Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Sturmhöhe - Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

27 reviews

moonlitstardust's review against another edition

dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Blood, Medical content, Abandonment, and Alcohol

erebus53's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad slow-paced

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

2.0

This is a book I was assigned to read in highschool.. and that, like every other read I was set, I quit at page 37. I resolved to one day pick it up and digest it in it's entirety. Verdict? Not very filling, a bit dry, not that satisfying. If I hadn't deliberately exerted myself, I wouldn't have bothered to finish it.

The setting is ostensibly spooky. It's a cold and desolate windblown house, with warped trees and harsh weather. The introduction sets the reader ill at ease with a new tenant imposing himself upon the landlord's household, only to meet with dour people and rude manners. Every attempt he makes to act toward them in a warm or overly familiar way is oh so cringeworthy, and disconcerting.

The narrative is told through word of mouth stories. The main narrator on the history of the characters is a maid servant, but yet further detail is fleshed out through recounting the content of letters and anecdotes of others... this method of telling stories inside stories I have seen before in things like Shelley's Frankenstein.

The Classism in this is predictably rampant. The use of a Yorkshire accent is disparaged and laughed at. Frustratingly for me, the narrator of the audiobook couldn't do the dialect any justice and she fumbled through all the parts that are written phonetically in rustic parlance. This took a lot more work for me to interpret than if it were read fluently. Gah! t'th divvel wet ye!

Another recurring theme is the whole cliché of dark and light. A dark haired, supposedly ill-bred orphan is taken to hearth and home, and of course fair haired, light eyed, pale skinned people are seen as morally superior. A bit of vanilla Racism to rub into the literature. Well.. the book is old.. but I don't have to like it.

Honestly confused at what a teacher would hope to gain from getting teens to vivisect a book like this.. the book is pale and dreary, a litany of ills and intergenerational abuse, of slow burning insidious revenge. I mean, I used to be a goth.. I've listened to Kate Bush.. this wasn't even romantic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Classism

Moderate: Child death, Cursing, Religious bigotry, and Alcohol

seapotatohowisitalrtaken's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Grief

Moderate: Blood, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Death of parent

issyd23's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Holy fucking shit this nocked my socks off! The prose are phenomenal & moving. Not bad for a virgin with no friends who died at 30 from TB 5🪦

Joanne Froggatt also fucking slayed the audiobook 5🪦

NB Nelly doesn’t get paid enough to deal with all the BS from the Lintons + Earnshaws - get a better employer girl! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Classism

danicakvcs's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Grief

Moderate: Child abuse and Gun violence

Minor: Incest and Blood

jubsrabellogs's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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

I don’t think I’ve ever been so angry, terrified and miserable over a book before. I’m still struggling to understand the point of it all. At first, it was like a soap opera, a huge melodrama. Then, it felt like a study on the human capacity for evil and for its endurance. And, finally, at the end, it felt like the triumph of good over evil. Even with that ending, nothing on this world would persuade me to approach the titular estate! Time and time again I wondered if the soil itself was not cursed and responsible for Hindley and Heathcliff’s degradation, for Catherine, Edgar, Isabella and Linton’s declining health, etc. It felt even worse than The Overlook Hotel at times.
I cannot say it was a pleasant read, but it was a captivating one, and I couldn’t put it down until I finished it. And it kept me engaged in the question of nature versus nurture. Although, by the end, it looked like Emily Brontë was firmly on the former’s side. And how curious it would be that the unknown “gipsy” child is the one with a despicable nature… (yikes, Emily!)
If I was made to choose between this and Jane Eyre, I would choose the latter without second thought. But this book was still a haunting and worthy piece of gothic literature, and it certainly scared me more than Dracula and Frankenstein ever did (although I do love both). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Grief

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Blood, and Death of parent

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

akirareadsthething'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? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Awful people living awful lives doing awful things to each other. Weirdly compelling.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Incest, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, and Murder

uchuflowerzone's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Classism

Moderate: Racism

Minor: Racial slurs and Blood

claudiamacpherson's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Classism

Minor: Animal cruelty, Cursing, Racism, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Alcohol