What readers say
I can totally see why this book has become a classic. Published in 1847, this book was rowdy for its time. Depicting abuse, adultery, and absolute obsession in the character’s relationships. Catherine is totally whacked out, head over heels for Heathcliff (would literally ruin her life for this man) but decides to marry Linton because he is hot and rich (she literally could not come up with any other valid reasons besides this). Catherine is delusional and problematic, Heathcliff is a troublemaker (from page one until the very end of the story), and Linton just sits back and lets it all happen. Not only does the love triangle exist in the first half of the story, but their kids get mixed up in the drama in the second half. Linton and Healthcliff use their kids (who have the same names as them, making it way more confusing than it needed to be) as pawns in a game started years ago. Heathcliff is desperate to be the winner, and drags the game on for 18 years, well after mostly everyone has died. (Pretty much everyone dies) It’s not a love story- it’s a desperation story. It’s a story on obsession. It’s doing the wrong thing- knowing it’s wrong and immoral and deciding to do it anyway. Which was honestly crazy and incredibly progressive for a woman to write this in the 1800s. Not only does she write this groundbreaking, intense story- but she writes as a story told by a servant (Nelly) to a traveling man (Lockwood) passing by and lodging at the estate. I found myself reading parts of this book out loud to keep focused, as the verbiage is quite outdated. I wouldn’t go into this blind after not reading many classics. I suggest reading simpler classics to brace yourself for the complexity of this read. Also, you need to have a Family Tree printed out or saved on your phone, because everyone has the same three names in this and it gets super confusing. I also kept trying to relate it to ‘Eclipse’ in the Twilight saga and draw parallels bc I know that this book inspired tha
i know wuthering heights lovers like to tussle over reviews so i’ll leave it at: - i didn’t like it / it wasn’t for ME - i thought it was a little boring/felt like a soap opera drama in book form classics ≠ 5 star reads (for everyone) i do realize how, at the time, this was an amazing accomplishment! but you cannot tell me that if this were written today it would have the same praise and adoration. 🖤
3.5 ish