moderate: Blood, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Gaslighting
Minor: Death of parent
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
danicakvcs's review
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Physical abuse, and Grief
Moderate: Child abuse and Gun violence
Minor: Blood and Incest
jubsrabellogs's review against another edition
- 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
I cannot say it was a pleasant read, but it was a captivating one, and I couldn’t put it down until I finished it. And it kept me engaged in the question of nature versus nurture. Although, by the end, it looked like Emily Brontë was firmly on the former’s side. And how curious it would be that the unknown “gipsy” child is the one with a despicable nature… (yikes, Emily!)
If I was made to choose between this and Jane Eyre, I would choose the latter without second thought. But this book was still a haunting and worthy piece of gothic literature, and it certainly scared me more than Dracula and Frankenstein ever did (although I do love both).
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Grief, Physical abuse, and Confinement
Moderate: Cursing, Blood, Death of parent, Racial slurs, Racism, Death, Mental illness, Animal cruelty, Bullying, and Misogyny