Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Wuthering Heights by Tatiana M. Holway, Emily Brontë

83 reviews

neni's review against another edition

reflective sad 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

4.25

 I didn't expect this to be as engaging as it was. Obviously classics can be enjoyable, and I've read classics that moved me ( Jane Eyre, for one), but they're usually more serious in tone and with a more sad/ reflective vibe. 

Wuthering Heights managed to give off that dreamy, nostalgic vibe we associate so much with the Bronte sisters, but paired it with frankly the juiciest family and relationship drama I've ever read lmao. Seriously, the kardashians have nothing on these characters , and I mean that in the best possible way. 

The ammount of toxicity in the relationships and the sheer magnitude of the generational trauma, while not exactly pleasant to read all the time, made for a gripping narrative. There were plenty of moments I actually found pretty funny, just from a "let's see how much of a human disaster this bitch is" perspective. Like a car accident in slow motion: you know shit is about to go down badly but you just can't look away. 

The characters themselves were all pretty unlikable, which surprisingly made it fun to read about ( even if I ended up not particularly caring about any of them lol). 

On a more serious note, I really liked the writing style ( to be expected) and thought the narrative strategy was clever (a character, being the narrator, telling another character the story) and interesting (obviously it's not unique to this book, but I thought it fit the story particularly well). 

One thing that brought the rating down slightly for me was the ending, which gave me mixed feelings. 

On the one hand, I couldn't help but feel the satisfaction of what is basically the closest thing to a "happy" ending I think is possible. On the other hand, I thought Heathcliff somehow got off "too easy" (that bastard of monumental proportions certainly deserved more suffering in my opinion) and the romantic plotline kind of came out of nowhere, in a way that didn't feel very believable. Especially considering the backrounds and the previous behaviors of the affected characters . I wasn't exactly disappointed, per se, but there was definitely a meh feeling. 

Overall though, I really liked this and enjoyed my time reading it. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Violence, Terminal illness, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Death of parent, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Alcohol, Abandonment, Addiction, and Alcoholism

Minor: Animal cruelty

filipa_maia's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• 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

 (Please, read this review while listening to THE song... you know what song I'm talking about!)

This book is so dark, depressive and everyone is so mean and pretentious! This twisted love story that curses other love stories... what a weird fairytale! I love Nelly! She is an adorable lady, but my favorite character is Hareton. This poor child! That's why I like this book so much. In the end everything turn out a-ok for him!

This is, by far, my favorite classic book! What distinguishes Emily Brontë from other classical authors is the fact that her books are more than rich people visiting other rich people's house... I understand that, at that time, there was nothing more interesting to do, but come on, get an occupation!

"Heathcliff, it's me, I'm Cathy
I've come home, I'm so coOoOOOOld"

 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Violence, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Incest, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Kidnapping, Abandonment, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

nyssa_jo's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

• 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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Classism, Suicidal thoughts, Racial slurs, Alcoholism, Incest, and Racism

Minor: Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, and Bullying

mia7's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Terminal illness

Minor: Death, Death of parent, and Alcoholism

lightning_015's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Animal death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Kidnapping, Domestic abuse, Racism, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Cursing, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Incest

Minor: Bullying and Child abuse

microbemom's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense 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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Alcohol, Confinement, and Alcoholism

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

corleone's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Abandonment, Child abuse, Bullying, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Terminal illness, Racism, Physical abuse, and Incest

ofthewillows's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful tense fast-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Racism, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Death of parent, Child death, and Misogyny

shelby_amato's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I never expected how dark and even scary this classic was. Worth reading for its rich scenery and increasing your knowledge of the classics, but will leave you sad and a bit disturbed.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Child abuse and Alcoholism