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Summary: tragic and disturbing
Review: When it was first published under a pseudonym in 1847, Wuthering Heights caused a scandal. The staid and drab era of the 1840's was simply not used to such an intense and disturbing story of such raw passion and cruelty. In this tale of love and tragedy, an orphan named Heathcliff is adopted and comes to live at Wuthering Heights. He falls in love with the man's daughter, Catherine. But his life is hell because of her brother. Catherine's brother hates and humiliates him. Heathcliff can take it no more and eventually he runs away. He's gone a long time and in the meantime, Catherine marries, even though it's Heathcliff she's really in love with. Heathcliff returns dandified and rich... to take his revenge. But I won't give away the climax and ending. Heart-stopping and intense! Not for everyone, certainly not for the light 'n' fluffy inspirational romance reader, but for fans of Charlotte Bronte and Thomas Hardy.David Rehak
author of "Love and Madness"
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Summary: Oh, Those Madcap Brontes!
Review: I have always considered Wuthering Heights the best offering from the Bronte brood. It may be a soap opera, but WHAT a soap opera--and besides, the writing, dark and Victorian though it is, is superb and more than a little mad. The two most over-used adjectives used to describe this book are "dark and brooding." So I won't use them, but it will be hard. Because out of the ashes, almost literally, of a dark, dreary, oppressive estate on the English moors flames the love affair of all time: the daughter of the house, Catherine, and the wild foundling brought into the family as a child--Heathcliff. Catherine and Heathcliff have a special bond, even as children, but when adulthood arrives, their bond flares into unbearable passion. Tortured Heathcliff wandering the moors calling for Cathy; married Cathy dying in her bed for love of Heathcliff; ahhhh. Nothing better. One wonders, of course, what forbidden thoughts churned beneath the genteel breast of Emily Bronte as she wrote of this unmistakeably sexual and erotic relationship. I have also wondered more than once if Heathcliff was modeled on the Bronte Sisters' wild and untameable brother Bramwell. But I am no literary historian. I am only a lover of books, and this particular one resides on my all-time top ten. If you have never read it, or if you consider it one of those dreary required assignments you fled in high school, give it another chance. There is nothing else like it.
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Summary: Love and Tragedy
Review: Annotation: "Wuthering Heights" is about Heathcliff, an orphan, who is raised by Mr. Earnshaw as one of his own children. Hindley despises him, but wild Cathy becomes his constant companion, and he falls violently in love with her. When she will not marry him, Heathcliff's terrible vengeance ruins them all - but still his and Cathy's love will not die. Author Bio: Emily Brontë was born in Thornton, Yorkshire, in the north of England. Her mother died in 1821. Between the years 1824 and 1825 Emily attended the school at Cowan Bridge with Charlotte, and then was educated at home. Her first novel, Wuthering Heights (1847), a story-within-a-story, did not gain immediate success, but it has acclaimed later fame as one of the most intense novels written in the English language. Emily Brontë died of tuberculosis in the late 1848. She had caught cold at her brother Branwell's funeral in September. After the appearance of Wuthering Heights, some skeptics thought that the book was written by Branwell, on the grounds that no woman from such circumscribed life, could have written such passionate story. After her sisters' deaths, Charlotte edited a second edition of their novels, with prefatory commentary aimed at correcting what she saw as the reviewers' misunderstanding of Wuthering Heights. The complex time scheme of the novel had been taken as evidence by the critics, that Emily had not achieved full formal control over her narrative materials. Evaluation: Hate is proven to be weaker than love when it comes to Heathcliff. Heathcliff and Catherine are meant to be together. Since the time when they were children they loved one another. Many people tried to keep them apart and they succeeded at times, but their love for one another always shined through. Heathcliff went through a period where he felt that getting even would mend what everyone put him through, but the last part of his revenge remained undone and there was finally some sort of happiness. Love finally outweighed hate creating the happiness between Cathy and Hareton, and Heathcliff and Catherine. It is truly better to love than it is to hate.
