Hi Everyone!
I've been wanting to read this book ever since I finished Jane Eyre and maybe even before that. I was considering reading it this summer, but I ran out of time and also changed my mind, deciding to save it for November. I already love Emily Bronte's poetry (post linked here!) and this was a book I was quite nervous about because it is her only novel and I really wanted to love it and I REALLY DID!
This is the longest post I've written in a while- I just had so much to say!
Just thinking about how to organize all my thoughts about this book scares me because I have a lot I want to say and I'm not sure how coherent I can be! I'm sure many of you have read this book and I know it is quite controversial so let me know what you think about it!
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| This gives me such Wuthering Heights vibes even when it was taken from my driveway and includes a cable which definitely would have been unheard of in Victorian England! |
In case you don't know, this is about a man who moves to a property in the Yorkshire moors where he meets his landlord and the mismatched family that live with him at Wuthering Heights. His main acquaintance is however with his housekeeper, Nelly Dean. She tells him the peculiar story of Catherine Earnshaw, Heathcliff, all their descendants and respective families and how their story continues to haunt the present.
As it says on the blurb of my edition, this revolutionary novel has achieved an almost mythical status as a love story and yet for me at least it is a book about revenge and although there are elements of love, it is a big part of the novel, but not what defines it and sets it aside from other masterpieces of it's time.
It is told beautifully and the structure and writing style is something I initially thought I would struggle with but at no point in this book was I bogged down by the language or confused about whose perspective we were in. There is one exception to this and that is when Joseph was speaking. Most of the time I could work out the gist of what he was saying but not always the individual words. As long as I could understand his opinions about certain things and the general direction of what he meant, it was fine and didn't take away from reading the novel at all. He is a really fascinating character and I think next time I read this book I will look into him more. That was the only small part I found a little challenging which shows me how far I've come as a reader of classics because a year ago a lot of the classics I read felt like reading Joseph constantly (the mill workers of North and South come to mind!) but now there were of course references I missed but I think this was minimal and you're never going to understand absolutely everything! It didn't feel long or a drag either and I loved (nearly) every second!
The descriptions of Wuthering Heights itself were so vivid and completely transported me into this setting. In pretty much every review of Wuthering Heights people mention this and now I finally know what they mean and how wonderful it all is when it comes together. I love how isolated Wuthering Heights is and the way they live such lonely lives as well, coupled with the descriptions of the bleak moors...I LOVE IT.
The characters are not the kind that you think 'wow I want to be your friend', but generations of readers have loved them for their imperfections and the stories they tell and what message they give out. And I do too. Even the horrible characters like Heathcliff, I love so much. This book has a very complicated family tree and the way they are all connected and the 'modern' generation and their connections with their predecessors...I connected with these characters (in the right way promise) so much and formed such attachment to these people.
There was this one moment where I was not in the right mindset for it and I was tired and everything and I remember saying to myself: I hate this book. I ended up taking a break, just for a day and maybe not even that and after that I could concentrate on it and immerse myself in this universe once more. It was just a chapter or two that I wasn't liking as much and after rereading them I love them so much!
This is such a passionate novel. It encompasses so many questions about what it means to love, what it means to live a full and happy life...and it is one of those books that left me with more questions than answers and I just love that - it's a sign of a real masterpiece.
I understand why it isn't for everyone: the characters aren't likeable, the narration can be hard to understand...and it's definitely not a perfect book- it has it's faults. But that's why I love it even more!
Waiting to read this book in November was such a good decision. Some mornings I woke up to relentless rain and reading such an atmospheric book in those conditions was so perfect! Timing wise, reading it then was also a very good idea because now I'm barely reading as I've been revising instead. I love Christmas, apart from all the exams it brings! All week I've been waiting to write this post and thinking to myself 'No, revise. You need to revise. Wuthering Heights will wait.' and now it's Friday and the tests are by no means over but I've taken the night off revision because I just couldn't wait any longer to write this!
There are a lot of quotes I love in this too so maybe I'll do a quotes post, I'm not sure yet!
Then comes the dreaded question: Wuthering Heights or Jane Eyre?
For some people there may be an evident answer as these are two very Marmite books: people either hate or love them. But there are equally a lot of people that love them both and that is the category I fall under!
Setting wise, Wuthering Heights has to take the top spot but Jane Eyre is perhaps simpler to understand, although Wuthering Heights is more intricate and detailed. I love the characters in both, but I think I have a deeper connection to more of the characters in Wuthering Heights, that's not to say I don't have a very deep connection with Jane in Jane Eyre though...And the way that Charlotte Bronte brings the story together is just AMAZING, the events at the end of Jane Eyre are utter perfection...
It's a very 50/50 split and it doesn't really matter which I prefer but needless to say, Wuthering Heights is an absolute favourite now! Jane Eyre may have been ousted from the top spot but I think Charlotte Bronte just needs to move over and make room for her sister!
This is a book that will stay with me forever for so many reasons...most of which I have already listed above, and this post is long enough already so I won't bore you with more!
If you read the whole of this post then congratulations 👏, I hope you enjoyed reading about one of my new favourite books! It was a truly incredible experience to finally get to this and WOW, what a phenomenal read!
Thank you so much for being here and I'll be back soon! 📚
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