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Thursday, March 24, 2011

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (thoughts)


From Goodreads:

"Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte's only novel, is one of the pinnacles of 19th century English literature. It's the story of Heathcliff, an orphan who falls in love with a girl above his class, loses her, and devotes the rest of his life to wreaking revenge on her family."

My Thoughts:

Sorry but I couldn't resist this short and sweet summary. I'm pretty sure that I couldn't describe this book better than that anyways. I've been putting off sharing my thoughts on this book for a few weeks now. Why you might ask??? Because even now I'm still a bit at a loss for words on how I felt about this book. Crazy, huh?

From the very beginning when I started reading this book I began to hear very differing opinions on this novel. Readers either seem to love it or hate it and I find myself right in the middle with a definite leaning towards enjoying it (I can't say I loved it). The story started off a bit slow for me. I found my attention wandering and began to wonder if this book was going to be for me or not. But all of a sudden I was caught up in the book and found myself putting the "other" book I was reading to the side in order to read this one. And then I just had to see how the storyline would play out and how everything would end. I'm huge on characters in books and my connection with them as a reader. So it was very surprising for me to realize that I was enjoying reading the book even though I didn't really care for any of the characters. At all. The ending of the book redeemed my connection to the characters just slightly but overall I disliked almost every character in the book. And after closing the book I just sat and mused over my feelings. I still find myself at a loss so I'll leave you with this. I will definitely be rereading this book at some point. (And sorry for the less than coherent thoughts on this one...LOL!)

Disclosure: Checked out from my local library just for this lovely cover :)

And I'm going to leave you with the link to the lovely Naida's review (who loved this story and can actually express why she did)

7 comments:

  1. Sam, you did a good job expressing your thoughts about the book; sometimes it does take a while to really get "into" a story, even a classic like Wuthering Heights. I have read Naida's review as well, and after reading both of yours I realize that a reread is in order this year.

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  2. I read Jane Eyre this year, so now I imagine this is the next one I should tackle! Maybe later in the year since I am in 'fantasy' land at the moment. :)

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  3. I enjoyed Wuthering Heights but think Jane Eyre is better to be honest. I think you're right, this one is a bit of a struggle to get in to.
    :D
    Lynn

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  4. I think you expressed yourself well Sam. I'm glad you tried this one out. Its one of my favorites.

    I do feel the same way as you do when it comes to the characters though....I don't really like any of them either. I really enjoy the plot and setting.
    Thanks for linking my review :)

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  5. I'm rereading this again for the first time in many years, and I'm curious to see what I'll think of it. I remember loathing the characters and loathing the book, but I always read it right after Jane Eyre, and I know that affected my reading a lot. I can't expect it to be Jane Eyre! I have to let it be its own book!

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  6. I have always heard about Bronte but never read her work. Thanks for this review, I'm gonna buy the book and add it in my TBR list. :)

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  7. Have the same cover--had to buy it when Jill at Fizzy Thoughts was doing her readalong even though I already had a few copies at home.

    I feel much the same way as you--but maybe even a bit more complicated? ;) And the characters are dispicable, huh. Truly and terribly. But I just can't help but love the passion in the book.

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