Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by paulaks
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
dark
mysterious
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
4.0
"I'm glad I read it, I'm glad it's over."
Wuthering Heigths.. where do I begin.. Emily Brontë wrote one of the most unique books I have read in a long time. Let me share some thoughts:
- It has such a slow and dense writing while having beautiful detailed prose ( if not poetry-like) making for a rough reading experience. As said in the beginning, I'm glad it's over since both the writing and plot make it hard to read.
- What a great representative novel for gothic literature and the "dark romance" period. In Germany there is a so called "Dark / Black romance" sub genre for the romantic literary period. Why does this fit so well? It is haunting, spooky, eerie, dreamy and discuss the human psyche in a pessimistic light. Let me reiterate: this is NOT a modern romance. Please look up the romantic period to clarify prejudices before going in.
- The topic. It's like reading about a car crash where you can't look away. This is a generational tale discussing abusive influences, revenge and social norms during the victorian era. The themes were basically taboo and you wonder what made Emily write this novel. This could be a reflection of people around her but she had to be a more pessimistic person.
- The characters. Please be attentive at the beginning. Emily doesn't gift you anything, so she will not explain character relations more than once. The characters are awful and disturbing without a moral compass. They are jealous, violent and mentally and physically sick most of the time. What a fascinating thing to read about, I guess..!? Heathcliff and Catherine are the main influences and both get kids with similar names and behaviours. The only one I rooted for was Nelly the servant.
- The perspective. Nelly is the servant and describes her experiences. This is GREAT. The more you think about it, the more it makes sense. She is like the reader, because of her social status she doesn't have any power to disrupt the things happening. She wants her people to be safe and treat everyone with respect but sadly, her influences are little.
- Weather. The weather is one of the most atmospheric and aesthetic things ever! Amazing. Plus, the weather represents the current state of life and mood the characters have. It's for a reason that most of the time the weather is dark.
- Parallel. Multiple parallels to analyse here and that's why I need to reread it once in my life. My favorite was the fact that the second half mirrored the first half. A cycle of abuse. Just a fun thing I noticed.
To conclude,
This was not a fun read (gotta get my light fluffy romance ready for a palette cleanser). Subjectively, this is a two or three star. However, the more I sit with it, the more I am fascinated by the uniqueness and themes of the novel. I get why you love it, I get if you hate it. Being part of the (deserving) literary canon, I currently land on 4 stars.
Wuthering Heigths.. where do I begin.. Emily Brontë wrote one of the most unique books I have read in a long time. Let me share some thoughts:
- It has such a slow and dense writing while having beautiful detailed prose ( if not poetry-like) making for a rough reading experience. As said in the beginning, I'm glad it's over since both the writing and plot make it hard to read.
- What a great representative novel for gothic literature and the "dark romance" period. In Germany there is a so called "Dark / Black romance" sub genre for the romantic literary period. Why does this fit so well? It is haunting, spooky, eerie, dreamy and discuss the human psyche in a pessimistic light. Let me reiterate: this is NOT a modern romance. Please look up the romantic period to clarify prejudices before going in.
- The topic. It's like reading about a car crash where you can't look away. This is a generational tale discussing abusive influences, revenge and social norms during the victorian era. The themes were basically taboo and you wonder what made Emily write this novel. This could be a reflection of people around her but she had to be a more pessimistic person.
- The characters. Please be attentive at the beginning. Emily doesn't gift you anything, so she will not explain character relations more than once. The characters are awful and disturbing without a moral compass. They are jealous, violent and mentally and physically sick most of the time. What a fascinating thing to read about, I guess..!? Heathcliff and Catherine are the main influences and both get kids with similar names and behaviours. The only one I rooted for was Nelly the servant.
- The perspective. Nelly is the servant and describes her experiences. This is GREAT. The more you think about it, the more it makes sense. She is like the reader, because of her social status she doesn't have any power to disrupt the things happening. She wants her people to be safe and treat everyone with respect but sadly, her influences are little.
- Weather. The weather is one of the most atmospheric and aesthetic things ever! Amazing. Plus, the weather represents the current state of life and mood the characters have. It's for a reason that most of the time the weather is dark.
- Parallel. Multiple parallels to analyse here and that's why I need to reread it once in my life. My favorite was the fact that the second half mirrored the first half. A cycle of abuse. Just a fun thing I noticed.
To conclude,
This was not a fun read (gotta get my light fluffy romance ready for a palette cleanser). Subjectively, this is a two or three star. However, the more I sit with it, the more I am fascinated by the uniqueness and themes of the novel. I get why you love it, I get if you hate it. Being part of the (deserving) literary canon, I currently land on 4 stars.