Book Review: Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Often considered to be a love story, Wuthering Heights is actually a story of revenge. Set on the moors of England, Wuthering Heights focuses on a mysterious character named Heathcliff. At a young age, Heathcliff is rescued and grows up with his adopted family, before being resigned to servant status. After the woman he loves, Cathy, marries another, he flees only to return years later, a rich and educated man, intent on revenge against the two families he believes have ruined his life.

"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."

Reading this book was a rollercoaster for me. I was switching between loving and hating it from chapter to chapter. First, the pros: the writing is beautiful, the relationship dynamics were really interesting at times, the scenery and location were just perfect.

Now, the cons... what a hateful, disgusting bunch of characters. I can sincerely say that I didn't like any of them. We had two unreliable narrators in Lockwood and Nellie Dean, and I'm not particularly a fan of that set-up. The family tree itself got pretty confusing at times - similar-sounding names, Cathy and Catherine used interchangeably for two different characters - I had to stop reading numerous times just to get the family tree straight in my head - READING SHOULD NOT INVOLVE SUCH HARD WORK. I actually felt drained reading this book. As for the character of Joe, I hadn't a clue what he was saying half the time, I just got the "gist" of it and carried on. 

My major issue with the book was Heathcliff. Yes, having your heart broken sucks pretty bad, but I just cannot get on board with the way he treats people throughout the entirety of this novel, both physically and mentally. As far as I'm aware there are readers out there who fawn over Heathcliff - WHY. He is a horrible man! You can be a passionate person without resorting to such heinous acts. However, I do appreciate that Bronte shows the less-explored, "ugly" side of love, it's not all sunshine and rainbows.

I loved the wild, stormy, tumultuous landscape...the gothic feel to the novel. Sometimes it was so easy to get lost in these complicated relationships, but then other times I wanted to DNF so badly and throw the book across the room. Like I said, this was a rollercoaster ride! Overall I kind of enjoyed it? But it also left me feeling angry at times... so I think 3 stars out of 5 is a fair assessment! And if anyone wants to explain to me why they love Heathcliff... please. Enlighten me.

Johann

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