Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Cumbres borrascosas by Emily Brontë

31 reviews

ismildlypoetic's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Three stars means I liked the book! (tbh as i mull over it in the coming weeks, it'll probably grow higher)

Okay okay okay, so this needs a rant.
So I tried reading this book a few years ago, got ten pages in, and said nope. I just opened it again, and it took thirty pages of me Hating it, but I kept going anyways. I think I had a slow-burn relationship with this book.

If you're not used to reading classics, the language took a While to get used to.

Anyways, actual thought time: even for five-star books, it's very very rare that I care about how a book will end. But for some reason, this book had me Gripping the pages; needed to know how it ended and what becomes of the characters.

So even for how much I honestly didn't love 90% of the characters (they all pretty much annoyed me) and how I didn't care about certain plotlines, the tidbit of me caring how it ended stood out dramatically.

I also loved that it followed an entire family for like two generations. Stories like that, where you build a World, not just a couple moments, are my favorite, and I don't think I've ever actually read one before in a book.

I will say, my favorite characters were

Catherine (junior), Nelly, and most importantly, Heathcliff. I have no idea why, but even when Cathy Jr. and Nelly were annoying me, even in his absolute worst moments, Heathcliff had this depth to him that even if I hated, I cared for. He was the perfect villain (or anti-hero, in my case)

.

Alright, that was my rant. Would highly recommend if you're into classics, eh if you're not.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Misogyny, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Confinement, Death of parent, and Classism

Minor: Animal cruelty and Incest

A good ton of this was just because it was written in the 1800s, so like, there are 1800s societal standards. But the child abuse specifically was pretty hard to read.

tammykuffo's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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? N/A

4.0

Everyone is miserable 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Classism

accidentallyinlovefromshrek2's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

I read this for my ISU for my English class, but I don't regret the choice despite the grueling task of finally getting back into reading.

Brontë's narration choices through Lockwood and Nelly (while annoying, as they are both unreliable and biased) was enjoyable and telling of her talent in writing.

The characters were compelling, three-dimensional, complex, and extremely flawed, which was all very refreshing. Brontë didn't fear outward societal commentary on race, class, and gender; nor did she fear creating characters that were unlikable or at least heavily flawed. Her characters were REAL.

Volume II was a struggle to get through, as I finished most of it in an exhausted (and, sometimes bored) daze at two in the morning, as I hurriedly finished it by the deadline for class. There was simultaneously too much information and too much time spent dwelling on this information for me to want to put effort into reading most of the second half.

Overall, I will revisit Wuthering Heights to re-read it, as I enjoyed it heavily. As soon as I recover from the onslaught of emotional damage it has run me through. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Grief

Moderate: Child death, Death, Racism, and Death of parent

Minor: Racial slurs, Violence, and Religious bigotry

overbooked207's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

📖 Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë Book Review 📖

1st book of January 2023 and 1st of the year:

“‘May she wake in torment!' he cried, with frightful vehemence, stamping his foot, and groaning in a sudden paroxysm of ungovernable passion. ‘Why, she's a liar to the end! Where is she? Not there-not in heaven--not perished--where? Oh! You said you cared nothing for my sufferings! And I pray one prayer--I repeat it till my tongue stiffens-may you not rest as long as I am living; you said I killed you--haunt me, then! The murdered do haunt their murderers, I believe. I know that ghosts have wandered on earth. Be with me always- take any form- drive me mad! Only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you! Oh, God! It is unutterable! I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!” - Emily Brontë.

I read this years ago, but I think I listened to it too fast and didn’t remember much of it, so I decided to give it another try because I remember loving the quotes and the atmospheric setting, and I’m glad I did! The atmosphere and writing are rich, haunting, and poetic, and so many of the quotes, like the one above, quickly became new favorites of all time, said quotes being infinitely quotable and full of drama, passion, love(even if it’s toxic), and poetry! Almost every character is the absolute worst, but sometimes that’s exactly what I want to consume because it can be so entertaining, and I love watching/analyzing the characters’ complexities and thoughts/actions even as I’m shaking my head(tho reading about what Heathcliff does was hard). And winter is one of the perfect times to read this as you get cozy with a hot beverage and blankets. The audiobook read by Joanne Froggatt was also amazing! I enjoyed the first half of the book a lot more than the second, but the quotes made it up to me.

But please be aware of the TWs that are unfortunately prevalent in classic lit for unchecked racism, ableism, sexism, classism, incest, etc., and read/enjoy it critically and with that in mind. Other TWs include abuse(child, domestic, physical, and verbal), alcoholism, death, ghosts, grief, guns, and violence🥀🍂🪦💔

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Classism

introverted_reads's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Grief, and Classism

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

3.25

This book is completely wild. Maybe I needed to read it when I was younger to cut through all of the child maltreatment and threats against other people and see the supposed love story? I am. Confused. I had to SparkNotes this because I could not remember who was relaying the story. Whew - a trip, and not necessarily one that I would go on again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Abandonment, and Alcohol

headachesince03's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Eating disorder and Religious bigotry

s1etal's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship and Kidnapping

Moderate: Alcoholism and Child death

withloveandlights's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

2.5

This is a very “cloth-bound classic” as the YouTuber Jack Edward’s puts it and I’d have to agree. This novel is full of spite and relationship abuse so it is very dark and sad.

My favorite character is Cathy (junior) because of her resilience and determination

despite being used by her uncle and forced to (temporarily) live a life she never wanted for herself.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Abandonment

katelynmill2's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

4.5

4.5/5 stars

I enjoyed this book much more than I thought I would.

I actually liked all the characters, even characters I didn’t like. I think the fact that not all the characters are lovable adds to the book significantly. Sometimes you don’t have to dislike characters in order to be rooting for them. They just have to be interesting.

This is one of those books that doesn’t show you those little moments of sheer love and enjoyment between characters, making their love hard to believe in. Some people would probably say that Healthcliff and Catherine didn’t have love, all the moments we see between them are moments of rudeness. My point being that it’s known they lived and grew up together. They would run around outside and play together, forming a bond that isn’t exactly portrayed through most scenes between Catherine and Healthcliff.

I also found it interesting how all the characters show such raw emotions with no filter. They seem to succumb very quickly to one emotion. In more modern day books, characters don’t seem as transparent as the characters in Wuthering Heights. Modern day characters handle emotion a lot better and the emotion itself even seems to have more depth.

I could write a lot review analyzing this book and I would love to (not even being sarcastic tbh, I really liked this book and found it really interesting), but I’m not going to 🤪

*I will note that the fact there’s so much incest is an ick… Catherine falling in love with her adoptive brother and young Cathy dating both (and eventually marrying one) of her cousins— yeah.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: Child death