Wuthering Heights by Emily BrontëMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
I can see why people hate on this book, especially if they had to read it for school. Most of the characters are either horrible people or annoying at best (lol Nelly), although for quite intentional reasons. The driving force or motivation behind the story is basically an unhealthy relationship between two unlikeable people, and so much time and potential are seemingly wasted as a result of a situation that could've EASILY been avoided if the characters weren't so idiotic and hot-headed. If you're the kind of person who finds it difficult to avoid trying to solve people's problems, I would recommend avoiding this book as such.
That said, I still found it fairly entertaining to read. I've discovered that I have a bit of a thing for 19th-century gothic works, and the atmosphere in this one is super-charged with that in all of its gloom and doom and hints of the supernatural and just pure emotional angst and ugh, I just love it haha. There are some intense scenes here, and one moment in particular that is uncomfortable/taboo even by today's standards, which knocks it up a peg in my book, perhaps compared to say, The Scarlet Letter (all that fuss over something most people wouldn't care about as much today). And there's something to be said about using literature to more fully observe and understand unlikeable people and their circumstances without actually having to deal with them in real life.
When it came down it, there were elements of Catherine and Heathcliff's ultimately unsatisfying relationship that I resonated with, surprisingly. That sense of taking another person you love completely for granted, to the point where you eventually fail to see them for who they really are anymore. How easy it is to become so consumed by disappointment and regret over words left unsaid, actions left undone, for years after the fact, for being "too late." How bitterness and resentment can affect the people around you, and within a family, can have destructive consequences that propagate to the next generation onwards. A lot of these are very real to the human experience, and I think Bronte does a good job of capturing those sentiments in the world she's created.
Basically, if you're willing to give it a chance and have an open mind, it's not all that bad. There are definitely some interesting lessons and thoughts you can take away from an experience in the Heights. But if you're currently looking for a book to escape with or characters to like and root for (which are perfectly good reasons for reading by the way), don't bother with this one... unless you somehow also get a kick out of confronting the worst of what humanity has to offer (by stuffy 19th-century standards anyway).