Overall, "Wuthering Heights", is extremely enjoyable. I recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys gothic elements incorporated with romance and drama. There are so many themes explored. One thing happens after another, making you want to keep reading and find out what happens next. I liked the fact that love overpowered hate at the end. Jealousy, love, hatred, and tragedy are all mixed together in "Wuthering Heights", leaving you with a novel that's hard to put down.
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Summary: A truly unique piece of writing!!
Review: Wuthering Heights is one of oldest romance novels and stands as a classic in litterature history.
All through the book you will meet great contrasts that to a certain extent can explain the actions. Wuthering heights is the land of storm and wilderness compared to the quiet and more passive Thruscross Grange where one might think it's more appropriate for children to grow up. The Earnshaw family lives on Wuthering Heights while the Linton family is from Thruscross Grange. When those two contrasts meets with the children of these two families, the conflicts starts. Catherine and Heathcliff are drawn to eachother from the begining and their passion is powerful and destructive. There's love, hate and suffering, but written in a poetic somewhat advanced language and it's echanting how you get caught up with this book.
Sad is it that Emily Brontë died the year after its publication at the age of thirty... But with this novel and her poems, she is one of the most well known female English writers of the 18th century.
You will surely miss out on something great by not reading this book. I warmly recommend Wuthering Heights to everyone who loves to read. It is truly a unique piece of writing!
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Summary: I Used to Love Jane Austen...
Review: I used to love Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice was my favorite book; I've read it so many times that I can quote Elizabeth Bennet in my sleep. I know every single word of the movie Emma by heart. So, naturally, I felt compelled to read it. I love the flowery language, how Emma and Mr. Knightly converse so eloquently. However, still being a student, I am subjected to the whims of my teachers. When Mr. Sneeringer told us to have Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights read in a week, I groaned. How it pained me to set aside my precious Emma! I was especially greived because I recognized the author's name. About a year and a half ago, another honors English teacher commanded us to read Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. That book is definetly not reader-friendly. The vernacular of the Victorian era that completes the whole effect of reading a Jane Austen novel worked completely against Charlotte Bronte. It made reading a difficult novel all the more tedious. I feared that I was in for another dose of the awful stuff when I received Wuthering Heights. I want to say that I was pleasantly surprised, but that doesn't even come close to my feelings. The mystery was too much for me; I couldn't put it down. Wherever I went, Wuthering Heights came with me. I took it to class, to my meals and to bed. I literally fell asleep reading the two nights my book lasted. I found it to be extremely powerful and compelling. I aspire to become a great writer someday, so I have studied many things necessary to a great novel, including plot and character development. Emily Bronte is a master at these. Her characters are so complex, and, yet, I can still identify with them. They are so well developed that it makes an intriguing story impossibly compelling. She is truly a master of the Gothic novel. I am still in awe of the graphic description of all the dark forces surrounding the Heights. I became part of the whole story when I read this book. Yes, I still love Jane Austen, but now I readily admit that there is definetly room for Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights on my bookshelf.
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Summary: Amazing book.
Review: Wuthering Heights is on of the greatest classics in literature and one I had never read until recently. I found this story of obsessive and destructive relationships very compelling and difficult to put down. It's a romance but by no means is it a happy one. Things don't go well for these people. Wuthering Heights is the story of two families the Earnshaws and Lintons, who really should never had gotten together. It's the romance between Heathcliff and Catherine that underlies the whole book. Heathcliff is defiantly the ultimate anti-hero, he's obsessive, abusive and just plain evil, but still you feel yourself drawn into his dark world and hoping that redemption comes to him. He seems beyond it however and his destructive behaviour forms the basis of this gothic tale. Emily Bronte's skills as a writer are amazing, her language is poetic and deep and the story is truly unique. My only criticism is concerning the way she wrote dialogue for the character Joseph, it's often illegible and I found it most difficult understanding what he was saying. That aside I really enjoyed this book and recommend it wholeheartedly as a study of human nature as it is without the influence of a Divine being. Thanks for reading my review and enjoy this book.
