I was forced to read this book in my English class. The plot sounded very interesting so I was excited to read it. Little did I know, it was terrible. This is definetly up there in my list of least favorite books along with The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible. I was shocked at how much I hated this book because I actually really liked Jane Eyre, written by her sister, Charlottle Bronte.
shareIn a preface to the book, which she wrote shortly after Emily Brontë’s death, Charlotte Brontë stated, “Whether it is right or advisable to create beings like Heathcliff, I do not know. I scarcely think it is.”
I love Jane Eyre and I also really like Wuthering Heights. Neither book is a light read but I love how complex all the characters are.
shareI just finished reading Wuthering Heights for the first time and had to force myself to read to the end. For me, 'despise' is too passionate an emotion; it was more like apathy. True, the characters were very complex - as are most psychotics - but I couldn't bring myself to care about any of them.
Has a bigger group of dysfunctional misfits ever gathered in one tale? The only glimmer of hope was that young Catherine would escape Heathcliff. Why did she remain with her ‘father-in-law’ (ugh, the term is too good for him) after the death of her husband (ugh, and this term is too good for him)? I know Heathcliff owned her ancestral home, prohibiting her return, but a life tramping through the woods as a vagabond would have been preferable to remaining at Wuthering Heights.
In my case, Ms. Bronte rescued her tale from being completely repulsive by hinting at a future of potential peace, love and respect between the remaining characters. The evil spell, broken at last! Thank goodness. I don’t think my poor teeth could take any more grinding.
Thank you. I thought I might be the only person in the world who did not think this book is wonderful. I love Jane Eyre, all of Jane Austen, Daphne du Maurier, and even still think "Gone With The Wind" is most romantic, so I do have a heart, and I am able to understand writing on this level. In my case, I think it has to do with the supernatural element. To me, Joey and Pacey were more soulmates than Heathcliff and Cathy. But they were real. When you start talking to ghosts and such, you lose me, because it's just not believable to me. Could Mr. Rochester really have someone locked up in the attic? It's unlikely, but it's possible. Can you really make a designer dress out of Miss Ellen's portiers? Well, I couldn't, but it's possible that SOMEbody could. Strange things can and do happen in real life, but I just can't, down in my heart, believe that a ghost can be really important to a living person. I had happily forgotten about this book until I had to watch it last night while waiting for "Downton Abbey".
Yodi
I loved it when I first read it years and years ago. But upon re-reading it, I just thought that Cathy and Heathcliff were basically selfish horrible people, and it was hard to have any sympathy or feeling for them. I like a lot of classics - Jane Eyre is a particular favourite, and both Emma and Pride and Prejudice by Austen are books I love. I kind of wish I hadn't re-read Wuthering Heights, because I would have remembered it fondly if I hadn't!
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