Friday, October 23, 2009

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Wuthering Heights


I'm going to start by saying that the plot in this book is unbelievable. It's one of the most complicated intriguing plots I've ever read. To make everything simpler. This is a brief summary from GoodReads:
Heathcliff comes to the brooding mansion of Wuthering Heighths as an orphan child. Cathy is the daughter of the wealthy family that takes him in. They are drawn together from the moment they meet, their love consuming, destructive, and full of desire. They cannot be together, and yet they cannot stay apart. The consequences will haunt generations. This is the chilling story of two people who experience love and all its intense complications. It is a story readers will never forget.

This story involves three generations. From Mr. Earnshaw, Catherine Earnshaw's father, to Catherine Earnshaw's daughter, Cathy Linton. Heathcliff and Catherine fall in a forbidden love divided by riches, society, and family. Heathcliff's sour attitude results from the early death of his love, after giving birth to another man's child. His anger is part of the rest of the book's relationship. Cathy Linton (the daughter) and her cousin Linton fall in love. Having been adopted by Heathcliff (his father), Linton takes to his anger and abuses poor Cathy. When Linton dies, Heathcliff wants her to marry Hareton, the son of the son of his adoptive father (can you understand that? Ha!). At first, Cathy denies this but as we move towards the end of the book, we see her feelings toward Hareton change, thus ending the story in a Happily Ever After.

The love between Heathcliff and Catherine is so great that, not only does it prevail after death, but it appears on the next generations. Told in such a beautiful narrative, Bronte's only novel captures the timeless emotions of love never before seen. Whether you're up for reading a classic or not, Wuthering Heights MUST be part of your reading list some time or another. I give it five outstanding stars. And, as is tradition, in one sentence (or phrase):

Hauntingly romantic!

2 comments:

La Coccinelle said...

I guess I should have read this one, but I just couldn't get into it. I tried. And then I watched a movie version, and got really turned off. It seemed more like a book about mental illness than romance to me!

Patricia said...

Aww, I've always said the movie versions of books are always worse. ;) I had to read it anyways for school.

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