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Summary: I like books written by authors I like
Review: While cultural pundits try to convince you that some literature is better than other literature, the truth is that all art is relative to individial tastes. Thus, it doesn't make any sense to think that a novel like this one is really any better than say, Michael Crichton or Stephen King. Aesthetic standards can't be grounded. Thus, don't listen to anyone who tries to distinguish between "serious" works of literature like this one and allegedly "lesser" novels. The distinction is entirely illusory, because no novels are "better" than any others, and the concept of a "great novel" is an intellectual hoax.
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Summary: Gender Differences
Review: I think everyone who enjoys this book is a woman. I don't mean to sound sexist, it's just true. I've never met a woman who didn't love this book, And I've never met a man who liked it. I hated it. I won't say it was a bad book, because it's a classic, and the most you're allowed to say about a classic is that you didn't enjoy it, which I didn't. Sorry to say, this is the FIRST classic novel I've ever read that I didn't enjoy. And I've read a lot.
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Summary: My Favorite Book
Review: This is my favorite book. The characters in this book truly touched my heart. The characters, the story, the setting, are all so realistic, gripping, profoundly touching, it's hard to even describe the range of emotions one goes through when reading this book. I've read a wide variety of books: modern, classic, mystery, romance, suspense, drama; this book stuck with me more than all others. The last time I read it was several years ago, but I can still picture the scenes and hear the dialog. It is an amazing book.
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Summary: It's a shame she only wrote one book
Review: Ah, Heathcliff and Catherine. Literature's first twisted, truly dependent couple, coming together in one of the most original books in the english canon. What a treat. Emily Bronte's first and only book details the generational struggle between the Earnshaws, a poor farming family, and the Lintons, a wealthy group at Thrushcross Grange. The tragedy's catalyst is Heathcliff, a dark and rebellious boy of unknown parentage whom Mr. Earnshaw brings home and raises as his own child. Earnshaw's son, Hindley, hates Heathcliff with a fierce passion, but young Catherine is immediately drawn to the boy. As they grow older, they realize they are soul mates, but Catherine, attracted to the power and wealth at Thrushcross Grange, marries foppish Edgar Linton, incensing Heathcliff so greatly that he leaves Wuthering Heights for years, traveling the world and becoming a wealthy man. When he returns, it is for revenge, and soon his hatred tears apart the lives of not only Catherine, Edgar and Hindley, but their children as well. This has to be one of the most intense, fiery novels ever written. Bronte describes her wild, moorish surroundings with such vigor and passion that the moors themselves become a character. She also steers clear of nineteenth century melodrama and typical characters; there is no 'winsome heroine' or 'dastardly sneak' or 'good guy.' Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. Though Heathcliff and Catherine are the primary focus of the novel, you will find yourself rooting for them one moment, then rooting for someone else the next. Bronte makes her characters real people, with a psychological depth and acuity uncommon in most nineteenth century literature; indeed, in literature in general. Everyone has their faults and their virtues. You will feel anger and sorrow for everyone at least once in the book. Bronte's dialogue burns with passion and intensity. When Heathcliff and Catherine allow themselves to finally express their love, it's with as much scorn and fury as adoration. Heathcliff seems to be straddling the line between embracing his soul mate and strangling her. Catherine, even at her most vulnerable, is still an impassioned and taunting lover. Each character has his or her own distinct voice; Nelly Dean, the childhood nurse of Catherine and Heathcliff and the story's primary narrator, immediately comes across as a pleasant, solid and mundane creature, while the villainous Hindley makes you want to black his eyes at least twenty times before the book's over. Bronte created characters of flesh, blood and SOUL. These are real people, really real people. You don't see that often. The characters and the brilliant description and evocation of the Yorkshire moors drench the story in a gorgeous, wild, dark mood. This book gets the heart racing. Emily Bronte wrote one of the great novels of all time on her first and only try. Wow.
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