Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë

103 reviews

singalana's review against another edition

hopeful reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

🎉 I won this audiobook from a giveaway hosted by listenwithaudrey.

This is my first foray into Anne Brontë’s novels. I found the experience quite pleasurable. Perhaps it was the audiobook which made getting on with the story quite easy.

The story is told via letters and diary entries from Gilbert Markham to his friend. A young widow, Helen Graham, moves into a dilapidated manor, and Gilbert and his peers are naturally very curious about the mysterious tenant. As the story progresses, Gilbert finds himself fascinated by Helen and eventually learns more about her.

There’s a lot of historical nuance about the characters that a modern reader has a hard time understanding. The male characters come off as unpleasant and selfish, while the women, especially Helen, come off as passive and demure. A lot is said between the lines, so Audrey’s guide helps to catch those hints better than reading the book without such aid would.

The narrative shifts when Gilbert finally learns Helen’s secrets via her diary. The audiobook had previously been narrated by a man, and these sections are narrated by a woman. And that’s not all: the relationship between Gilbert and Helen is put on hold, and now we journey into Helen’s past. I’m not sure whether I liked the way this section was told; it sort of kicked me out of the main story and into a new one. 

All in all, this book had subtlety that is hard to achieve and perhaps also hard for modern readers to understand. If I compare this classic to some others I’ve read, this experience has been quite pleasurable, even though I think you need to be in a certain kind of mood to thoroughly enjoy this novel. 

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

marigwen's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Misogyny

Moderate: Infidelity

Minor: Animal cruelty and Death of parent

hannahhorror_'s review

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Anne Brontë is maddeningly underrated as an author. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

pedanther's review against another edition

challenging emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Infidelity, Misogyny, Medical content, and Grief

Minor: Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

cloranger's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Though plagued by (dubious) self-righteous narration,  and black and white moralizing, this was an atmospheric and tension-fueled romp. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism and Animal cruelty

kfergy's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Violence, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Alcohol

lauren023's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism and Infidelity

stillunderqualified's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

I found myself engrossed. It was lovely to read something so close to Austen that I'd not had spoiled. And I love Helen soooo much. This is not an easy, delightful read, but an anxious one. I feel like Bronte added thr romance so she could tell the rest of the story so I'm sad the book has less attention. There is an accuracy to her description of emotional abuse that is scary and Haunting. 

I wish I liked Gilbert more. There is a definite romance about the hard working farmer, but after Helen endured so much to be brough back out of her narrative to his where he had just brutally injured a man out of jealousy was stark. I couldnt help feeling that he disnt deserve her and i didnt trust him even though he was the narrator. That could be my own prejuduce.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Colonisation, and Classism

Minor: Antisemitism

snowiceblackfruit77's review against another edition

emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Grief, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

questingnotcoasting's review against another edition

emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

At this point in my reading life I've read most of the classics I'm interested in, but I was still curious about Anne Brontë.
This was much more radical than I was expecting and for the most part I enjoyed it. None of the characters were particularly likeable and Gilbert in particularly was quite irritating. However I came to like Helen more and more as the story progressed, even if some of her decisions frustrated me. It's a story within a story and about 130 pages in, it took a turn I wasn't expecting and switched to Helen's point of view. I was more absorbed by her narrative than by the initial introduction/framing device of Gilbert's letters. That meant I then found the last 10 chapters less compelling as we went back to Gilbert's point of view but I still enjoyed the ending. However I did have to suspend my disbelief a little to accept that the whole book was written as letters or diaries. I listened to the audiobook at the same time as reading my physical copy which helped with the immersion.
I've now read a novel by each Brontë sister and while I think it's unfair to directly compare them, it's interesting to consider their works as a whole. I doubt I'll ever read Agnes Grey but I'm really glad I finally picked this up. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, and Infidelity