***Review*** Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

On the Back of the Book

Cathy and Heathcliff, childhood friends, are cruelly separated by class, fate and the actions of others. But uniting them is something even stronger: an all-cunsuming passion that sweeps away everything that comes between them.
Even death...

"My love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks," said Cathy. "I am Heathcliff."

Pre Read Thoughts

I have always been intrigued by classic novels. I buy them with every intention of reading them and then they languish on my TBR for years. Seriously, it's like a desperate urge that overcomes me, so when I saw this I had to buy it. The RRP is £6.99 which is the normal price for a paperback book. I'm not a fan of the cover -- It can only be described as Twilight-esque, I'd prefer it if the random flower wasn't there. Also while I'm at it with the Twilight references, the declaration that this is Bella and Edward's book is off-putting if you aren't a Twilight fan. Which I'm not.

Post Read Thoughts

No matter how hard I tried I just couldn't get into the story. I started this book over and over again and I just couldn't get anywhere with it. Finally I had what I describe as a moment of genius (my family disagree), I got the audiobook and while I listened to it I crocheted a blanket. Now the book's finished, the blanket however...

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. I ended up liking the story although for me it was less of a love story and more a tale of forgotten and not so forgotten ghosts. If you read the book you'll see why. The story takes a while to warm up but it's worth getting through the dull beginning to get to the heart of the book. The narrative is strong and Nelly Dean's tale of The Heights and The Grange is compelling.

I hated most of the characters, they were either selfish, inconsiderate, rude, manipulative and spoilt or even worse they were all of them. Linton was the most frustrating. I wanted to throttle him. If he'd treated me like that... (we'll leave that rant before I get started.) I did like Hareton, Nelly and Mr Lockwood though. They came across really well.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed the story, despite its lack of plot. Nothing happens, if you're a lover of high action novels, you should probably step away from this. The writing was superb, head and shoulders above the majority of what's published now. Also because I had an audiobook I just want to say that the people who read it (I've forgooten their names) were incredible. They really brought it to life and have made me appreciate audiobooks.

My Rating

4 stars - I loved nearly everything about this book. It isn't five star material for me but it's close. I think this is a must for book lovers, especially if you like the classics.