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A review by notwellread
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
5.0
Edit: I feel quite different about this novel now than I did when I first reviewed, and after much consideration I've decided to put my rating up to 5 stars. I read it almost a year ago, and I still think about it all the time! After watching some of the adaptations I think I understand a little better why some people like Heathcliff (since he is portrayed much more sympathetically) and, although I still feel that the characters are clearly meant to be unlikeable, it's difficult not to sympathise with Hareton. I know it's an unpopular opinion but I like this more than Jane Eyre, though I still want to read the works of the oft-neglected Anne Brontë, too.
***
Very eventful, and definitely more than just a romance (it’s not really a romance at all, to be honest): maybe it’s a good classic for people who don’t like classics?
For one thing, like I said, this book is definitely not romantic! It’s probably a bit more valuable as a gothic thing in terms of appeal (though I found some bits a bit over-the-top, though I don’t see any reason why I wouldn’t like gothic in general, so maybe the overly dramatic moments are just a Brontë thing). Also, it’s horrifying that anyone would think of Heathcliff as a romantic hero, so I wouldn’t go in expecting to swoon if that’s your prerogative (this isn’t Pride and Prejudice).
I chose to take notes on the family tree but it is actually quite easy to commit to memory once you’re started: actually, I like that this book has fewer characters than most classics, especially the ones out of the 19th century (I think most books have too many characters! I don’t really understand why authors populate their books with loads of unnecessary people).
The Yorkshire dialect is a bit hard to understand, so I would recommend an edition that helps with it a bit. Someone said that it would have been interesting if Joseph had told the whole story in his Yorkshire dialect instead of Nelly, so hopefully someone will bring that into existence at some point. Also, Joseph POV would make excellent fanfiction.
It took me a long time to read despite that (for a book that, at the end of the day, isn’t very long), but I’m not sure if this is just me. I went into and out of it a bit, and read a few other books in the meantime, but not because it was depressing (it was actually less depressing than I was expecting, and at least depressing in a different way since it’s familial abuse rather than romantic angst, FYI, so I wouldn’t worry too much about that).
I didn’t really care for the characters that much – it was more driven by plot (maybe because they’re all so unlikeable?!). However, I found myself laughing at some of their more dramatic moments, possibly because I’m not used to the style that much, or possibly because I always have Northanger Abbey lodged in my mind, but I feel like some of it is so over-the-top that Emily must have realised? I like gothic stuff but I’m not sure if I’m used to it being so over-dramatic (although I suppose that’s kind of the point in books like this).
I was considering giving it 3 stars (or maybe a 3.5) but the ending was surprisingly uplifting and eventually brought us back to the theme (so I suppose made it more cohesive, given that the second half and the first half are completely different). I almost feel like Emily Brontë might have read this to her grandmother (not her sisters obviously) and rained down the angst, and been told to put in a nice part for the end (this probably didn’t happen, but if it had it would have been good advice).
Overall, I enjoyed the experience of finally reading this for the first time; although it isn’t quite as highbrow as some other classics I’ve read, it is definitely one of the more entertaining.
***
Very eventful, and definitely more than just a romance (it’s not really a romance at all, to be honest): maybe it’s a good classic for people who don’t like classics?
For one thing, like I said, this book is definitely not romantic! It’s probably a bit more valuable as a gothic thing in terms of appeal (though I found some bits a bit over-the-top, though I don’t see any reason why I wouldn’t like gothic in general, so maybe the overly dramatic moments are just a Brontë thing). Also, it’s horrifying that anyone would think of Heathcliff as a romantic hero, so I wouldn’t go in expecting to swoon if that’s your prerogative (this isn’t Pride and Prejudice).
I chose to take notes on the family tree but it is actually quite easy to commit to memory once you’re started: actually, I like that this book has fewer characters than most classics, especially the ones out of the 19th century (I think most books have too many characters! I don’t really understand why authors populate their books with loads of unnecessary people).
The Yorkshire dialect is a bit hard to understand, so I would recommend an edition that helps with it a bit. Someone said that it would have been interesting if Joseph had told the whole story in his Yorkshire dialect instead of Nelly, so hopefully someone will bring that into existence at some point. Also, Joseph POV would make excellent fanfiction.
It took me a long time to read despite that (for a book that, at the end of the day, isn’t very long), but I’m not sure if this is just me. I went into and out of it a bit, and read a few other books in the meantime, but not because it was depressing (it was actually less depressing than I was expecting, and at least depressing in a different way since it’s familial abuse rather than romantic angst, FYI, so I wouldn’t worry too much about that).
I didn’t really care for the characters that much – it was more driven by plot (maybe because they’re all so unlikeable?!). However, I found myself laughing at some of their more dramatic moments, possibly because I’m not used to the style that much, or possibly because I always have Northanger Abbey lodged in my mind, but I feel like some of it is so over-the-top that Emily must have realised? I like gothic stuff but I’m not sure if I’m used to it being so over-dramatic (although I suppose that’s kind of the point in books like this).
I was considering giving it 3 stars (or maybe a 3.5) but the ending was surprisingly uplifting and eventually brought us back to the theme (so I suppose made it more cohesive, given that the second half and the first half are completely different). I almost feel like Emily Brontë might have read this to her grandmother (not her sisters obviously) and rained down the angst, and been told to put in a nice part for the end (this probably didn’t happen, but if it had it would have been good advice).
Overall, I enjoyed the experience of finally reading this for the first time; although it isn’t quite as highbrow as some other classics I’ve read, it is definitely one of the more entertaining.