Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Wuthering Heights (Original Edition) by Emily Brontë

43 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. 

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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"

 

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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

claudiamacpherson's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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

Moderate: Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Incest, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Violence, Classism, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Animal cruelty, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Medical content, Abandonment, Alcohol, Cursing, Pregnancy, and Racism

serenfletcher_reads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

5.0

Deserving of the hype and its status as a classic within the English literary canon. Unlike with most classics, whilst reading this book I did not find its pacing to be an issue. There are some beautiful quotes throughout this novel, but my favourite aspect of it has to be the dynamics between characters and generations. Wuthering Heights also provides incredible insight into the Gothic genre. For a work of fiction, this novel is fascinating. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Violence, Toxic relationship, Racism, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Grief, Confinement, Classism, Child death, Child abuse, and Abandonment

brythonia's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.5

Everyone in this book needs a cup of tea, a hug and a therapy session.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment and Chronic illness

Moderate: Child abuse

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

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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

melissa3's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Violence

yashna's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Racism, Death, Death of parent, and Alcohol

scruffie's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Ableism, Alcoholism, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Eating disorder, and Alcohol

Minor: Pregnancy and Animal cruelty

tokenkobold's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Ableism, Alcoholism, Grief, Incest, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Racism and Terminal illness

Minor: Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide, and Suicide attempt