A review by louiza_read2live
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

5.0

In one word: AMAZING!!
Very dark and disturbing with gothic undertones, and (if I am not mistaken in this claim) on the footsteps of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. I think that a parallel comparison of Heathcliff and the Shelley's monster in regards to the philosophical debate of nature versus nurture in both books will be compelling as this point is prominent in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and it is definitely coming up a lot in Bronte's Wuthering Heights.
If you are like me, and you had the impression that this is a romantic tale of love, head my warning: This is a bleak tale of generational vendettas, monstrous behaviors, malicious intents, envy, bitterness, revenge, greed, obsession, rather than love, and certainly control.
I must say that Wuthering Heights has the most hostile, abusive,
manipulative, and pathetic characters that somehow you end up loving anyway, not because they are charming in any way, but because the story is that good, and Emily Bronte clearly brilliant.
I admit that I did not expect the ending at all! I had all these dark, dark ideas about how it might end, and I felt my heart sinking as I flipped the pages expecting the worst case scenario. All my thoughts were proven wrong, very wrong. For some the ending might feel underwhelming as we are prepared for the worst (Or for some, it might be the worst?); however, I did not feel underwhelmed. It fell in place.

What was I waiting for so long before I got to read this fabulous work? I have been putting off reading this book for years despite its literary fame, and not only because the first years it was difficult for me to read it in English. I am not the biggest fan of Jane Austen, and for some
incomprehensible reason, I always thought that it will be of similar style despite that I had no evidence of that, and in fact, I do like some works by Emily's sisters: Anne Bronte's Agnes Grey and Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre.

Well, I finally got to read it for an online bookclub, and also because I have been wanting to read a book by the critic Harold Bloom and Wuthering Heights is one of the books he is discussing.
Certainly, there is not a trace of Jane Austen (sorry, Austen's fans. Jane is Ok; I am just not crazy about her writing when I compare it with many other writers).

This classic has now earned a corner in my heart and it's one of many examples of why I love literature so much.
Lesson: Do not judge a book before you start reading it.

PS. I am looking forward to read Harold Bloom's ideas on this book.