Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Cime tempestose by Emily Brontë

83 reviews

aegagrus's review against another edition

3.75

Perhaps surprisingly, I will firstly and foremostly remember Wuthering Heights as a very funny book. Most of its content is delivered in a frame narration, as servant Nelly Dean recounts the history of two local families to Mr. Lockwood, a newcomer. Nelly's narrative voice is constructed extremely skillfully and somewhat cheekily. Her subtle editorializing and sly asides were a consistent highlight, making understated hilarity of human nature, class, and religious attitudes. 

The story itself is a tale of manipulation -- most famously Heathcliff's vengeful machinations, but not exclusively. Emily Bronte explores the tragic perversity bred by manipulative relationships, and the heartbreaking alienation in which such relationships often conclude. Throughout all of this, her treatment of child and adolescent characters is particularly notable. Her young characters are not passive objects of manipulation by their elders. They are indeed manipulated in particular ways, and Bronte is deeply sympathetic about this. They are also players with unique agency, and very often the instigating forces moving the story along, for good or for ill. 

Wuthering Heights is deservedly a classic. Bronte's highly evocative descriptions of the Yorkshire moors lend a significant gravitas to the work, as do her unflinching depictions of the emotional nadirs in her tragic saga. 

Bronte's use of illness (chronic and otherwise) as a strong narrative propellant may feel too neat to the modern reader. It is worth noting that the relationship between physical health and moral/emotional health would have been thought of differently by the Victorian reader (which is perhaps why it is never quite clear whether illness is a cause or an effect). The novel's ending may also come across as an unnecessary concession which detracts from its otherwise unflinching character. This may be so, but if Bronte's ending is a concession to anything, it is in all likelihood nothing more than a concession to the literary environment of her time. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Physical abuse

jessthanthree's review against another edition

challenging 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Violence, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Racism, Religious bigotry, Kidnapping, Racial slurs, Infidelity, Grief, Gun violence, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

kingcrookback'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? Yes

I'm going to be honest, I don't quite know how I feel about this. I had fun reading, for a given definition of fun that veers more toward "I want to stick this under a microscope and study it like a bug." None of the characters are very likable or relatable, though I don't find that much of a deterrent. I don't need to like or relate to a character to find them compelling. And while I did sometimes find the level of cruelty and violence--especially on Heathcliff's part--upsetting, I don't quite agree with readers who came to the conclusion that Wuthering Heights promotes/romanticizes abuse.

While I do have a sort of academic fascination with WH that'll probably lead me to reading more about it, in terms of actually rereading, I think I'm more inclined to reach for Jane Eyre.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Death

Moderate: Death of parent, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Infidelity, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Classism

lazycycle'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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Sexism, Violence, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Suicide, Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Grief, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, and Incest

Minor: Pregnancy, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Religious bigotry

s1etal's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Child death and Alcoholism

katievh's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

• 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Classism, Death of parent, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Terminal illness, Confinement, and Death

Minor: Animal cruelty, Pregnancy, and Religious bigotry

poirot's review against another edition

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Grief, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Physical abuse, Racism, Child death, Classism, Confinement, Violence, Incest, Child abuse, Death of parent, Terminal illness, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Alcoholism and Animal cruelty

the_pysselfia's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Colonisation, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexism, Ableism, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Xenophobia, Alcoholism, Bullying, Classism, Grief, Incest, Drug abuse, Alcohol, Child abuse, Death, Racial slurs, and Violence

melhevingham98's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective slow-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Grief, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Sexism, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Classism, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Child abuse, Death, and Toxic relationship

veganecurrywurst's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense

• 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 disagree with the people saying that this is not a lovestory (although the predominant theme is revenge). I genuinely believe that Heathcliff loved Cathrine I and vice-versa. But they all were such toxic, irresponsible and egocentric people without boundaries that the being together only made it worse.
Most of the other characters even the narrator(s) are deeply flawed human beings.
I think the most "likable" are probably Catherine II and Hareton.
In oder to really appreciate this book, I recommend doing a bit of research on it first and listing to other people's thoughts on the book. I'm probably going to give this a higher rating after I reread it.

“He shall never know I love him: and that, not because he’s handsome, but because he’s more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made out of, his and mine are the same.”

“If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger.”

“I have not broken your heart – you have broken it; and in breaking it, you have broken mine.”

“I’m wearying to escape into that glorious world, and to be always there: not seeing it dimly through tears, and yearning for it through the walls of an aching heart: but really with it, and in it."

“It was not the thorn bending to the honeysuckles, but the honeysuckles embracing the thorn.”

“I have to remind myself to breathe – almost to remind my heart to beat!”

“Treachery and violence are spears pointed at both ends; they wound those who resort to them worse than their enemies.”

Some info-graphics I really enjoyed: https://www.theguardian.com/books/gallery/2018/jul/30/emily-brontes-wuthering-heights-in-charts

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Chronic illness, Toxic relationship, Death, and Infidelity

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, and Death of parent

Minor: Murder and Self harm